STEM Education Resources

STEM Educator Associations

Local

• RI Science Teachers Association (RISTA)
• RI Mathematics Teachers Association (RIMTA)
• RI Technology & Engineering Educators (RITEEA)

National

• STEM Leadership Alliance
• STEM Teacher Leadership Network
• National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
• National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA)
• International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA)
• American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)

Teaching Resources

• My PBLWorks from Buck Institute: To help schools and districts visualize high-quality PBL in the classroom, the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) has videos showcasing PBL projects from K–12 schools nationwide, including several STEM-themed projects. The projects employ BIE’s research-based Gold Standard PBL model, which emphasizes student learning goals and the incorporation of Essential Project Design Elements (a challenging problem, sustained inquiry, reflection, critique and revision, student voice and choice, and a public product). Teachers can view videos of successful PBL projects that feature teacher interviews and actual classroom footage and highlight projects from a range of grade levels, settings, and subject areas, including STEM.
• National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP): The NGCP brings together organizations throughout the United States that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The goals of NGCP are maximize access to shared resources within projects, and with public and private sector organizations and institutions interested in expanding girls’ participation in STEM, strengthen capacity of existing and evolving projects by sharing exemplary practice research and program models, outcomes, and products, and use the leverage of a network and the collaboration of individual girl-serving STEM programs to create the tipping point for gender equity in STEM.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Resources for STEM Education: NSF research and development projects have produced a rich array of principles, materials,and practitioner insights that are helpful guides to improved preparation and professional development of STEM teachers. The following examples illustrate the range of ideas and products available from that work.
• Spark101: Students learn how real challenges are addressed in business, government, nonprofits, and academic institutions. Professionals from our employer partners guide them to develop solutions and understand the careers. Spark 101 is a program of the 114th Partnership, a national non-profit organization that ensures productive partnerships between educators and employers that connect classwork to professional pathways so that all students graduate from school prepared for college and career.
• Stairway to STEM: Stairway to STEM is an online resource for autistic students, their parents, and post-secondary STEM instructors. Our mission is to help autistic students realize their capacity for success as they transition to college environments and beyond. We support student confidence, resiliency, and self-advocacy. The goal of the project is to produce tools and events designed to build awareness of academic and employer-based STEM programs among autistic individuals as well as promote existing evidence-based practices to an expanded community of educational institutions, autistic students, and their families and employers.
• STEAM at Work 4 Kids: A collection of profiles of professionals in STEAM fields. Each one includes background and links to videos and resources that are related to the person’s field. This is regularly updated.
• STEMWorks at WestEd: STEMworks is a searchable online honor roll of high-quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs. STEMworks helps companies, states, and individuals make smart investments in their communities by evaluating and cataloging programs that meet rigorous and results-driven design principles.

STEM Education Research & Reports

• STEM Connector: STEMconnector is a professional services firm committed to increasing the number of STEM-ready (Science Technology Engineering Math) workers in the global talent pool. They provide a platform to engage leaders in both public and private sectors who collectively are re-envisioning the workforce. Working with pioneering leaders across over 200 organizations, their overall goal is to inform, stimulate and connect leaders with a passion for and vested interest in growing a STEM-ready workforce.
• STEM4Collaboration: A research-based document authored by Advance CTE, Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics, Council of State Science Supervisors, and International Technology and Engineering Educators Association in 2018. This document identifies and examines the three main principles to drive STEM education.
• English Learners in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives (2018) was published by the National Academies Press to address the best practices to include and support English Learners as they are learning STEM concepts. This publication includes discussion of factors that determine access to STEM classes, the roles of cultural connections and language acquisition within STEM instruction, effective instructional strategies, connecting with families and communities, the need for educator preparation and in-service professional development, assessing STEM learning, and building capacity to transform STEM learning for English Learners. Free pdf download available.