See on www.spacedaily.com
Archive for Creativity and Innovation
Innovative Solar Space Imager Gets NASA Training Award
The Creative Side of Science
When the subject turns to engineering, too many students’ eyes glaze over. But far from being a boring subject, many engineering fields require vast amounts of creativity.
An article in yesterday’s Albuquerque Journal makes the point that students need to get the full picture of engineering — and other science fields — and realize that a lot of what STEM is about is creating new things. “In a survey of teens, we find that they have high regard for engineering as a profession, but don’t know what engineers do or how much they make,” said Intel Education Manager Carlos Contreras, lamenting the lack of well-qualified applicants for STEM jobs as a significant problem for tech companies like Intel.
Read Albuquerque Journal’s full article on creativity in STEM fields here.
See on www.abqjournal.com
Intel’s SciArt Series: Beauty + Innovation
The projects from around the world that made it into this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair are outstanding examples of student innovation. Through its SciArt Series, Intel added a dimension to the students’ scientific breakthroughs by inviting artists to represent them through original pieces of art. Take a look at the beauty that Intel discovered at the intersection of art and science.
See on sciart.intel.com
Making Project Based Learning Authentic
Jim Vanides, Education Program Manager, Sustainability & Social Innovation at Hewlett-Packard, makes a case for project-based learning that is tangible, relevant, and authentic in a blog post on Tech Trends. Referring to the concept as “STEM(+) for Good,” Vanides defines it further as learning that engages students in the challenge of finding solutions to real-world challenges and problems. “After all, high tech companies are not looking to hire students who only know how to solve the ‘problems at the end of the chapter,’” Vanides writes. “Corporations and communities need graduates who can think, create, and innovate. STEM(+) students who are ready to solve REAL problems – those that have yet to be solved, or even questions that have yet to be asked – are the students who are most prepared and will be most sought after.” What existing programs and projects exemplify STEM(+) for Good? Vanides points to several in his blog post, including The Challenge of Water Quality project, Engineering Projects in Community Service, and the Center for Digital Inclusion.
Via h30507.www3.hp.com
Are Science Standards Taught as if They Were Bricks?
In an interesting article in “The Art of Teaching Science,” Jack Hassard, Professor Emeritus of Science Education at Georgia State University, explores Dewey’s thoughts on learning as an interactive “informal” process in light of today’s science standards. One of the conclusions he reaches: “To create science standards that reflect a consensus among researchers in cognitive science, they must be written in such a way the content aims are combined with the skill or processes needed to help students have a chance at meaningful learning.” Good stuff.
Via www.artofteachingscience.org
How Well Does Your School District Nurture Creativity?
Some states, including Massachusetts, seem to be taking this question seriously. Along with states including California and Oklahoma, Massachusetts has a commission in place to examine the potential for an index measuring the extent to which schools foster innovation and creativity. The goal would be to move toward a more balanced curriculum through a system that would “rate every public school on teaching, encouraging, and fostering creativity in students” and be based “in part on the creative opportunities in each school.” According to Massachusetts commission member Jonathan Rappaport of Arts/Learning in Natick, “Our charge is to figure out what the index should be and how it would be implemented. The effort, referred to as the Creative Challenge Index, would exist to “measure inputs, to show what opportunities kids have in their school day,” Rappaport said.
Via www.edweek.org
