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Iowans line up for
lines of code
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Two fifth-grade students take on the "Hour of Code" during Computer Science Education Week at Cora B. Darling Elementary-Middle School in Postville, a 2014 Code Iowa awardee.
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Whether it is one line, one hour or a year-long journey into coding, schools and organizations across Iowa are preparing for another year of Code Iowa.
The STEM Council, Google, Verizon and
NewBoCo will team up for the third year of
Code Iowa, focused on encouraging more Iowans to take on Code.org's "
Hour of Code," an international challenge for students around the world to try computer science. The big event kicks off December 5, 2016, which is the start of Computer Science Education Week and the beginning of a year-round lift in Iowa for the "T" in STEM.
A lift that will hopefully meet a critical demand for more experts in the fields of information technology, according to Code.org, who reports that there are nearly 3,600 open computing jobs in Iowa right now but only 380 recent computer science (CS) graduates to fill them. Several initiatives are underway to see more coding in Iowa schools, including proposed state legislation and the recently-released
K-12 CS Framework created by dozens of partnering groups and Code.org.
Plus, the STEM Council is developing an Iowa-based matrix of CS options similar to Rhode Island's matrix that showcases the best known CS offerings available to educators.
As part of those efforts, Code Iowa provides both schools and informal organizations around the state with the opportunity to receive one of six, $3,500 technology awards in December. Those that participate will become "Certified Code Iowa Partners" and be eligible for free CS trainings in early 2017 through Code.org, Kodable and Oracle Academy.
Last year, Code.org estimated that more than 590,000 Iowans took part in the "Hour of Code," including nearly 500 schools and organizations. Since 2013, participation has doubled every year, so if history repeats itself, Iowa could reach at least one million participants this year -- but we need your help!
Is your school or organization participating? Submit an application or register your event by November 18, 2016 at
www.IowaSTEM.gov/CodeIowa.
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November 2, 2016
STEM BEST® Partner
Public Announcement
November 10, 2016
Cedar Valley Family STEM Festival
4:00 to 7:30 PM
Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center
Waterloo, Iowa
More Information
November 18, 2016
Code Iowa Technology Award Applications Due
More Information
November 18, 2016
Iowa STEM Equity Training
Applications Due
More Information
November 30, 2016
Washington County STEM Festival
4:00 to 7:00 PM
Kirkwood Washington County Regional Center
Washington, Iowa
More Information
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STEM BEST® Partner: "INSPIRE" at Davenport West High School
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Davenport West High School students Brandon Seamer, 10th grade, and Kailey Fellner, 12th grade, work side-by-side on real-word projects for companies like MA Ford with their school's CNC machine. It is part of the "INSPIRE" program, a 2015 STEM BEST Partner.
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"Davenport West High School is working to ensure that the coursework offered is reflective of community needs and meant to graduate students into post-secondary programs that further their manufacturing education, with eventual placement in local jobs that strengthen the industry in the Quad Cities," said Jennifer Boyd, curriculum specialist for Davenport West High School's "INSPIRE" program.
Program leaders used the $25,000 STEM BEST award to build a manufacturing pathway within its school-wide effort called, "INSPIRE," that helps students identify, select and pursue college and career opportunities available locally to them.
Boyd says 13 students in grades 10-12 work in the manufacturing pathway this year, including three female students, with interest from 43 new applicants for the coming academic year.
And, the business and community support has helped corral that interest with mentors visiting the classrooms regularly or connecting digitally to help students work through challenging problems. Scott Community College even offers a basic electricity certificate to students completing the Advanced Manufacturing Career Academy through INSPIRE. Another partner, MA Ford, hired two students this past year for a more immersive, work-based learning internship as well.
"As our program has become more established, the number of applicants has increased substantially, and the number of interested mentors has grown as well," Boyd said. "Our lead teachers have also begun receiving requests from teachers in other districts to visit and view the integrated capstone course being run, and they are more than happy to share. Progress is very positive at this point, and we look forward to continuing to build this innovative program."
