Challenging the Status Quo Through In-School STEM Learning in Putnam County, FL Report on 2022-2023 Data Collection October 25, 2023 Grace Davis and Dr. Dawn McDaniel Background Employment opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in the United States are expected to rise between 2021 and 2031 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). However, there is a shortage of STEM-ready professionals across America and companies are finding it difficult to meet STEM workforce needs (Florida Regional STEM2 Hub, 2020). To prepare students to successfully move from the classroom into STEM careers, two key factors are proficiency and interest in STEM (Beier & Rittmayer, 2009; Business-Higher Education Forum, 2011). Yet, interest in STEM tends to decrease across students as they get older and many students struggle to reach proficiency, with 60% of students failing to meet mathematical proficiency in fourth grade and 64% of students failing to meet science proficiency (NAEP, 2019a, 2019b; Wieselmann et al., 2020). Students from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities are particularly susceptible to these issues and overwhelmingly attend under-resourced schools with less experienced teachers and fewer STEM coursework opportunities (Lynch et al., 2019; Tyson et al., 2007). Early exposure to STEM and access to STEM courses, particularly those that emphasize hands-on learning, are important for increasing STEM interest and proficiency (littleBits & YouGov, 2018; NAEP, 2019b). However, only 18% of fourth graders report engaging in scientific inquiry-related classroom activities on a weekly basis (NAEP, 2019b). By coupling increased frequency of authentic STEM learning opportunities with teacher professional development, schools may be able to disrupt these trends and bolster student STEM outcomes (Lynch et al., 2019).
Northeast Florida Regional STEM2 Hub
STEM2 Hub is a nonprofit organization that builds cross-community systems to ensure all students have access to high-quality STEM learning experiences to “ accelerate the growth of STEM2 Hub education and careers.” Through engaging the local
Figure 1 . Students participating in a coding challenge.
community and cultivating high-impact cross-sector relationships with schools, education-focused organizations (e.g., LEGO Education, Woz Education, Code.org), industry partners (e.g., Microsoft), out-of-school time providers and government, STEM2 Hub empowers educators and students to explore STEM career pathways, pursue critical 21st-century workforce skills, and cultivate a sense of belonging in STEM. STEM2 Hub regularly reaches over 100,000 students through supporting in- school and out-of-school programming in coding, robotics, computer science, mathematics, real-world STEM problem-solving and more. With an integrated approach that focuses on educator professional development along with scaffolded and progressively-aligned student learning, STEM2 Hub works with school district leaders to systematically align curriculum across all schools.
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