Fourth Annual STEM Network Conference Expanded to Include
35 Breakout Sessions and
Live Webcast

The fourth annual Minnesota STEM Network conference featured a keynote by Linda Rosen, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Change the Equation.  Change the Equation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, CEO-led initiative that is mobilizing the business community to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning in the United States.  Dr. Rosen presented a rich overview of Minnesota’s standing among states’ STEM education progress and standards.

The annual conference also presented 35 breakout sessions featuring exemplary STEM programming or collaborations in Minnesota.  Presenters gave a 20-minute introduction to an evidence-based quality STEM program or collaboration addressing one of the five goals of the Network and then addressed questions.  Discussions focused on program growth and applicability in other settings. Informal networking and more structured speed networking were also features of this conference that drew 165 attendees from all sectors of STEM stakeholders.

The McGlynn Technology Center of St. Catherine University presented a live webcast from the conference.  The SciMathMN update, keynote presentation, and 20 sessions were webcast. A full description of sessions is available for downloading. These sessions are currently archived and available for viewing on the Panopto site until June 30th. You will need to log in with the username "STEM" and a password of "conf2013".

Technical requirements:

• Use a high speed internet connection to adequately view the streaming video. Use a wired cable connection for greatest speed, but high speed wireless will work.
• Update your browser and all plug-ins.
• Note: You must have Silverlight on your computer to view broadcasts.

[If you need Silverlight, a Microsoft product, you will be prompted to download and install this plugin to your computer. (PC Silverlight, MAC Silverlight) If you are not the administrator on your computer, contact your tech support team for help installing Silverlight. If you have trouble connecting to the recorded sessions, please contact mnstemnet@scimathmn.org for assistance.]

There were many great breakout sessions happening simultaneously at the conference.  Please take advantage of these archived sessions to learn more about exemplary STEM programs and collaborations across Minnesota.

SciMathMN greatly appreciates that this annual conference was co-sponsored by St. Catherine University, its National Center for STEM Elementary Education, Boston Scientific and the University of St. Thomas Center for Pre-Collegiate Engineering Education.

Mark Your Calendar for 2013 STEM Day at the State Fair

SciMathMN is excited to host the fourth annual STEM Day at the State Fair on Opening Day, Thursday, August 22nd.  Carousel Park will be filled between 9am and 5pm with STEM Fun!  Thirty exhibitors and stage presenters from their businesses, schools, organizations and universities will bring STEM activities for the whole family.

Northeast Minnesota STEM Network Meeting Attracts Overflow Audience

Over 100 stakeholders of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development attended the first meeting of the Northeast Minnesota STEM Network in Proctor on November 8, 2012.  This event brought together business, education, civic, and community leaders who have a stake in improving STEM education and workforce development in Northeast Minnesota.

Left to Right: Nathan Meyer, Aaron Fischer, Tom Jamar, Inez Wildwood, and Steve Kelley

The meeting began with a panel presentation about Northeast Minnesota STEM education and workforce development.  Steve Kelley, a board member of SciMathMN and Senior Fellow at the Humphrey School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, presented on the value of STEM Networks and in particular, a regional STEM Network in Northeast Minnesota.  Inez Wildwood of Allete, Inc. gave remarks on the value of STEM to Northeast Minnesota's future workforce.  Tom Jamar of Jasper Engineering followed with remarks about the Hibbing Engineering Committee,  Aaron Fischer, superintendent of Esko Schools, talked about working with the business community to prepare students for post-secondary education.  Nathan Meyer of University of Minnesota Extension described how educational opportunities outside the classroom contribute toward students' interest in STEM.

Attendees then met in small groups to discuss goals, short-term initiatives, and next steps for the network.  The groups shared their conclusions with the whole audience at the conclusion of the meeting.

A leadership team has formed following the meeting to help guide the collective work of the Northeast Minnesota STEM Network.  The team meets monthly and will determine when to hold the next regional meeting.

Thanks again to the sponsors who made it possible to offer the November 8th meeting without a registration fee.

Gold Level

Silver Level

Bronze Level

Questions may be directed to Anne Hornickel at ahornick@umn.edu.

