Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council

Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council at a glance (Acrobat (PDF) 182kB Jun12 15)

Unite the assets and stakeholder groups of Iowa in increasing the interest and achievement of K-12 youth in the STEM areas for post-secondary and career readiness.

Operations center housed as a department at the University of Northern Iowa, multiple
Established: 2011

https://iowastem.org/

Profile submitted by Jeffrey Weld

Vision and Goals

Unite the assets and stakeholder groups of Iowa in increasing the interest and achievement of K-12 youth in the STEM areas for post-secondary and career readiness.

Center/Program Structure

Six Iowa colleges and universities function as "hubs" for a statewide STEM network, providing staffing, funding, and support for the implementation of programming solutions across the state. They are the University of Iowa in partnership with Kirkwood Community College, Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa, Southwest Iowa Community College, and Iowa Lakes Community College. Funding is channeled from a state appropriation to the University of Northern Iowa, fiscal agent for the Governor's STEM Advisory Council. A small staff of four full-time operate the administrative center. Each hub institution employs a regional STEM manager plus support staff.

Description of Programming

"Clients" of Iowa STEM range from pre-K through college, and include families and communities as targets of some programs. Programs include:

1. STEM Scale-Up Program. Approximately 60 percent of the annual state appropriation ($3.1M) is devoted to almost 3,000 educators throughout Iowa who will collectively engage more than 100,000 young learners with top STEM Scale-Up programs for the 2015-2016 academic year. Each year, the STEM Council evenly distributes STEM programming across all six STEM regions. This year through a competitive proposal process in partnership with the esteemed national organization, "Change the Equation," the STEM Council selected 14 high-quality STEM programs to "scale up" across Iowa's schools, after-school programs and other settings for grades Pre-K through 12 starting July 1, 1015. These programs range from building robots and wind turbines to virtual reality and STEM career awareness, demonstrating an appeal to diverse youth, success in improving academic performance, evidence of integrating STEM concepts, development of school-business-community partnerships and sustainability beyond the STEM Council financial support. Results from the 2013-2014 Iowa STEM evaluation report show more than 90 percent of students who participated in a STEM Scale-Up program reported higher interest in at least one STEM subject or career. Nearly 75 percent of participating teachers report greater skill and confidence in teaching STEM and continue their program after the STEM Council's financial support ends. Vignettes of the STEM Scale-Up Programs can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYZugndwdfe5aAIVHLwkrSU8b5TRGerxb

2. STEM Festivals. Each region is required to conduct (at least) one STEM festival per year. The form of such festival(s) may be a conference or event. The regional STEM manager engages (or assigns to a planner or planning committee) a broad range of partners throughout the region in organizing, presenting, and participating in the event. STEM festivals are engaging, free, hands-on educational experiences for Pre-K-12 youth and their families. Eligible activities may include stage events, exhibits, as well as sessions to boost students' interest in STEM.

3. STEM Education Award. The Governor's STEM Advisory Council and Kemin Industries teamed up to honor certified K-12 teachers in Iowa who teach a science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics subject and who are inspiring Iowa's students to develop a passion for STEM subjects. The STEM Education Award is dedicated to honoring one teacher from each of the six Iowa STEM Regions for their contribution and dedication to STEM in Iowa. Each recipient receives a $1,500 award and $1,500 to be used in their classroom.

4. Microsoft IT Academy. The Microsoft IT Academy program is a software and systems certification program that bridges the world of education with the world of work. The program is designed to help drive employability, digital literacy, technical and STEM-focused training and certification, and 21st-century workforce development for students. Iowa's STEM Council and Microsoft IT Academy have partnered to provide 150 Iowa high schools and community colleges with the programming.

5. Code Iowa. The STEM Council partnered with Code.org in its second international, educational movement called, "Hour of Code." This partnership, referred to as "Code Iowa," localized Code.org's effort to introduce 100 million students around the world to at least one hour of computer coding. In Iowa, nearly 50 schools registered to be Certified Code Iowa Partners and more than 10,000 students take part in the "Hour of Code" during Computer Science Education Week. Each year, Code.org awards one school in each state with a $10,000 technology award based on its proposal that outlines how the school plans to implement at least one hour of computer coding into its curriculum this week for every grade level. With the support of Google, Iowa's STEM Council partnered with Code.org for a technology award of $4,000 each to five more schools — one in each STEM region that did not win the Code.org award. The intended use of this $4,000 award is for the purchase of instructional technology/equipment related to the support of ideas drawn from the "Hour of Code" experience.

