STEM Outcomes for Youth in Afterschool Programs

The Afterschool Alliance recently concluded a 10-month study, "Defining Youth Outcomes for STEM Learning in Afterschool." In the study, a panel of expert afterschool providers and supporters were asked to identify appropriate and feasible outcomes for STEM education in afterschool settings.

Coalition Director Carol Tang and Steering Committee member Gabe Lyon of Project Exploration served on the advisory board for this report.

Watch Anita Krishnamurthi, director of STEM policy for the Afterschool Alliance discuss the report, joined by Ron Ottinger, executive director of the Noyce Foundation, and Mark Greenlaw, VP for sustainability and education affairs at Cognizant.

The big picture consensus among panel experts interviewed is that afterschool programs support young people to:

• enjoy STEM learning
• feel capable learning STEM
• want to do more STEM learning

There are a number of more concrete indicators that afterschool professionals can look for to see if young people demonstrate progress towards those outcomes.  Panel experts ranked these in order of what they felt afterschool programs are best positioned to accomplish.  They reported that afterschool is best positioned to support young people's:

1. Active participation in STEM learning opportunities
2. Curiosity about STEM topics, concepts or practices
3. Ability to productively engage in STEM processes of investigation
4. Awareness of STEM professions
5. Ability to exercise STEM-relevant life and career skills
6. Understanding the value of STEM in society
   

One of the implications of the report is that afterschool is well positioned to support the 'doing' science and STEM.  Another implication of the study is that afterschool is well positioned to support realistic scenarios of how science is actually performed in the field, as afterschool is a learning environment suited for collaborative group work and other 21st century skills.

Panelists were also asked if they believed there are assessment tools to document the kinds of impacts they felt confident delivering.  While the funder group reported that yes, assessment tools are available, the practitioner group reported no, they don't have access to assessment tools.  In the video above, Anita offers a possible explanation of this result which is that practitioners may be aware of assessment tools for STEM in afterschool, but those tools may not be effective for one reason or another.

This report offers a great foundation for further conversation about outcomes of STEM learning in afterschool and we look forward to hearing what you think!

Join the Science After School Conversation!

The following blog post is from Coalition Director Carol Tang.


As we launch our new look and new website this week, let’s take a quick look back on the last few months as we traveled across the country and talked to many of you about the importance of science experiences for youth in afterschool and summer settings.

We’ve gone to Boys and Girls Club Southwest Leadership Conference in Denver, the Alameda County of Education afterschool kickoff event in Vallejo, the Bridges Conference organized by Schools Out Washington in Seattle and the 21st CCLC Summer Institute in New Orleans to talk about how high quality STEM experiences supports high quality youth development. Both the science education and youth development fields aspire to build confidence, foster curiosity and lifelong learning, build communication and collaboration skills, and support mastery.

We’ve also been meeting with national leaders in science education to ensure that afterschool opportunities are full considered and respected as an important player in increasing STEM literacy and the future innovation workforce. I spoke at a panel at the Association of Science Technology Centers, was a facilitator at the National Research Council’s summit on informal science education assessments and a co-facilitator at the 21ST CCLC STEM partners meeting. Perhaps most excitingly, we were invited to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative America 2012 summit in Chicago as part of the STEM team.  Our work with Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds and 826 National was acknowledged by President Clinton himself!

I know that as we launch our new site, we now have a new platform to increase the visibility of science afterschool among the youth development, science education, and science communities to meet our mission. But we need you, as Coalition supporters, to amplify our message and together we can find solutions to the challenges we face in bringing high-quality science experiences to all youth. Thanks for your past support and we look forward to more success stories in the years to come.

Photo credit: Clinton Global Initiative.

Carol Tang is the Director of the Coalition for Science After School and was recently honored as a “Leading Woman in STEM” by the California Science Learning Network.

Coalition Director Carol Tang honored at CA STEM Summit!

We are thrilled to announce that Coalition Director Carol Tang was chosen amongst twelve leading women in STEM to be honored today at the California STEM Summit in San Diego!  Carol was recognized for her work in 'Ensuring all California students have access to high-quality STEM in Out-of-School time'.

