© 2016 TIES
Perspectives and Resources
from a National STEM Learning Ecosystem Initiative
September 27, 2017
DR. SARAH KOEBLEY
TEACHING INSTITUTE
FOR EXCELLENCE IN
STEM
SE Michigan STEM Ecosystem
Leadership Gathering
WELCOME!

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Perspectives and Resources from a
National STEM Learning Ecosystem
Initiative
Why?
What?
How?

What is STEM Education?
The Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics (STEM) fields are
collectively considered core
technological underpinnings of an
advanced society (National Research
Council and the National Science
Foundation).
The term is commonly used in relation
to the nation's economic
competitiveness and the related need
for education programs in support of
future generations.

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Mathematics
Technology
Science
Engineering

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Nanotechnology

7
Context: Why STEM?
IT’S MORE ABOUT THE SKILLS
7

8
Context: Why stem?
IMPORTANT TO OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE
8

11

•With global input, an international group of leading technological thinkers
were asked to identify the Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st
century.
•14 goals for improving life on the planet fall into four cross-cutting themes:
-Sustainability
-Health
-Security
-Joy of Living

“GRAND CHALLENGES”
Level 1
Climate Change
Water Scarcity
Energy Security
Cyber Security
Global financial structure
Biodiversity and Ecosystem losses
Fisheries Depletion
Deforestation
Infectious Disease
Level 2
• Poverty
• Education
• The Digital Divide
• Urbanization
• Intellectual property
• International labor and
migration
• E-Commerce rules
• Biotechnology rules
• Maritime Safety and Pollution
Disrupt our way of life
Require Engineering Thinking to Solve
Credit: Gregory Washington, PhD, Dean, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California, Irvine

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© 2016 TIES
The (Inter) National
STEM Learning
Ecosystems Network…

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Underlying Premise…
When does learning occur?
Credit: Life Center, Univ. of Washington

STEM Funders Network Membership History
17

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TIES: Teaching Institute
for Excellence in STEM
Whole School
Design
STEM
Implementation
Support
Fabrication Labs
(Maker Spaces)
STEM
Learning
Ecosystems

The Research & Evidence for the
STEM Learning Ecosystems
1/2010 - 7/2011
1990s
1990s-2009
2011 - 2013
Sources: (1) Achieve. (2) How Cross-Sector Collaborations are Advancing STEM Learning.
Working paper by Kathleen Traphagen and Saskia Traill. February 2014.
19

… a “metaphor of ecosystems (is used)
to describe how communities are attempting to
create, enrich and connect varied learning
opportunities
to improve young people’s knowledge and
engagement in STEM and
better prepare them to be STEM-literate members
of our civic communities.”
- Traphagen & Traill, 2014

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS
PK-12 PUBLIC AND
CHARTER SCHOOLS
MUSEUMS AND
SCIENCE CENTERS
SUMMER PROGRAMS
STEM ECOSYSTEMS
A learning ecosystem harnesses the unique
contributions of all these different settings to deliver
STEM learning for all children
INFORMAL STEM
AT HOME
FAB LABS
POST-SECONDARY
STEM
BUSINESS/INDUSTRYFOUNDATIONS AND NON-PROFITS

Year 3: 56 STEM Learning Ecosystems
Cohort 1
Cohort 2
Cohort 3

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STEM Learning
Ecosystems
Strategy
Framework
23

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1. Cross Sector
Partnerships

Source: US Department of Education. Dec 2015
STEM Learning Ecosystems

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Central focus?
… on providing equitable
access to historically
underrepresented youth in
STEM learning and
programming
… on implementing a diverse
array of family engagement
efforts and events

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2. Architecture/
Governance

A strong Ecosystem has
in place…

A high-functioning
Ecosystem also has…
Clear
governance
structure
Identified/
incorporated
STEM
strengths and
needs of
community
Clearly
articulated
mission/goals…
and a way to
communicate
them
Plan to scale and
sustain the work

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3. Equipping
Educators with
Tools

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WHAT IS STEM EDUCATION NOW &
FOR THE DECADE TO COME?
...also stands for STRATEGIES THAT ENGAGE MINDS

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STEM
EDUCATION
IN
USING DESIGN THINKING
34

Instead of:
“MEMORIZE THE
PROCESS OF
PHOTOSYNTHESIS..
.”
“HOW MIGHT
PEOPLE SATISFY
THEIR ENERGY
NEEDS IN THE
FUTURE?”
FRAMING A
PROBLEM

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4. Aligned in-
school and out-of-
school learning

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5. College and
Career
Readiness

More than half of the top 10 in demand jobs in 2015 did not exist in 2004
-500
500
1500
2500
3500
4500
5500
1971 1982 1996 1999 2003 2006 2007 2010 2015
TransistorCount(Millions)
Pen um II AMD K8
Itanium 2
Core 2 Duo Cell AMD K10
Itanium 2 with 9 MB Cache
Core 17 (Quad)
Power6
Six-Core Opteron 24
Dual-Core Itanium 2
Quad-Core Itanium
8-Core Xeon
18-Core Xeon Haswell
Year
PentiumIntel 4004
Six-Core Xeon 7400
Radio- 38 Years
TV - 13 Years
Cellphone
7 Years
Internet - 4 Years
Facebook
2 Years
Years to 50 million users
Are we educating students for the job market of the future?

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Digitized. Automated. Outsourced.

Record movies Record movies View movies Photographs
Compute
Listen Radio Play Games
Measure Time
Telephone Share pictures Share text
Yellow Pages
Plan route
Forecast
weather
©DassaultSystemes2009
Design
1980: Disconnected Technologies
Listen Music
(mobile!)
2015
Now
integrated in
our pockets
But have we changed how we educate?

Source: CLASP & Alliance for Quality Career Pathways How
Funders Can Use Alliance Framework Version 1.0
Workforce & Pathways

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National Ecosystem
Participation Benefits

 Change how we work and who is involved in
STEM education for all of SE Michigan’s young
people
 Go beyond school, standards, and the
educational system as we know it
 Create STEM Pathways that are: gainful, interest-
driven, life-long, and connected to the workforce
 Design a Community of Practice (CoP) that is
local, regional and national
What are we fundamentally
trying to do?

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Today’s
students.
Tomorrow’s
world.

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