T C E B TRIANGLE COALITION ELECTRONIC BULLETIN JUNE 28, 2001 VOL. 7, NO. 25 _____________________________________________________ Published by the TRIANGLE COALITION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION _____________________________________________________ THIS WEEK'S TOPICS: TCEB SCHEDULING NOTICE NASA OFFICE OF SPACE SCIENCE EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH CONFERENCE SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY ADVICE TO CONGRESS DISCUSSED AT WORKSHOP MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES 119 AKAMAI AIME SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS FROM ALL 50 STATES TRIANGLE COALITION MEMBER PROFILE: THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH DIVISION OF SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN STATE SCIENCE EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP COLLABORATES WITH NSTA AND EXXONMOBIL FOUNDATION MORE THAN 300 SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO RECEIVE AFTERSCHOOL HELP "PROJECT 2061" IS A LAUNCHING PAD FOR SUCCESSFUL SCIENCE CURRICULA NMSA ISSUES REPORT SUGGESTING WAYS TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE MIDDLE LEVEL LEARNING ____________________________________________________ TCEB SCHEDULING NOTICE The TCEB will next be issued on July 12, due to the Independence Day holiday. *********************************** NASA OFFICE OF SPACE SCIENCE EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH CONFERENCE Members of the NASA space science education and outreach community, scientists, educators in formal and informal science, and others interested in space science education and outreach are encouraged to attend the NASA Office of Space Science Education and Public Outreach Conference, September 12-14 in Chicago, IL. The goals of the conference are to strengthen and deepen the education and public outreach efforts of the Office of Space Science and to enhance the ability of the space science community to contribute to these efforts. To achieve these goals, the conference will bring together scientists and educators with an interest in space science education and outreach to hear presentations and engage in discussions in the following areas: - Ways in which scientists can participate in education and outreach. - Issues and challenges faced by educators in formal and informal venues to incorporate results from space science research in exhibits, the classroom, and other venues. - Ways in which science education research can help. - Examples of a broad range of initiatives, including those that exemplify the participation of scientists, outreach to underutilized/underserved communities, and the effective use of technology. The Conference will be a mixture of plenaries, panels, breakout sessions, poster sessions, and unstructured time. The ideas generated from the Conference will be captured in a proceedings volume. More information and registration is available at http://analyzer.depaul.edu/ossconference. *********************************** SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY ADVICE TO CONGRESS DISCUSSED AT WORKSHOP (Source: ASME International Capitol Update - June 20, 2001) The need and type of institutional arrangements to provide balanced and independent science, engineering, and technology advice to Congress was the subject of a workshop on June 14th in Washington, DC. The workshop was organized by the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and co-convened by numerous organizations including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Association of Engineering Societies, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. ASME's Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Yogi Goswami, and staff participated in the event, which attracted nearly 90 leaders in the science, engineering, and technology policy arena. Meanwhile, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) has begun circulating draft legislation to re-establish the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA). OTA was abolished in 1995. This proposal would authorize $20 million for the re-established agency for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2007. By mid-month, 24 members of the House had indicated their desire to co-sponsor the legislation. *********************************** MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES 119 AKAMAI AIME SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS FROM ALL 50 STATES The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) has announced 119 qualifying Akamai AIME award winners who will receive scholarships from The Akamai Foundation in recognition of outstanding performance on the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). The AIME is one of the pinnacle events on the road to the USA Math Olympiad (USAMO). The Akamai Foundation seeks to encourage the advancement of the mathematical sciences nationwide through scholarships and other initiatives. The MAA American Mathematics Competitions are responsible for both creating and administering a sequence of national competitions including the AIME. The AIME is a 15-question, three-hour examination in which students are highly unlikely to obtain the correct answer by guessing. The 119 students represent the top female and male scorers in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, US territories, and US students abroad. The students are in grades 9-12 and have qualified for the scholarships by outscoring all other students in their state or area in a series of challenging exams. Each participated in two challenging rounds: the American Mathematics Competitions, AMC 12 or AMC 10 contest, sponsored by the MAA (February, 2001), and the American Invitational Mathematics Exam, (March and April, 2001). The Mathematical Association of America (www.maa.org) is the largest professional society of college and university mathematics teachers in the world. The Akamai Foundation (www.akamai.com/html/en/ia/foundation.html) strives to strengthen mathematics education and performance in United States public schools (K-12) through a series of initiatives aimed at fostering excellence in math learning and proficiency for an Internet-centric world. These initiatives include sponsorship of the IMO, MAA, and AMC; the establishment of an annual college scholarship fund for top performing students from each of the 50 states; and the creation of an interactive mathematical site (www.magicofmath.com) to encourage more young people to use the Internet as a tool for math education. *********************************** TRIANGLE COALITION MEMBER PROFILE: THE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH DIVISION OF SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN The Educational Outreach Division of Scientific American provides a variety of educational support to teachers including publications, Scientific American, and Scientific American Explorations. The group supports the following programs through its subscription awards program: FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science & Technology), Junior Academy of Sciences, National Junior Science and Humanities Program, Intel Young Scientist Program, Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists, National Honor Society, New York Academy of Sciences Student Expo, Project SEED, Science Olympiad, ThinkQuest, U.S. Academic Decathalon, Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowships, and Young Innovators 2000. The Scientific American website offers further information: - Scientific American Explorations http://www.explorations.org/ [Family Science] - Ask the Experts http://www.sciam.com/askexpert/ [Scientists Render Answers] - Exhibits http://www.sciam.com/exhibit/ [Wonderful Web-Based Presentations] - Archive http://www.sciamarchive.com/ [Searchable Database of Past Issues--Great Library Research Tool] The educational arm encourages the implementation of Scientific