Category Archives: K-12

About or related to primary (k-12) science and engineering education. Likely of interest to teachers and administrators. Teachers may also find many of the posts we feel are of interests to students interested in science and engineering useful.

Amber’s Science Talent Search Blog

Photo of Amber and others with checks

Photo, left to right: Erika Ammons, Intel; Amanda Berry; Dr. A. J. Galindo, teacher at my school; Amber Hess; Tami Casey, Intel.

Amber’s 2005 Intel Science Talent Search Blog. Today the 300 semifinalist for 2006 were announced. Amber’s blog recounts her experience in 2005.

The CNN broadcast aired today. I was on NewsNight with Aaron Brown. They did a great job with me in a segment that lasted about three minutes, although they showed stock footage that included microscope images of chromosomes while we were discussing my project. They were either alluding to the genetic differences between women and men (I don’t think so), or they thought that “chromatography” and “chromosomes” were similar. Not really, but whatever! Nonetheless, I am mad at CNN right now because they didn’t show very much of Amanda. I think something “important” also aired that day, and they needed more room for it, so they cut her out. Bleah…but I am happy that they did not make me look stupid. All of this has been really exciting!

Also see, Amber Hess’ 2005 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Blog

Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists

Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists Named

300 teens have been named semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS). The Intel STS is America’s oldest, most highly regarded pre-college science competition and heir to more than six decades of science excellence. View a list of the semifinalists.

The Intel Foundation will award $1,000 to each semifinalist with a matching amount going to their schools. Intel implemented the school award in 2000 and since then has contributed more than $2 million to help improve math and science in U.S. high schools.

Over the past 65 years, STS alumni have received more than 100 of the world’s most coveted science and math honors including six Nobel Prizes, three National Medals of Science, 10 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, and two Fields Medals.

This year’s semifinalists were selected from 1,558 entrants representing 486 high schools in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and an overseas school. Their research projects cover all disciplines of science including biochemistry, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, behavioral science and medicine and health. Students range in age from 15 to 18 with females representing 53 percent of the total entrants.

More than 100 top scientists from a variety of disciplines review and judge all Intel STS entries and examine each individual’s research ability, scientific originality and creative thinking. From these 300 semifinalists, 40 finalists will be announced on Jan. 25. These students will take an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Intel Science Talent Institute. There they will participate in final judging and compete for college scholarships totaling more than $500,000. Winners will be selected based on rigorous judging sessions and announced at a black-tie banquet on March 14.

Science Service is the nonprofit organization which has administered the Science Talent Search since its inception in 1942. The mission of Science Service is to advance the understanding and appreciation of science. In addition to its education programs, Science Service publishes the weekly magazine Science News.

Online Math Tutors

Indian math teachers to teach American kids real time

Online tutoring has made it possible for a learner in the US to log on to a tutoring site in India and get connected to an Indian mathematics tutor. Both can discuss the problems that the student is facing by chatting or “writing” over a WhiteBoard.
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the US Federal government for supplemental services to improve student performance in the lowest performing schools. Schools are themselves barred from providing these services which instead must be provided by third party commercial companies.

The US market has a ‘K12’ (Kindergarten to Class 12) content spend of over $10.2 billion, an assessment market of $ 2 billion and an online tutoring market of over $4 billion.

Most IT Jobs Ever in USA Today

Blue Skies Ahead for IT Jobs by Maria Klawe (dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and a professor of computer science at Princeton University) in CIO magazine:

Contrary to popular belief, career opportunities in computer science [in the USA] are at an all-time high.
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The latest figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show that the number of computing-related jobs has surpassed the previous peak in 2000. What is more, computing-related jobs are no longer an isolated component of American industries; IT underpins every function of the business community—market research, product design, finance, strategic planning, environmental issues—every aspect of doing and leading.

Looking at the actual data, is becoming a theme through many of our posts recently. Many believe IT opportunities are decreasing, but the labor department data shows this is not the case.

The preparation we need starts in grades K-12, when many students turn away from math and science. A key problem is that children receive very little exposure to real projects and careers in engineering and applied science.

