A blog post this morning by Change the Equation offers a concise assessment of the recently released government report, “The Condition of Education.” The good news, according to Change the Equation, is that the past two decades have seen rises in 4th and 8th grade math scores.  On the flip side, 12th graders haven’t fared as positively, with numbers relatively stagnant over the same time period, causing concerns over “evaporating gains” between 8th and 12th grades.  The “no news” referred to in the post’s title?  Information on where 12th graders stand in science.  Due to the change in science frameworks, looking at data over time would be meaningless.  Change the Equation makes the point that no news is actually harmful: “If we’re serious about getting many more students ready for college and careers in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM), we can’t very well tolerate such a serious blind spot in 12th grade.”
See on www.changetheequation.org

Once focused on college and university grads as the primary source of potential new employees, more and more companies that need workers with solid STEM skills are looking at talent in middle and high schools. So says James Brown, Executive Director of the STEM Education Coalition. “To the extent that you’re really trying to look at the big picture … [companies are betting] that if we make the pipeline stronger there, it will have ripple effects upwards,” he says. And how do you encourage and nurture talent at the K-12 level? Make STEM subjects fun. Get students excited about STEM through inquiry-based learning, and competitions like science fairs. Clearly, corporate resources can have a tremendous impact on improving the quality of STEM education in the country, and more and more corporations seem to understand that the eventual payoff — in the form of well-trained employees — is worth the investment.
See on www.washingtonpost.com

These days, there’s no need for anyone interested in pursing greater knowledge of STEM subjects to be constrained by course offerings at their local schools and universities. The Internet opens up a world of possibilities for the studious and curious alike. OnlineUniversities.com has put together a list of 50 free, online sources of STEM education, including lectures by Ivy-league professors and Nobel Laureates, IT tutorials, educational media from lie likes of National Geographic and NASA, entire courses, and scholarly articles.
Via www.onlineuniversities.com

A post by Grace Suh on the Citizen IBM blog offers a former English major’s perspective on the importance of math education for both college and career. Suh emphasizes the need to “bring math to life for young people” through an approach that offers context in addition to conveying skills.  Resources that she suggests include IBM’s free iPad app, “Minds of Modern Mathematics,” and the hands-on learning website, Teachers TryScience.
Via citizenibm.com

An interesting infographic by Teach.com illustrates the downward trajectory of STEM education in the US. Starting in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik, the infographic tracks various threads of data through the years, from STEM doctoral degrees conferred to US versus non-US citizens annually to the percentage of top-performing high school students who major in STEM.  It’s a well-designed, thought-provoking piece that brings the current challenges facing STEM education to light in living color.

Via teach.com 

A lot of learning can happen at the junction of math and music, according to music teacher (and blogger) Ruth Catchen. From learning fractions to gaining an understanding of space and proportion, students can pick up many mathematically relevant skills from their music studies. “The arts inspire creativity, self-expression, critical thinking and problem solving,” she writes. “It is an opportunity not only for students to open the door to see how things are made, why things happen, and discover another way to do something, but also to experience in real life and action how mathematical concepts and functions relate to music in a tangible way.”
Via ruthcatchen.wordpress.com