STEM+ [Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics] +PLUS+

Sending missions to Mars for a living sounds like a dream job. But not every day can be launch day - so what do Nasa's spacecraft engineers get up to the rest of the time?

Dr Farah Alibay is based at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and works on the InSight mission - which lifted off to Mars in May 2018.

It aims to land on the planet in November and have a look inside - taking its internal temperature and listening for "Marsquakes" to learn more about how our nearest neighbour formed.

A new report from the Toy Association aims to bring the fun into STEM education while dispelling a few myths.

The report, "Decoding STEM/STEAM," examines common myths related to STEM education, such as the idea that being good at math is an in-born quality, that students must be highly proficient in math to explore other areas of STEM, that memorization is a central part of STEM careers or that only white men are welcomed into STEM fields as professionals.

The report also looks into the differences between formal and informal learning, such as the former generally being teacher-led while the latter tends to be self-directed, or the fact that formal learning tends to be segregated by age, while informal learning often spans generations.

BJC Curriculum

In this course, you will create programs using the Snap programming language, you will learn some of the most powerful ideas of computer science, you will be creative, and you will discuss the social implications of computing, thinking deeply about how you can be personally active in promoting the benefits and reducing the possible harms.

Australia is late to the party in relation to the space sector, according to the newly-appointed Australian Government space tsar Megan Clark, but we’ve ended up with the most industry-focussed national agency in the world.

Dr Clark said the key roles that the industry had demanded of the new Australian Space Agency was to provide a single door for industry and a single voice in international interactions; to provide a clear and consistent national strategic policy in the area of civil space; and the enabling infrastructure to allow the local industry to flourish.

Report co-author and ACER’s Director of Research Development and Quality Assurance, Dr Michael Timms, said in order to maximise the limited space for STEM in the crowded school curriculum, there must be a shift from the current focus on discrete learning areas to a modern conceptualisation of STEM as interdisciplinary and constantly evolving.

“Australia’s unbalanced and fragmented STEM curriculum is leading to declining interest among students. An integrated approach that focuses on practices, skills and capabilities, and not just disciplinary knowledge, will create a relevant context in which content can be learned,” Dr Timms explained.

WARNER — Fifth- and sixth-graders tried plastic spoons, toilet paper tubes, plastic bottle parts and graphite to produce effective wind power Friday.

Warner students tested their designs and other engineering feats at STEM Wars, held Friday at Warner Event Center. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Fifth- and sixth-grade teams competed in designing wind-powered lifting machines and wind-blown boats. Sixth- and seventh-grade teams competed for the most effective roller coaster for marbles.

The report found high school students are choosing easier subjects in which they can get a higher score to maximise their ATAR rank, citing NSW research and testimony from educators.
"Rightly or wrongly, they absorb the message that the way to boost their ATAR is to drop down a level in mathematics," Dr Finkel wrote.

However, to champion growth mindset without addressing what mathematics is in the broadest sense — which means going beyond the claustrophobic confines of the educational wall — and why one should learn it, just puts “smiley face” band aids on cuts that go much deeper.

Why are you learning mathematics? Why are you learning this mathematics? Bypassing this is why pedagogy — sadly and ironically — has started to take up so much oxygen in mathematics. So much so, that few are paying attention to mathematics. What makes it worse, is that many teachers think they are — “if it was good enough for me, it is going to be good enough for you” is the general mantra probably recited.

But you need math? Okay. But why? And unless your answer can really attend to this question in a Simon Sinek way, be careful that your answer doesn’t resonate with the corporate answer of performance or careers. Because if it does, then we have just sold mathematics down the river — and not for the first time.

STEM interest is dwindling among boys. A recent survey found that just 24 percent of boys 13 to 17 years old expect to pursue a STEM career, down from 36 percent in 2017. However, interest among girls those ages has held steady year-over-year at 11 percent.

The results came out of a survey among a sample of 1,000 teenagers who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls. This one was run earlier this year for a week and was conducted by Junior Achievement and Ernst & Young.

This classroom-based case study describes how futures thinking was introduced in a small, culturally diverse year 9 science class. Of 20 students, half were New Zealand European, almost a third Maori and the remainder East Asian. 

Robots are designed for speed and precision -- but their rigidity has often limited how they're used. In this illuminating talk, biomedical engineer Giada Gerboni shares the latest developments in "soft robotics," an emerging field that aims to create nimble machines that imitate nature, like a robotic octopus. Learn more about how these flexible structures could play a critical role in surgery, medicine and our daily lives.

Neurodiversity, Neurotypicality, and Neurodivergence 

Neurodiversity describes the variation in neural structure and cognitive processing within a population. The diverse, individualistic ways in which our brains operate exist as a social category with which we might identify (not dissimilar to other categories such as gender, sexuality, and race). Individuals whose neural operations are further from typical (socially or culturally accepted) than most people’s are considered neurodivergent (ND). To address a common misconception: being ND is not synonymous with being autistic, and, likewise, neurotypicality does not imply the opposite of having autism. Of further importance is the fact that neurotypicality should be considered neither the absence of a pathology nor a neurological superiority; rather, it is an alternative, albeit more privileged, lens through which to gauge the world around you.

Exclusive: Two researchers say a police breathalyzer, used across the US, can produce incorrect breath test results, but their work came to a halt after legal pressure from the manufacturer.

Many educators are familiar with the research suggesting the demand for employees in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. For instance, the nonpartisan New American Economy notes that for every unemployed STEM worker in the United States, there were 13 job openings in 2016. That’s up from five job openings for every unemployed STEM worker in 2010.

Filling the STEM pipeline is critical for our nation’s competitiveness in the global economy. On a more personal level, engaging students in STEM subjects opens their eyes to new career pathways they might not have considered before—and to jobs with a promising future.

Here are three things that K-12 educators should do in their classrooms to encourage more students to consider STEM-related careers.