K 12 Stem Education In Urban Learning Environments

This title is an IGI Global Core Reference for 2019 as it provides the timeliest, trending research around overcoming challenges within the urban educational system. Featuring real-world solutions and comprehensive coverage on teacher professional development, racial microaggressions, STEM, and diversity in elementary and secondary education, this publication is ideal for teachers, faculty, administrators, policymakers, and educational researchers. K-12 STEM Education in Urban Learning Environments provides emerging research on the challenges and barriers of STEM education in urban environments and how to move forward in overcoming these challenges and barriers to provide equitable education for all K-12 students. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as teacher preparation, programming, gender and racial barriers, and more, this publication is ideally designed for teachers, faculty, administrators, policymakers, researchers, and scholars.

Locally or individually, STEM programs provide additional opportunities to engage K-12 students, including those from marginalized groups, with the support of STEM outreach organizations through the co-construction and implementation of STEM activities during school, out of school, at home, and in the community. Research suggests that community-engaged partnerships forge relationships that can enhance and sustain K-12 STEM education efforts between K-12 districts and the scholarly community. There is a need to highlight community-engaged teaching and scholarship produced from partnerships between K-12 school districts and STEM outreach organizations. Developing and Sustaining STEM Programs Across the K-12 Education Landscape describes the purpose of the collaboration between K-12 school districts and STEM outreach organizations, the STEM activities that participating K-12 students engage in, and the impacts on STEM learners that emerge from the partnership. Covering topics such as continuous program improvement, school-industry partnerships, and student success, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for educational leaders and administrators, pre-service and in-service educators, teacher educators, researchers, and academicians.

STEM Education 2.0. discusses the most recent research on important selected K-12 STEM topics by synthesizing previous research and offering new research questions.

Although STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has been diversely defined by various researchers (e.g. Buck Institute, 2003; Capraro & Slough, 2009; Scott, 2009; Wolf, 2008), during the last decade, STEM education has gained an increasing presence on the national agenda through initiatives from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institute for Educational Sciences (IES). The rate of technological innovation and change has been tremendous over the past ten years, and this rapid increase will only continue. STEM literacy is the power to “identify, apply, and integrate concepts from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to understand complex problems and to innovate to solve them” (Washington State STEM, 2011, Internet). In order for U.S. students to be on the forefront of this revolution, ALL of our schools need to be part of the STEM vision and guide students in acquiring STEM literacy. Understanding and addressing the challenge of achieving STEM literacy for ALL students begins with an understanding of its element and the connections between them. In order to remain competitive, the Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy has recommended that the US optimize “its knowledge-based resources, particularly in science and technology” (National Academies, 2007, p. 4). Optimizing knowledge-based resources needs to be the goal but is also a challenge for ALL educators (Scheurich & Huggins, 2009). Regardless, there is little disagreement that contemporary society is increasingly dependent on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and thus comprehensive understandings are essential for those pursuing STEM careers. It is also generally agreed that PK-12 students do not do well in STEM areas, both in terms of national standards and in terms of international comparisons (Kuenzi, Matthews, & Mangan, 2006; Capraro, Capraro, Yetkiner, Corlu, Ozel, Ye, & Kim, 2011). The question then becomes what might PK-12 schools do to improve teachers’ and students’ STEM knowledge and skills? This book will look at equity and access issues in STEM education from PK-12, university, and administrative and policy lenses.

This book reports on high impact educational practices and programs that have been demonstrated to be effective at broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in the STEM disciplines.

The “ideal” 21st century public school teacher has a keen understanding of the racialized history of education and has already taken a critical stance regarding that history. This teacher is a changemaker and able to create classroom conditions that enable all children and youth to be changemakers as well. In order to assist teachers to become this ideal educator, antiracist professional development must be undertaken. Antiracist professional development has as its goal the transformation of teachers for the eventual transformation of classroom environments, instruction, and curricula to provide for equitable and inclusive educational experiences, particularly for students of color. Unfortunately, such transformative teacher professional development has been in short supply in the age of high-stakes standardized testing and the deprofessionalization of the teaching profession. Antiracist Professional Development for In-Service Teachers: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a crucial reference book that addresses the historical, sociological, and pedagogical background concerning racial issues in education. It proposes an antiracist model for professional development as a tool for transforming schools and teachers to be critically sensitive changemakers. Drawing upon more than 20 years of developing a transformative teaching master’s program, the book includes data from the authors’ national survey of teacher professional development, assignment examples, teacher work products, and the authors’ self-critique/reflections on their efforts to support teachers in transforming their practice. The book also presents the voices of P-12 teachers, including those who thought that they already “knew it all,” the new teacher at a punitive public charter school with high turnover, teachers who took leadership within the school and in the larger community, and teachers who significantly changed their classroom practice for the long-term. Moreover, the authors offer policy recommendations for teacher professional development experiences that meet the needs of all teachers; experiences that provide support for teachers’ professional growth, that have an immediate impact on student learning, and that create the conditions for school communities to work together as changemakers. It includes an epilogue that considers the urgency of these issues as were revealed by the 2020 global pandemic. As such, this book is ideal for teachers, teacher educators, educational leaders, administrators, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students.

Education is vital to the progression and sustainability of society. By developing effective learning programs, this creates numerous impacts and benefits for future generations to come. K-12 STEM Education: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a pivotal source of academic material on the latest trends, techniques, technological tools, and scholarly perspectives on STEM education in K-12 learning environments. Including a range of pertinent topics such as instructional design, online learning, and educational technologies, this book is an ideal reference source for teachers, teacher educators, professionals, students, researchers, and practitioners interested in the latest developments in K-12 STEM education.

The application of technology in classroom settings has equipped educators with innovative tools and techniques for effective teaching practice. Integrating digital technologies at the elementary and secondary levels helps to enrich the students’ learning experience and maximize competency in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Improving K-12 STEM Education Outcomes through Technological Integration focuses on current research surrounding the effectiveness, performance, and benefits of incorporating various technological tools within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classrooms. Focusing on evidence-based approaches and current educational innovations, this book is an essential reference source for teachers, teacher educators, and professionals interested in how emerging technologies are benefiting teaching and/or learning efficacy.