TAKING ACTION

When it comes to improving and expanding the STEM talent pipelines, educators and industry leaders are conducting their own research and development.

Last fall, the Obama Administration announced plans to strengthen America's economic competitiveness by improving education and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

In a speech, President Obama stated: “Lifting American students from the middle to the top of the pack in STEM achievement over the next decade will not be attained by government alone. I applaud the substantial commitments made … by the leaders of companies, universities, foundations, nonprofits and organizations representing millions of scientists, engineers and teachers from across the country.”

The President could well have been talking directly to leaders in Central Florida.

Indeed, as noted in the cover story on the preceding pages, STEM has the attention of those who teach, those who employ and those who assist. What is being done to better prepare tomorrow’s workforce for the battle in global competitiveness and the challenge of innovation? Consider the following passionate and proactive local efforts.

ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CTE is the Key to the STEM

By Janet Addair
Associate Superintendent
Career and Technical Education

Our nation’s economy needs more workers proficient in science, technology, engineering and math, and there is a lot of discussion about how to achieve that goal. Studies suggest educational challenges include student reluctance to take these types of courses and a shortage of qualified teachers.

Demand for STEM professionals with education past high school but below a bachelor’s degree is increasing. Healthcare workers, veterinary assistants, pharmacy technicians, forensic-science technicians and dental hygienists are some of the fastest-growing occupations.

STEM skills and knowledge are integral parts of our nation’s economy. In the next decade, retirement of scientists and engineers will significantly affect the STEM labor pool. Too few students are preparing to fill those jobs or gaining foundational skills to be successful in STEM careers even if they choose that path. We are falling behind India and China in producing STEM professionals.

Career and Technical Education (CTE), a leader in combining academic rigor and technology helps students prepare and pursue STEM careers. Agriscience and health occupation courses contain strong science components and, in some Florida schools, students may earn science credits. Engaging lessons and projects help students understand why they need to learn certain material. Students can learn how abstract math is used in real-world engineering situations. Job shadowing, mentoring experiences, school-based enterprises, apprenticeships and student organizations provide a way to create a relevant education, exposing students to career fields. Research proves that rigorous CTE engages and motivates students, lowers dropout rates, plus increases student achievement and graduation rates. CTE can expose students to curricula and careers they may have never even imagined.

More must be done to ensure a fully developed, skilled STEM workforce and secure America’s economic future. Most students have a strong potential for learning, but learning styles vary significantly. Many students fail to grasp mathematical concepts and scientific theories without a relevant application. CTE delivers academics far differently than a regular math or science course.   
Expanding and strengthening CTE programs are the solutions to the STEM challenge.

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WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA

Developing the Region’s Innovators and Problem Solvers

As Central Florida diversifies its industries through sectors such as digital media, optics and photonics and simulation, technology companies are anticipated to grow through entrepreneurship, relocation and expansion. With this projected increase, the region must be prepared to provide the science, technology, engineering, math — and green — workforce needed to staff these companies.

“We have several challenges in the region that we must address as we diversify our industries,” says Gary Earl, president and CEO of WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA. “First, we need increase our local youth’s interest in STEM and green careers and inspire them to pursue education in these subjects. To motivate our students, we must educate the region’s teachers, who by attrition and downsizing are often under-qualified to teach STEM. Lastly, once we’ve encouraged students to study a STEM or green subject, we must retain them in these college majors.”

WCF addresses these challenges through a three-pronged approach: K-12 student recruitment into STEM majors and careers; teacher preparedness and readiness to teach STEM subjects; and retention in STEM majors/training.

Inspiring K-12 Students

WCF’s first goal, to inspire youth to pursue STEM careers, begins at the elementary level and continues through high school. For example, a WCF STEM College Shadow Day allows 500 fifth graders to participate in a Junior Achievement Our County curriculum about STEM careers in Central Florida. At the end of this five-week curriculum, students visit the University of Central Florida to tour laboratories and the university and to receive insider knowledge from industry professionals.

WCF Industry Days, a program also in partnership with Junior Achievement, takes 180 students and 20 teachers to visit a STEM organization for a half-day tour. Recent visits include Electronic Arts, Lockheed Martin and AT&T.

Another program, the STEM Summer Camp, offers six two-day camps for 150 fifth through eighth graders, where they learn about STEM careers from industry veterans, UCF grad students and student athletes with a STEM major, and visit a STEM-related company to work on projects with industry experts.

In addition, WCF awarded $15,000 grants to low-income schools, including Evans High, Lockhart Middle and Leesburg Elementary schools, to purchase materials that foster inquiry into math and science learning. WCF also provided $1,000 sponsorship grants to 45 schools to introduce clubs or curriculum-enhancing enrichment programs such as Science Olympiad. In an effort to support post-secondary education, WCF will award $2,500 college scholarships to 10 high school seniors who are pursuing STEM-related degrees.

To overcome the stigma that STEM careers are male dominated, WCF also sponsored five Girl Scout troops where participants compete in FIRST Robotics challenges.

Educating STEM Teachers

Because of shrinking budgets and layoffs, many area educators are teaching classes out of their subject area and, therefore, are unprepared to teach STEM classes. To address this challenge, WCF created the Leader Academies in Math and Science program, which provides 160 middle school teachers with 15 hours of in-depth content on chemistry, life and earth space sciences.
Also, the Teach Me Workshop series assists 25 math and science middle school teachers with content delivery and classroom management. Each teacher learns techniques using UCF’s Teach Me simulated classroom and is coached during follow-up face-to-face and technology-enhanced sessions by UCF faculty and doctoral students.