The idea that the education system is a key to creating a supply of capable workers is widely recognized. Now we just need to actually making the changes people are talking about. This article gives a number of interesting suggestions.

At Princeton, a new integrated course that combines computer science, biology, physics and chemistry has attracted several women to major in computer science.

Information Technology has become integral to most significant efforts in most organizations today. Organizations need, IT engineers to work in cooperation with other experts to implement solutions.

$71 Million for Texas STEM Initiative

$71 Million Committed to Launch the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (TSTEM) Initiative:

The $71 million public-private partnership, a new effort of the THSP, will establish 35 small schools that offer focused teaching and learning opportunities in STEM subject areas and five to six STEM Centers to develop high-quality teachers and schools. The highest-quality education in these subjects is critical to workforce development in Texas and to ensuring that the United States keeps its competitive edge as a world leader in scientific and technological innovation.

The Future of Engineering Education

The future of engineering education an interview with Emma Shepherdson who studied this topic for her doctorate at MIT.

The student’s experience is not passive, she is forced to engage in a dialogue with the module as she proceeds through it. Her progress is fully controlled, ensuring she interacts appropriately with the material; and yet the environment still allows for a sense of play and experimentation. This effectively engages the student through continuous deep feedback, tailored specifically to the student’s own interaction with the material.

Also on the ARUP site: Time to push the secret art of engineering by Richard Haryott:

In the United Kingdom alone, applications in most disciplines – and certainly those in the built environment – have fallen by some 50 per cent in five years and they are still falling.

The problem is not confined to the UK but effects, to a greater or lesser extent, much of the western world. There are, no doubt, many reasons for this. Arguably one of the greatest is that the understanding that engineering is a highly creative art – albeit one requiring a deep understanding of the exciting sciences that underpin it – remains something of a secret.

Formula One Race Car Engineering by Students

Schools Innovation Design Challenge National Finals, Australia:

Victoria University set up the Victorian arm of the project, which involved 18 secondary schools from metropolitan and regional Victoria for Years 7-10 students to design, manufacture, test and race model F1 cars.

VU’s Program Manager Schools, Joe Micallef said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity for secondary students, who have been able to use sophisticated engineering technology – some of which professional engineers haven’t even used yet.”
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And the students are not just competing for honour, the outright national champions will receive an all-expenses -paid trip to the UK to represent Australia at the World Finals next January.

Formula One team success for Longreach students

Fast-tracking engineering knowhow:

“We’re trying to get kids interested in engineering and manufacturing careers,” said Re-Engineering Australia national project manager Paul Bray.

“So we’re giving them access to the same tools that are being used by industry to design and make these things so they can see that it really is practical and fun.”

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)

Students at FIRST Robotics competition

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is a “multinational non-profit organization, that aspires to transform culture, making science, math, engineering, and technology as cool for kids as sports are today.”

FIRST Robotics Competition – In 2005 the competition reached close to 25,000 high-school-aged young people on close to 1,000 teams in 30 competitions. Teams came from Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Israel, Mexico, the U.K., and almost every U.S. state.

The FIRST Vexâ„¢ Challenge (FVC) is a pilot, mid-level robotics competition for high-school students. It offers the traditional challenge of a FIRST competition but with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit. FIRST is currently piloting the FIRST Vex Challenge as a potential FIRST program.

Siemens Westinghouse Competition Winners

Siemens Westinghouse Competition press release:

Michael Viscardi, a senior who is home schooled, won the $100,000 Grand Prize scholarship in the individual category for mathematics research with real-world engineering implications. Anne Lee, a senior at Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Albert Shieh, a junior at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, won the $100,000 prize in the team category, which they will share equally, for developing new software that more accurately analyzes genetic data.

Articles on the competition (I like the local focus of the headlines):

Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology web site. Their web site, and the articles above, provide interesting details on the highly advanced work of the participating high school students.

The Siemens Foundation provides more than $2 million in college scholarships and awards each year for talented high school students in the United States.