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Minority Students Needed in Math and Science to Combat ‘Brain Drain,’ Professors Say

sparky3887 — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:55:08 +0000

Three mathematics and science professors called on the U.S. government to support institutional programs that have succeeded in attracting and retaining minority students during a recent Congressional briefing session. Arizona State University professor Carlos Castillo-Chavez said that most of the Hispanic and American-Indian students who participate in the university’s math and science honors program, a high school summer residential program, pursue science majors. Spelman College professor Sylvia T. Bozeman said her school’s summer programs, in addition to the recruitment, advising, and mentoring efforts of the math and science faculty, have helped to get more young black females interested in mathematics. Castillo-Chavez said the talents of U.S. citizens will need to be developed if the country is to make up for the brain drain of Chinese and Indian scientists and mathematicians who have begun to return to their home countries. He noted that institutions such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will not be able to produce all the math and science graduates that the U.S. needs. “We have to produce large numbers of extremely well-qualified scientists and mathematicians,” he said. “It’s not going to take place at the elite universities, but at schools with limited resources.” The mathematics-education experts also said Congress should increase spending on undergraduate scholarships and for the National Science Foundation.

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$250 Million Initiative for Science, Math Teachers Planned

sparky3887 — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:36:49 +0000

U.S. President Obama has announced a $250 million effort to improve science and mathematics instruction in order to help the United States compete with economic rivals. The initiative will prepare more than 10,000 new math and science school teachers and provide on-the-job training for an additional 100,000 teachers over the next five years. The plan adds to a campaign for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, increasing funding to more than $500 million. In 2007, international math testing found that U.S. fourth graders trailed students in parts of Europe and Asia, and eighth graders were behind a few key Asian powers. Similar results were found in the sciences when comparing U.S. students with their international counterparts. In response to the studies, Obama created the $4 billion Race to the Top U.S. grant competition for education reform funding. The private sector also is getting involved in STEM education. For example, Intel will offer an 80-hour math course to help elementary school teachers develop expertise in math and science. “There’s a lot of research that says if the teacher has that content knowledge, they can spark excitement,” says Intel’s Shelly Esque. Meanwhile, the Woodrow Wilson Nationals Fellowship Foundation will expand a program that places math and science teachers in hard-to-staff school districts in areas of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The program seeks to train 700 new teachers over the next three years. Obama’s plan also includes a $13.5 million expansion of the UTeach program, through which universities plan to deliver 7,000 expert teachers by 2018.

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White House Pushes Science and Math Education

sparky3887 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:53:29 +0000

U.S. President Barack Obama is expected on Monday to announce Educate to Innovate, a campaign to enlist companies and nonprofit groups to donate time and money to encourage students, particularly middle and high school students, to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Educate to Innovate will focus primarily on activities outside the classroom. For example, Discovery Communications has already promised to use two hours of its afternoon schedule on the Science Channel for commercial-free programming aimed at middle school students, and science and engineering societies have promised to provide volunteers to work with students in the classroom on National Lab Day in May. The campaign also includes a two-year focus on science on the children’s show Sesame Street, and a Web site, connectamillionminds.com, supported by Time Warner Cable, which will provide a searchable directory of local science activities. “The different sectors are responding to the president’s call for all hands on deck,” says White House science advisor John P. Holdren. He says the initiatives complement the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top program, which is distributing $4.35 billion in stimulus grants to states and provides extra incentives for STEM programs. Obama administration officials say the Educate to Innovate initiative is far wider-reaching than previous efforts, which have failed to create a perceptible rise in test scores or in most students’ perceptions of math and science.

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Nurturing a Love of Math, Sciences

sparky3887 — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:29:42 +0000

Experts are concerned that not enough teachers who can arouse passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in public school students are being produced by the United States, which endangers the country’s ability to keep up with economic competitors. “We know that the quality of math and science teachers is the most influential single factor in determining whether or not a student will succeed or fail in these subjects,” said President Barack Obama in an April 27 address to the National Academy of Sciences. “Yet, in high school, more than 20 percent of students in math and more than 60 percent of students in chemistry and physics are taught by teachers without expertise in these fields.” A strategy for addressing the STEM educator shortage involves a combination of sharper recruiting tactics buttressed by financial incentives, the establishment of streamlined programs for potential math and science teachers, and aggressive initiatives to make teaching careers more appealing to math and science professionals. Education officials and corporate leaders agree that the United States will suffer a dearth of future researchers, innovators, and engineers if fewer high school students are getting excited about STEM disciplines. Some universities have started programs designed to step up their production of math and science teachers. One such effort is UTeach, a program that mixes aggressive recruitment of math and science majors, challenging courses, heavy fieldwork, mentoring by practicing teachers, and postgraduate support. In July, a panel set up by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will unveil a plan to improve STEM education in the state, and one of its goals is a 300 percent increase in the number of STEM teachers produced by Maryland colleges and universities by 2015.

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Mobilization’ for Math and Science Education

sparky3887 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:02:05 +0000

Math and science education in the United States needs to improve dramatically if the country wants to stay competitive in the 21st century, concludes a report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The report, “The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy,” outlines a comprehensive plan to advance math and science learning. The plan’s primary objective includes establishing high and common assessment standards in math and science for all 50 states and aggressively recruiting and supporting teachers. More than 70 organizations, including government, schools, philanthropies, and businesses, have pledged their support to the recommendations. “We have to bring math and science to the forefront,” says U.S. Department of Education secretary Arne Duncan. “Perpetuating what we have is not going to get us where we want to go.” Duncan says science and math teachers should be paid more than they currently are, particularly those working in underperforming communities. Teachers should also work with engineers, doctors, and professionals in technical fields to demonstrate to students how the sciences can be applied in real life. Carnegie Corporation president Vartan Gregorian says the quality of math and science learned at colleges and universities is based on strong K-12 education. The report says that colleges and universities should create partnerships with higher education and K-12 systems to increase the number of students entering college that are prepared for math and science courses.

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