Elementary teachers are great all-around educators. There just aren’t enough of them prepared to teach STEM fields. Integrating STEM into their training and support plays to their strengths. Here are some successful approaches for doing so, at all stages of their learning and development.
Read MoreShoring Up the Foundation of STEM Education
One of the slenderest reeds in the STEM education field is the capacity of elementary educators to prepare students for STEM success. No fault of theirs, to be sure – elementary educators are always being asked to do more and more. Here are some tips and resources for helping early learners start a rewarding, enriching STEM journey.
Read MoreAs Engineering Grows in K-12, Who Will Teach It?
All the complicated questions about K-12 engineering can boil down this: Who will be there to teach it? Find out how current and future teachers get trained in engineering and who’s doing it.
Read MoreEngineering as a Stealth Language Art, Part 2
Putting engineering and literacy learning efforts together in the classroom can be a challenge. Here are a several ways people have done it with success and imagination.
Read MoreHow Engineers Week Works for Educators and Engineers Alike
Engineering organizations across the country are gearing up Engineers Week, February 19-25. Improving public understanding of the field is an ongoing challenge; we've got publications that can help, great for all age groups.
Read MoreThe Heart of the Matter: How to Inspire Future Engineers
Engineering can seem like the Tin Man of professions, eminently useful but lacking heart. Here's a rich, fun talk with Dave Goldberg, of "A Whole New Engineer" fame, about how to show students the engaging, inspiring possibilities of the field.
Read MoreWhy Does Engineering Lag in Afterschool?
Afterschool programs draw 10 million kids every year. But engineering is hard for them to find. What are the obstacles to raising the profile of engineering in afterschool?
Read MoreHispanics Still Playing Catch-up in Engineering
Hispanics have earned an outsized portion of engineering degrees in the last 10 years. But they still have much more room to grow before they graduate at the share they represent of the country as a whole.
Read MoreK-12 Learning by Engineering Design
The most valuable lesson students can get from K-12 engineering? It could be the design process, a template for critical thinking, transferable to almost any problem-solving challenge.
Read MoreDreams Need Doing - Does Engineering Outreach?
By any measure, engineering outreach is a growth industry. But graduation rates have lagged, especially among women and African-Americans. For all this activity, why haven't more students gone into engineering? Does the problem lie with engineering or somewhere else?
Read MoreEngineering in K-12 Education ("STEM Everyday" Podcast)
Great fun, this podcast with Chris Woods, host of the "STEM Everyday" podcast on the Remarkable Chatter network. Listen, or read the transcript, to learn all kinds of ways to make engineering fun and accessible for elementary, middle, and high school students.
Read MoreElementary School Engineering Answers the Bell
Engineering isn't getting into elementary school classrooms any time soon. It's already there. New science standards include engineering as a core concept, but engineering has already staked a large claim to space in elementary schools across the country.
Read MoreReasons to Love Afterschool Engineering
Finding space for engineering in the K-12 day is hard. So try afterschool engineering instead. It's a great way to crack the K-12 nut, easy to get started, fun to do, and popular with kids. See how it works here.
Read More11 Toys to Excite the Engineer in Any Kid
STEM toys are hot. And Lego now rules the toy world. But there are lots of other toys to get kids excited about engineering. Here are 11 good ones.
Read MoreGot Engineers? Workforce Development and Diversity in Engineering
For all that engineering is said to be everywhere, K-12 audiences command a limited, often wrong grasp of what engineers do. This presents some daunting facts for us to reckon with in devising efforts to expand participation in the field, whether for workforce needs or broadening diversity in engineering.
Read MoreGetting Started in K-12 Engineering Outreach
Start Engineering is a small company with a sharp focus: K-12 engineering outreach. We publish books, develop information resources, and collaborate with individuals and groups to bring a good word about engineering to K-12 audiences of all kinds.
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