Retaining College STEM Majors

At the college level, the goal is to retain students who have selected a STEM course of study. UCF’s EXCEL (see Page 30) is one example. Another is the STEM-in-School Work Experience program, which provides paid work experience in STEM research for students during their first two years of college study, an experience that typically only occurs at the graduate level.

WCF also focuses on creating college-level programs to support local employers’ workforce needs. For example, WCF provided $300,000 for curriculum development, tuition support and hiring of staff for a digital media program at Seminole State College, a patient simulation technician program at Orlando Tech and a photonics technician program at UCF.

Through these efforts, WCF’s goal is to align strategies with the region’s expected economic growth.
“STEM and green jobs are not a just a trend,” says Earl. “These careers are the future of our region, and unless we act with an all-around approach to train our future innovators and problem solvers, we chance losing high-paying jobs to other areas.”

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VALENCIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Securing Futures Through Security Training

In terms of STEM and preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s workforce, Valencia Community College has several initiatives that feature a laser focus on that mission. One such effort is the new Digital Forensics & Cyber Security program, which will enable students to pursue high-tech specialization as they obtain an Associate in Science degree in Computer Engineering Technology.

Think: world-class education in global protection.

As part of the curriculum, for example, students will gain practical knowledge in conducting digital investigations and preserving evidence that stands up in court or corporate inquiries. Advanced coursework provides training in the "defense-in-depth" strategy for defending critical information systems.

With that curriculum now being finalized, Valencia hopes to begin offering the cyber security specialization in August 2010.

Additionally, students enrolled in the Cyber Security specialization are able to participate in the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition both at the regional and national levels. It’s the largest college-level cyber defense competition in the world. There, students are put to the test by defending their networks against attacks from opposing teams. Also, they can show off their skills to representatives from government agencies and the private sector, who attend to recruit students.

Valencia will offer the program courtesy of a three-year, $547,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. At present, Valencia is awaiting word about certification from the National Security Agency. The curriculum was designed to meet objectives of the NSA for Information Security Professionals and Information Security Systems Administrators. The NSA certification, which comes in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, designates a college as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. If Valencia receives that certification, it will become only the third college (two- or four-year) in Florida to obtain their seal of approval, joining Nova Southeastern and Florida State universities.

Essentially, the certification would allow Valencia to train employees of government agencies, banks, insurance companies and others who need training in information security. Also, it would enable Valencia graduates to find jobs more easily.

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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

STEM-ing the Loss of Academic Interest

Science and technology experts have been saying for years that the United States is falling behind in teaching students the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering and math in the classroom. At the same time, STEM education, from K-12 through post-college, is essential in training a reliable workforce that can compete in a global economy.

Enter Michael Georgiopoulos, a UCF professor in the School of Electrical Engineering.

For the past five years, Georgiopoulos and more than 25 colleagues at UCF have focused on feeding the appetites of approximately 800 freshman and sophomore students with a steady diet of calculus, physics and personalized attention through a program, called EXCEL.

EXCEL has, through a combination of scholarship support, residential learning communities, a customized curriculum focused on applications of calculus, and aggressive mentoring and tutoring, attracted hundreds of students. While EXCEL’s primary goal is to increase success rates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, it also has had the secondary benefit of increasing the success rates of underrepresented groups (women and minorities) in those fields.

His methodology has proven so successful that the National Science Foundation funded a $600,000 extension of an initial $1.8 million program to carry on into the students’ junior and senior years. And now, Georgiopoulos and his colleagues are talking to supporters in industry to sustain the effort.

From the moment EXCEL students arrive for orientation at UCF, they feel like they are part of a community. Admission is competitive, but students, once accepted, can expect priority course selections in calculus, chemistry and physics, specialized classes, uniquely organized advising days, mentoring by graduate students and faculty, study sessions, a tutoring center and a variety of social activities. Plus, there is a sense of a learning community, enhanced by the fact that EXCEL students are housed in the same block, so they can get to know each other socially, thus establishing the bonds that help them in their academics.

Georgiopoulos said the problem hit home with him as he was trying to find qualified students to work in his lab. As he and colleagues began researching about STEM, they focused on the large percentage of STEM majors who left the science fields in the first year (estimated at 31 percent by the six-year University of Oklahoma STEM retention survey supported by NSF) and the corresponding list of reasons they leave. EXCEL addresses each one of the reasons students cite for leaving the field in a fundamental way.

By introducing students to the real-world applications of STEM disciplines early in their academic life, many of those who had expressed little or no interest in STEM subjects discovered newfound curiosity.

Another unique aspect of the program includes the research component. During their sophomore year, EXCEL students have the opportunity to participate in optional, paid undergraduate research experiences. Students are paired with UCF STEM professors and get to participate in research firsthand. In the four years of its existence, the EXCEL program has involved more than 140 students in sophomore undergraduate research experiences.

Notably, the success rate of STEM students in the EXCEL program is roughly 20 percent higher than STEM students who are not involved with it.

Further expansion is in the works. Already, UCF partners with Seminole State College and three other Central Florida community colleges to improve access to higher education through its DirectConnect to UCF program, which guarantees graduates of those community colleges admission to a state university. Now, university officials say expanding an EXCEL-modeled program to Seminole State will ease students’ transition from a two-year to a four-year institution.

Moreover, in 2008, NSF approved a companion project, called the Young Entrepreneur and Scholar (YES) Scholarship, to enable juniors and seniors who have completed the EXCEL program to continue their research experiences with a UCF STEM professor or be involved in entrepreneurship experiences with a local company.

All of these efforts are directed at trying to address a growing national problem. The decline in graduation rates from U.S. high schools and colleges, along with the acute shortage of Americans graduating college with science, mathematics and engineering degrees, has become a federal priority.

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