American in the classroom to support experiments, conduct activities, model building, role plays, debates, and more. For additional information, call Marc Alan Rosner at 914-478-6164 or e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] *********************************** STATE SCIENCE EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP COLLABORATES WITH NSTA AND EXXONMOBIL FOUNDATION The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and ExxonMobil Foundation have announced the funding of a state-based education initiative to link Wisconsin teachers and education organizations in a nationwide science learning community. The project, Building a Presence for Science, is creating the Wisconsin Science Network and providing increased professional development opportunities for state science teachers. Wisconsin will receive $136,500 to implement the program. The Wisconsin Science Network, a partnership of 15 state-based science education organizations, will identify a cadre of 100 educators to serve as Key Leaders in the state who will, in turn, establish a network of Points of Contact in all 3,000 of Wisconsin's public and private schools. The Points of Contact will provide their school colleagues with professional development and other resources that emphasize state and national standards-based science teaching and learning. Started by NSTA in 1996 and funded by ExxonMobil Foundation, Building a Presence for Science has been transforming the way teachers and students learn K-12 science. A primary objective of the program is to help science teachers implement state and national science education standards in their schools. A second goal is to create a network through which science teachers can share the latest ideas about effective science teaching. The program now includes 17 states and the District of Columbia. Six more states are slated to join over the next two years. For more information, visit www.nsta.org/BaP. *********************************** MORE THAN 300 SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO RECEIVE AFTERSCHOOL HELP U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has announced the award of nearly $206 million in new grants to 308 school districts to create high-quality learning opportunities after school and during the summer. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program helps schools stay open longer to provide youth tutoring and homework help, academic enrichment, college prep activities, enrichment through the arts, technology education, drug and violence prevention counseling, supervised recreational opportunities, and services for youth with disabilities. The new awards bring the total number of 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21stCCLC) grants awarded since 1998 to 1,587, with 6,800 centers open and serving about 1.2 million children. The grants will support approximately 1,420 new school-based centers in high-need urban and rural communities in 47 states and the Marshall Islands. Joining the school districts as partners are faith-based organizations, colleges, non-profit agencies such as Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCAs, scientific and cultural organizations, and other community groups. Paige said afterschool programs can offer children significant help to improve academic achievement. Of the current 21st CCLC grantees, 95 percent report that they provide help to improve reading skills and more than 90 percent provide help with mathematics. The new grants are funded under $846 million appropriated by Congress last year. In addition to these new grants, the funds are supporting 383 community grants announced earlier this year, as well as 800 communities that started afterschool programs during the past two years. The average grant award is nearly $650,000 and supports four or five centers. A list of the 308 grantees, grant amounts, program contacts, and brief project descriptions are available at www.ed.gov/21stcclc. *********************************** "PROJECT 2061" IS A LAUNCHING PAD FOR SUCCESSFUL SCIENCE CURRICULA (Source: eSchool News Staff Reports, May 1, 2001) In 1985, the American Association for the Advancement of Science launched a long-term effort to reform science, mathematics, and technology education for the 21st century. That same year, Halley's Comet was approaching the sun, prompting the project's originators to consider all of the scientific and technological changes that a child entering school in 1985 would witness before the return of the comet in 2061 -- hence the name, Project 2061. Project 2061 "is dedicated to making science literacy a reality for all students and will continue to develop innovative, yet practical, tools educators can use to put science literacy goals to work at every level of the education system," according to its web site. Panels of scientists, mathematicians, and technologists have prepared a report, called "Science for All Americans," outlining what all high-school graduates should be able to do in science, math, and technology and establishing principles for effective learning and teaching. The project's web site includes links to several publications that encourage science literacy. Its "Benchmarks" section provides sequences of specific learning goals that educators can organize however they choose in designing a core curriculum that meets the goals for science literacy recommended in "Science for All Americans." The site is a great resource to use when developing science curriculum. For more information visit www.project2061.org. *********************************** NMSA ISSUES REPORT SUGGESTING WAYS TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE MIDDLE LEVEL LEARNING While there have been many recommendations to improve middle level education during the past two decades, National Middle School Association (NMSA) has issued a major report with advice on how to implement many of those recommendations. NMSA is making available "This We Believe -- And Now We Must Act," a collection of 12 essays suggesting ways to implement recommendations NMSA made in its seminal document, "This We Believe: Developmentally Responsive Middle Level Schools," to improve middle level learning, which was released in 1995. Topics include high expectations for everyone involved in the school, varied teaching and learning approaches, flexible organizational structures, a positive school climate, a shared vision, and school, family, and community partnerships, among others. Copies of the report may be ordered for $18.00 from NMSA by phoning 1-800-528-NMSA. _____________________________________________________ This TCEB is made possible by a grant from E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Please visit their web site at www.dupont.com for more information about their educational support programs. The TCEB is a newsletter provided to members of the Triangle Coalition. Members may forward individual articles or the issue in its entirety providing that credit is given to the Triangle Coalition, and all of the following contact information is included in any republication. For TCEB subscription or membership information, contact: Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 phone: 800-582-0115 fax: 202-289-1303 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.triangle-coalition.org To submit information for possible inclusion in TCEB, contact: Joanne Van Voorhis, Target Marketing, Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************ THE MISSION OF THE TRIANGLE COALITION IS TO FOSTER COLLABORATION AMONG LEADERS IN EDUCATION, BUSINESS, AND GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION. The Triangle Coalition membership includes business, labor, education, science, mathematics, technology and engineering organizations, and community and state-based alliances. ************************************ -- This is the ISTA-talk mailing list. 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