6. STEM Teaching Endorsement. A committee of the STEM Council worked with Iowa's Board of Educational Examiners to debut a new STEM endorsement for K-12 teachers. We are now working with Iowa's colleges and universities to build the course pathway toward this endorsement. (See Community College and Four Year College STEM Networks below.)

7. STEM-Focused Classrooms. The STEM Council's priorities for FY2014 included establishing STEM-focused schools and classrooms. The STEM Council designated a matched portion of the state funding to promote Redesigned STEM Learning Environments. Through a competitive proposal process four awards were made in fall of 2013 from a pool of 23 school district applicants. The hallmarks of the winners included (a) the design of a 21st century learning space, (b) the preparation of educators capable of conducting student-centered, active, problem-solving instruction, and (c) purposeful connections to local business partners. Video vignettes of the four schools can be found at: https://www.iowastem.gov/stemclassrooms. Another round of competition is set for 2015.

8. OECD Test for Schools. In 2013-14, the State of Iowa participated in the international benchmarking OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Test for Schools at no cost to selected schools thanks to grant funding through Innovate + Education to the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council. The STEM Council undertook this partnership for the value it brought to participating schools and their communities to gauge student academic performance against an international yardstick and enhance school improvement efforts. The OECD Test provided data to answer the increasingly important question, "How do I know if what we are doing is preparing students for success in the global economy?" Results helped equip these schools to lead community dialogue with leaders in education, business and government regarding strengths as well as needs for preparing 21st century high school graduates. This, in turn, helped to bolster Iowa's work to create world-class schools, as well as to identify learning gaps toward that we can strive to close through policy and programming.

9. Real World Externships for Teachers of Mathematics, Science, and Technology. The Real World Externships program for teachers of mathematics, science, engineering and technology aims to help teachers answer the age-old question from students: "When will I ever use this?" During the summer, educators work side-by-side with knowledgeable and skilled industry employees who help bring the classroom curriculum to life. Teacher Externships provide educators with the exposure to answer questions about real-world application, how to prepare students for careers they may have in the future, and improve the overall educational experiences. Teacher Externships began in the summer of 2009 and place about 50 teachers in industry and agency settings each year. A 3-minute overview is available at http://www.iowastem.gov/externships

10. STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers). The STEM Council has established, through a 2014 competitive bid process, five cost-sharing innovative and replicable Iowa STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) sites that immerse students in professional career environments without the need for new buildings or classrooms. Funding supports professional development that equips teams of educators and business partners to provide learning experiences driven by business and industry needs, a rigorous, relevant and dynamic STEM curriculum, and authentic partnerships.

11. STEM Messaging Campaign. In 2013, year two of the Council's existence, the need for public awareness of the Council's mission had become apparent. So was the need to enlist the citizens of Iowa in the work. Through competitive bidding a cost-sharing public relations partner was identified to help with branding and messaging through web platforms, social media, cable and network television, billboards, events, fairs, news stories and more. Random surveys of adult Iowans revealed that the percentage aware of STEM and its importance grew from 26% in fall of 2013 to 41% a year later, equating to 963,078 more Iowans supporting the STEM Council's initiatives.

12. Business Engagement Toolkit. The "Guidelines for Business-Education Partnerships in STEM" lists programs that engage business and education through the STEM Council. Iowa businesses are invited to invest in a variety of ways, whether in the form of time, talents, or in some instances, treasures. Positive change in the quality of our workforce comes from STEM education. Partnerships with businesses, nonprofit organizations, and industries are very important to a dynamic STEM education.

13. Major STEM Events. The STEM Council hosts several major events throughout the year. These include the Midwest STEM Forum, STEM Day at the Iowa State Fair (August), STEM Day at the Capitol (February) and the annual Iowa STEM Summit (March). An archive of the STEM conferences and meetings can be found at: http://www.iowastem.gov/advisory-council/governors-stem-advisory-council/archived-meeting-minutes

14. STEM Monitoring Report. In addition to the STEM Scale-Up Program evaluation, a consortium of evaluation centers at the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Iowa, and Iowa State University develop and publish an annual Iowa STEM Monitoring Report: http://iowastem.gov/sites/default/files/Iowa_STEM_Year_in_Review_Monitoring_Report%281%29.pdf

Successes and Impacts

An external evaluative consortium of the Center for Social and Behavioral Research at UNI, the Research Institute for Studies in Education at ISU, and the Center for Evaluation and Assessment at UI generates an annual report for Iowa STEM. Strong gains are being seen in a number of indicators. A snapshot of annual gains plus the entire annual report are available at http://www.iowastem.gov/sites/default/files/Iowa_STEM_Year_in_Review_Monitoring_Report%281%29.pdf