Here is the official press release from the California STEM Learning Network:
 

Twelve CALFORNIA WOMEN Honored as “LEADING WOMEN IN STEM” FOR ADVANCING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH (STEM) EDUCATION

Business, Education, and Nonprofit Women Leaders Honored at California STEM Summit for Achievements in Bolstering STEM Education and Job Creation Across California 

San Diego, CA – October 16, 2012 – Twelve women from across California will be honored today as “Leading Women in STEM” at an awards luncheon taking place at the 2012 California STEM Summit at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina in San Diego.  The Leading Women in STEM awards recognize their achievements in advancing innovative and effective STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education initiatives across the state and serving as exemplary role models for California women and girls. 

The California STEM Summit is a statewide leadership convening of business, government, education, nonprofit and philanthropic luminaries to spark change in STEM education and workforce development and launch new STEM education initiatives. The Summit is convened by the nonprofit California STEM Learning Network (CSLNet), which works to bring systemic change to how STEM is taught and learned in California in order to prepare the nation’s most STEM-capable graduates. 

Recognizing the dramatic need for increasing the number of women in STEM fields – only 25% of STEM jobs in the U.S. are held by women – CSLNet is highlighting accomplished women STEM leaders and supporting initiatives across California to bolster STEM education for female students, noting that women with STEM jobs earn 33% more than comparable women in non-STEM jobs. 

“The California STEM Learning Network is proud to honor these highly accomplished education, industry, non-profit and civic leaders for their innovative and successful efforts to create world-class STEM education across California,” said Chris Roe, California STEM Learning Network CEO. “Their leadership will ensure that our next generation of leaders is truly reflective of the great diversity and talent that we have in our state.”

The Leading Women in STEM honorees are:
• Dr. Joan Bissell, Teacher Education and Public School Programs, California State University Chancellor’s Office
• Sandra Birmingham, STEM Pipeline Outreach Director, California State University, Channel Islands
• Rachel Bondi, Chief of Mobile Innovation, Creative Artists Agency
• Assemblymember Susan Bonilla (CA-11)
• Dr. Pamela Clute, Assistant Vice Chancellor Educational and Community Engagement, University of California, Riverside
• Judy D’Amico, Senior Director of Engagement, Project Lead the Way
• Dawn Garrett, SAS Operations Director, Raytheon
• Dr. Susan Hackwood, Executive Director, California Council on Science and Technology
• Dr. Linda Katehi, Chancellor, UC Davis
• Dr. Helen Quinn, Professor Emerita, Stanford University
• Dr. Carol Tang, Director, Coalition for Science After School
• Nancy Taylor, San Diego County Office of Education/San Diego Science Alliance

Honorees are being awarded for their leadership in advancing critical areas of STEM education including adoption of Next Generation Science Standards, strengthening STEM teacher pathways, advocating for strengthened public-private partnerships and alignment of resources, and ensuring all California students have access to high-quality STEM in out-of-school time.

More about the STEM Summit is at www.castemsummit.com.

The California STEM Summit 2012

The California STEM Summit 2012 brings together leaders in STEM fields from education, business and industry, policy, research, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies to create new partnerships that bring full-scale change to STEM education and workforce development. These changes will set in motion a new learning model that ensures all students have access to high-quality STEM learning opportunities beginning in pre-kindergarten through college and university. For more information www.castemsummit.com

###
About the California STEM Learning Network (CSLNet)
The California STEM Learning Network (CSLNet) is working to bring systemic change to how STEM is taught and learned in the state in order to prepare the nation’s most STEM-capable graduates. Established as a non-profit in 2010, CSLNet brings together stakeholders from K-12, higher education, business and industry, governmental agencies, community-based organizations, and philanthropies. Through this cross-sector collaboration, CSLNet fosters innovation and helps to scale and sustain effective STEM teaching and learning in and out of school time for all students. Learn more at www.cslnet.org.

#BackToSTEM Twitter chat August 15!

Are you ready to start fresh this fall with great STEM activities in your after school program?

The Coalition for Science After School will host a Twitter chat Wednesday August 15 at 12PDT/3EDT about getting ready to start a new school year - and a new year of after school -  full of programs rich in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).  

During this conversation, you will have the opportunity to share your tips for getting kids excited about science, discuss strategies for incorporating science into other after school activities, and learn about STEM resources and best practices in after school science education.

The chat will be co-hosted by The Coalition for Science After School (@sciafterschool), The National Girls Collaborative Project (@NGCProject), The New York Academy of Sciences (@NYASK12), and The Afterschool Alliance (@Afterschool4All).  