Second Edition of Vital Signs Released

Change the Equation, a non-partisan, CEO-led initiative that is mobilizing the business community to improve the quality of STEM education in the United States, has produced a second edition of Vital Signs for each state.  The Vital Signs are data-rich summaries of STEM investment and achievement, such as:

• Workforce demands in STEM and non-STEM
• National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores in math and science
• Level of expectations set by state standards and assessments
• Achievement gaps among cultural backgrounds and income levels
• Teachers’ content knowledge in math and science
• Access to challenging math and science courses, and disparities among cultures

A local, separate initiative of the Wilder Foundation, Minnesota Compass cites four key measures in its education category:  3rd grade reading levels, 9th grade attendance, 11th grade math scores, and high school graduation.  The data can be broken down by regions, regional districts, and counties.    The key measures for economy and workforce are economic output (GDP); jobs; median income and educational attainment.

STEM Day at the State Fair—A Big Success

By all estimates, attendance at the third annual STEM Day at the State Fair doubled--serving nearly 4,000 visitors--compared to last year.  Carousel Park was humming with activity all day long as families enjoyed hands-on STEM activities.  Youth assembled planes on computers using 3D design software at the STARBASE booth, designed model wind turbines to generate the most electricity at the St. Cloud State booth, and saw a projection of the night sky in the ExploraDome of the Bell Museum of Natural History.

Everyone enjoyed testing structures against a model tsunami in a wave tank at the MTS Corp. booth and operating the robots built by FIRST Robotics teams.  Physics Force, the Chemistry Show, the Bakken Museum performers and the Raptor Center drew audiences on the hour.

In between shows, the Minnesota High Tech Association and the Minnesota Department of Education announced the expansion and regional development of getSTEM, a service linking 'asks' and 'offers' between business and education.  Dale Klapmeier, co-founder and CEO of Cirrus Aircraft and chair of AirSpace Minnesota, announced the first annual Minnesota Aerospace and Aviation Week held from September 16 - 22, 2012.

We are grateful for the financial support of our sponsors: An individual gift from Mike and Becky Thyken and corporate support from 3M, ATK, Boston Scientific, H.B. Fuller and MTS Systems.  In-kind support was provided by the University of Minnesota and Seagate.

Strategic Planning Update

CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) completed its research and recommendations on strategic planning for the Minnesota STEM Network.  Ben Aase of CLA presented an overview of research outcomes informing their recommendations for directions for the network. 

CLA project consultants
-reviewed background documents on SciMathMN and early network materials;
-implemented a survey to 635 individual stakeholders which collected responses from 238 individuals -representing 185 organizations;
-studied five other state STEM networks—Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin;
-interviewed 111 STEM stakeholders through individual interviews and focus groups in  Brainerd, Rochester, Minneapolis, and St. Cloud.

The research led to these key recommendations that would deliver the greatest value for a state STEM network:

Engage Network members in building excitement for STEM disciplines and public awareness of the importance of a strong STEM workforce to Minnesota’s future.

Foster and support the development of Regional Hubs to encourage cross-sector collaborations, implement regional STEM education goals and promote STEM learning opportunities.

Support the dissemination of high quality STEM education practices across sectors and regional hubs.

Collect and disseminate research on STEM learning and statewide progress in metrics to stakeholders, including regional hubs, and state legislators.

Organize a coalition of funders that support STEM education and provide them with a perspective on high quality STEM programming and develop standards for funding.

Increase awareness of professional development opportunities in the community of formal and informal educators, and foster collaboration to make these opportunities more widely available.

At the afternoon plenary session of the annual meeting the attendees discussed revisions to the Network's existing goals in light of these recommendations.

Recent Articles and Reports of Interest

Download these recent STEM Education articles and reports on regional, state, and national issues and assessments on STEM education.

Report to the President: Engage to Excel: Producing one million additional college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Executive Office of the President. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. February 2012

Examining an Early Childhood to Early Career Educational Partnership in the Twin Cities.  A Report of the Strive Working Group, October 2011.

Government Accounting Office (GAO) Studies Overlapping programs in STEM across Multiple Agencies – January 2012

Iowa STEM Education Roadmap: A Strategic Plan for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education 2011.

One Minneapolis Community Indicators Report, prepared by the Minneapolis Foundation and the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, October 2011.

P-20 STEM Achievement Gap Strategic Plan.  A STEM Achievement Gap Strategic Planning Workgroup Final Report, December 2011.

Carnevale, A., Smith, N., and Melton, M. STEM – Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, October 2011.