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PowerTeaching Math scales to power excitement for the "M" in STEM
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Seventh grade Kinglsey-Pierson Middle School students use mathematics and teamwork to build projects as part of PowerTeaching Math, a new program equipping STEM Scale-Up Program educators to teach mathematics this year.
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Creating student-centered classrooms is at the heart of STEM. Fortunately, several thousand classrooms and out-of-school environments will experience this type of learning through Iowa's
STEM Scale-Up Program.
Educators in Iowa applied for programs on the menu in early 2016 and were awarded and trained for these programs this summer. Now, educators like Valerie Sitzmann, a mathematics teacher at Kinglsey-Pierson Middle School in Kingsley, have started using the program and are noticing big shifts in student attitude and achievement.
"In the past, I thought I had a pretty student-centered classroom, but I can now see that I was wrong about that. The students have so much more ownership in their learning now with the cooperative learning strategies and team building that are a part of
PowerTeaching Math (PTM)," Sitzmann said. "This has also leveled the playing field for the students, and everyone has their role on the team. They all have to work together if they are going to be successful."
PTM is one of 11 programs currently being employed by nearly 1,700 educators across Iowa through the STEM Scale-Up Program. PTM puts a spin on mathematics by removing a textbook and creating environments where small, mixed-ability teams can discuss problems, master solutions and develop teamwork skillsets together.
This is the first year educators in Iowa have used PTM, including 10 schools and roughly 1,900 students impacted through the STEM Scale-Up Program partnership. Sitzmann encourages other educators to consider applying for a program in early 2017.
"When I am struggling with some of the issues with launching a new curriculum, like time-prepping lessons, paperwork, learning new curriculum, I always go back and look at the growth my students are making and their increased problem-solving abilities," she said. "I know that applying for the STEM Scale-Up Program was the right choice because in the end, it is all for the students."
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MVP for Iowa STEM: Paul Schickler and DuPont Pioneer
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DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler reviews a list of STEM Council opportunities during conversations on guiding the Iowa STEM movement forward. |
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To October's MVP for Iowa STEM, continued success for STEM in Iowa creates a better future for feeding people in the state and billions around the globe. That is why
DuPont Pioneer, a business committed to helping farmers produce bountiful crops throughout the world, and its President Paul Schickler devote time, talent and gifts that have helped nourish the flourishing STEM roots of Iowa.
The talent shared by DuPont Pioneer, including Schickler, an original member of the STEM Council's executive committee, as well as Robin (Habeger) Greubel, academic outreach manager, and John Arbuckle, vice president of crop genetics research and development, among many others, have helped shape STEM Council opportunities to meet the needs of Iowa's agricultural industry. Greubel helped develop recommendations for both the Business Engagement and STEM Support of Agriculture Science working groups, and Arbuckle serves on the South Central Regional STEM Advisory Board.
DuPont Pioneer hosted STEM leaders just last month from across the Midwest and beyond for the STEM Council's fourth annual Midwest STEM Forum. The company's outstanding facility in Johnston has also been home to a handful of regional STEM advisory board meetings.
In the last year, DuPont Pioneer has supported the development of the
Agora: STEM Learning Communities for collaboration among
STEM Scale-Up Program educators and helped launch an opportunity for Iowa schools to build
Iowa STEM Equity training teams through the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE). The company also supported the STEM Council in reaching thousands of students in Washington, D.C. in 2014 at the USA Science and Engineering Festival. And, DuPont Pioneer opened its facility to a film crew earlier this year to develop an
Iowa STEM Career video, helping inspire students with how they "work the bugs out."
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We will need farmers, scientists and agronomists, and we will need leaders in global health, finance, environment, rural development, logistics, information technology, digital engineering and other roles that people may not think of when it comes to food and agriculture," Schickler said. "That one student who participates in a STEM Council program may be the one who has the science breakthrough to feed billions of people."
Thank you, Mr. Schickler and DuPont Pioneer, as well as the other 46 members of the
Governor's STEM Advisory Council
and their leadership for growing STEM throughout Iowa.
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