Featured Tweeters joining us will be other special guests from community organizations who are bringing STEM into learning experiences, including the Partnership for Youth Development (@NOLAYouthDev), the Executive Director of the National Afterschool Association Gina Warner (@NatAfterSchool), and the Director of the Coalition for Science After School Carol Tang (@CarolTang1).

To join the chat and see what others are saying:

1. Go to tweetchat.com and search for the hashtag #BackToSTEM.
2. You do not need a Twitter account to follow the chat, but you do need one to comment or ask questions. If you need to set up a twitter account, you can sign up at http://www.twitter.com. It’s free to join and only takes a minute.
3. To join the discussion, sign into TweetChat using your Twitter account and enter your tweets in the box at the top of the page. TweetChat automatically includes the hashtag for you.
4. Each tweet is limited to 140 characters (including the hashtag #BacktoSTEM) but feel free to multiple tweets to pose a question or respond to a comment.

The Coalition's Twitter handle is @sciafterschool.  Feel free to submit questions in advance, either by sending us a message on Twitter or emailing them to sarah.elovich@berkeley.edu. 

Looking forward to seeing you on the chat!

21st CCLC Summer Institute

Last week we teamed up with the National Afterschool Association to co-host a reception for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers' Summer Institute.  The Louisianna Children's Museum provided a fun environment for us to bring together science-rich institutions and youth development organizations.

At the reception Coalition Director Carol Tang and National Afterschool Association Executive Director Gina Warner expressed support for the work being done towards STEM programming in out-of-school time.

The Coalition for Science After School also held its annual retreat in New Orleans that week, with the purpose of connecting with many science after school stakeholders attending the 21st CCLC Summer Institue.  We are thankful that our friends at the local Partnership for Youth and Development let us use their lovely meeting space for the retreat!

Thank you to everyone who helped make the 21st CCLC Summer Institute a success!

Bringing Science to Creative Writing

Earlier this month we were proud to announce our partnership with 826 National and Time Warner Cable's Connect A Million Minds to help bring science content to the stellar 826 National creative writing programs in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York!

Last week, Coalition Director Dr. Carol Tang presented a taste of what science in a creative writing program can look like at the 826 National Staff Development Conference with Dr. Rebecca Smith, Co-Director of the Science & Health Education Partnership at University of California, San Francisco.  What they presented yesterday was a small piece of the pilot curriculum they have written for 826 National that incorporates science concepts into creative writing.

Rebecca started the session by asking participants to imagine that they are space explorers and they have just received samples from a new planet.  Carol passed out samples of a gooey, sticky, interesting substance, and encouraged everyone to explore.  With toothpicks, knives, cookie cutters and of course their hands, everyone started poking, observing and testing the stuff.  The room was full of laughter and conversation as people compared and discussed the mysterious sample from another planet.

If you are familiar with oobleck, then you know exactly what was happening in the room!  People were discovering the strange properties of this non-Newtonian fluid, which sometimes acts like a solid, and sometimes acts like a liquid.  But instead of telling us what this stuff was, Carol and Rebecca just continued to let everyone explore and experiment.  This is one of the most important parts of informal science education - resisting giving away the answers extends and prolongs exploration and deepens the experience for the learner.

Then Carol and Rebecca challenged everyone to work together to think about how they would go about building a spaceship that could land on a planet made of this stuff.  The tables were full of more conversation.  At my table, someone noticed that the goo becomes instantly loose and liquid when water is added.  This gave someone else the idea that the spaceship should have a way to suck up moisture from the planet through the bottom of the spacecraft, retain it, and then recycle that liquid back to the planet to release the ship when it's time to take off again.

Rebecca reminded us that an important part of being a scientist is sharing what you've discovered.  As we shared out our ideas with the other groups we learned what other people had observed and tested.  Then Carol shared some facts about oobleck and states of matter.  When we stepped back to debrief about the activity, the 826 staff thought of some creative writing skills are supported by a science based activity like this, including observation, brainstorming, experimentation and summarizing.


The pilot program that the Coalition for Science After School helped create for 826 National incorporates hands-on explorations that inspires writing, builds inquiry and hypothesis-testing skills, fosters identity with scientific endeavors, creates relevance for scientific principles in youth's lives and makes science fun.  

Rebecca talked about how these messy explorations can inspire writing for kids.  "If you think your writing packets look messy, you should see a real scientist's journal!" she joked.  We are so pleased to have been able to collaborate with her on this project, and to bring science activities specifically designed for out-of-school time to 826 National.  We can't wait to hear how this pilot program goes and we look forward to more opportunities to partner with outstanding after school programs to deliver high quality science experiences!

Partnership with 826 National and Connect A Million Minds!

We are thrilled to announce that the Coalition for Science After School has partnered with 826 National and Time Warner Cable's Connect A Million Minds to incorporate STEM into 826's student writing workshops.  The Commitment to Action was announced at the 2012 CGI America Meeting.

This partnership was forged to increase students' interest in science, technology, engineering and math by incorporating science content into 826 National's successful creative writing programs.  

Here is a photo of all of the partners standing with President Clinton taken at the 2012 CGI America Meeting!

Photo credit: Clinton Global Initiative.  Left to Right: Leah Gutstadt, Manager, Public Affairs, Time Warner Cable; Tessie Topol, Senior Director, Strategic Philanthropy & Community Affairs, Time Warner Cable; President Clinton; Dr. Carol Tang, Director, Coalition for Science After School; Gerald Richards, CEO, 826 National

Twitter Chat about STEM in Summer Learning

Are you ready for STEM this summer?

The Coalition for Science After School will host a Twitter chat Thursday May 17, 4 PM to 5 PM EDT about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in summer learning.  During this conversation, you will have the opportunity to share your experiences, learn why summer is the perfect time to explore STEM subjects, and hear from experts about resources and best practices.

The chat will feature representatives from NASA's Summer of Innovation (@NASAExplorerSch), The After School Corporation (@expand_school), the National Summer Learning Association (@summerlearning), Coalition Director Carol Tang (@caroltang1) and other special guests from community organizations who are bringing STEM into summer learning experiences, including the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems (@CBASS_National). 

To join the chat and see what others are saying:

1. Go to tweetchat.com and search for the hashtag #SummerSTEM.
2. You do not need a Twitter account to follow the chat, but you do need one to comment or ask questions. If you need to set up a twitter account, you can sign up at http://www.twitter.com. It’s free to join and only takes a minute.
3. To join the discussion, sign into TweetChat using your Twitter account and enter your tweets in the box at the top of the page. TweetChat automatically includes the hashtag for you.
4. Each tweet is limited to 140 characters (including the hashtag #SummerSTEM) but feel free to multiple tweets to pose a question or respond to a comment.

The Coalition's Twitter handle is @sciafterschool.  Feel free to submit questions in advance, either by sending us a message on Twitter or emailing them to sarah.elovich@berkeley.edu.  

Looking forward to seeing you on the chat!

Western Region 4-H Science Academy

The Coalition is at UC Davis this week for the Western Region 4-H Science Academy.  We are honored to be participating and learning with the 4-H leadership about curriculum, professional development, evaluation and partnerships for high quality science programs within the 4-H organization.  It is clear that 4-H is a leader in informal science learning, so we are very excited to be here!

The Academy kicked off today with Alan Friedman who gave a presentation called "What kids learn about science outside of school is a nice enrichment to what they learn in school - or is it actually the other way around?"

We're thrilled that Coalition Director Carol Tang will give the keynote talk tomorrow on quality science after school for all youth.  Her talk will be streaming live tomorrow at 8:00AM PST, so we invite you to listen in!

How Kids Learn Conference: CSAS Presentation

Coalition Director Carol Tang recently presented at the How Kids Learn Conference in Berkeley, CA.  She talked about why STEM and after school make such a great pair.  One of her central points is that both STEM learning and after school learning principles celebrate process, discovery, creativity and self-direction over product.  They also both rely on teamwork and mentoring relationships.

If you are an out-of-school time science educator, you will especially appreciate Carol's presentation of the best predictor of which students will become scientists.  And if you are an after school educator with little or no science background, hear about why you might actually be better at leading science learning than someone with a formal science background!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Another presenter at the conference was Erik Peterson, the  Policy Director at the Afterschool Alliance.  His presentation offered perspectives that parents, policy makers and educators have about after school learning.  He also talked about the tension between the importance of unstructured play and the pressure to map after school activities back to improved school performance and test scores.