New Opportunities September 2024
There are so many opportunities for you to engage with the STEM ecosystem. Please check out all the new opportunities to enlarge your network, improve your craft, and engage students in STEM to end this year with excitement!
Please feel free to share this with colleagues who are also interested in resources related to STEM Education!
If you have not been receiving this newsletter regularly, go to STEMWest | Building partnerships to improve regional economy! and fill out the short pop up! |
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Registration is open for eCYBERMISSION, a free, virtual STEM competition for 6-9 graders administered by the National Science Teaching Association! At eCYBERMISSION, teachers lead teams of 2-4 students as they tackle a community problem with science or engineering. It’s the perfect way to bring problem-based, phenomenon-based, and even social emotional learning to your students this year!
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This year, we’ve made eCYBERMISSION better than ever with exciting new resources, including:
1. Expanded Team Advisor support, including monthly live forums and a Team Advisor-exclusive Facebook group
2. A refreshed mentorship program, with a new name (CyberGuides are now Mission Mentors) and new ways for your students to get support, including team chats and Instagram Live chats
3. Updated teaching resources (always 100% free), like our new Selecting a Category concept map resource, to help your students pick projects and get straight to the STEM!
We hope you’re excited about this year’s eCYBERMISSION program, we know we are! Learn more about eCYBERMISSION at www.ecybermission.com or email us at [email protected].
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Colleagues,
The 2024-2025 Western North Carolina Elementary Science/STEM Community of Practice will include virtual gatherings open to all interested educators and education leaders. Each gathering will include a spotlighted teacher(s) sharing innovative practices and time for participant reflection, collaboration, and planning of ways to apply their learning. These gatherings will take place on September 10, October 8, November 12, January 14, February 11, and March 18 from 4:00-5:00pm on Zoom.
Our first session on September 10th will highlight Phenomenon-based Learning and the New NC Science Standards through a 5th grade example from Buncombe County Schools featuring Kate Whittier, Caroline Sgan, and Maggie Harvin. You can register for this gathering at: https://tinyurl.com/WNCSTEMCoPSep24 or https://wcu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bNIV9cBaSZazzyS. Registered participants will receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link before the event.
Please share this opportunity with others that may be interested. A flyer is attached and pasted above. I am happy to answer questions.
Patricia
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Patricia Bricker, Ed.D
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Jay M. Robinson Distinguished Professor
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Western Carolina University | School of Teaching & Learning
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1 University Drive, Cullowhee, NC 28723
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Pronouns: she/her/hers
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CAREER AWARDS FOR STEM TEACHERS
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Sep 29, 2024 by 3:00pm ET
STATUS:
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
APPLY FOR THIS GRANT:
ELIGIBILITY & APPLICATION PROCESS:
Please review the Request for Proposals for detailed information on eligibility and the application process.
About The Award
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s Career Award for STEM Teachers recognizes outstanding STEM teachers in North Carolina public primary and secondary schools.
The award provides $175,000 over five years. It is available to North Carolina teachers with an outstanding performance record in educating children and demonstrating a solid knowledge of STEM content.
This award presents opportunities for professional development and collaboration with other master science and/or mathematics teachers who will help ensure their success as teachers and their satisfaction with the teaching field. The award allows schools and school districts to develop and fully empower teachers as leaders in the field.
Teachers working in hard-to-staff, economically deprived classrooms in North Carolina will receive special consideration. Efforts to integrate environmental science and climate change into STEM-related curricula will also receive special consideration.
The Fund and the State Board of Education recognize that improving STEM education in North Carolina will require systemic revision of K-12 instruction.
Teachers who are content-area experts with pedagogical skills are critical to ensuring students’ success in understanding STEM subjects. These teachers can make a difference by serving as change agents for their students and other educators across the state.
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Free STEM Resources:
Robotics Engineering Exploration Curriculum
FIRST is pleased to introduce a new introductory robotics engineering explorations 90 hour course for grades 7-12. Using FIRST® Tech Challenge or FIRST® Robotics Competition materials, this curriculum explores concepts of the engineering design process, engineering in our society, safety, building a robot, and computational thinking while aligning to various national standards.
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STEM Activity Series
Explore our flexible learning activities that cover a variety of age-appropriate STEM topics for students PreK-12. These engaging activities can be used by anyone to introduce STEM learning using materials found at home or in learning environments.
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FIRST Kahoot!
The FIRST and Kahoot! partnership leverages the fun platform of Kahoot! with amazing content from FIRST. Explore our launch series topics such as FIRST Core Values, Robotics, Computational Thinking, and more! We will launch new content every few months so be sure to subscribe to the FIRST community on our Kahoot page to stay tuned for updates.
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Hello 7th grade Educators,
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year!
As you are creating lesson plans and preparing for the year ahead, what better way to get your students involved in REAL WORLD learning AND introduce a new PROJECT-BASED activity than a STATEWIDE CONTEST that meets the North Carolina Science Standards!
Each year the North Carolina Division of Air Quality invites 7th grade students to participate in the AQ-IQ Contest which combines S.T.E.A.M. education and project-based learning with student creativity to teach air pollution science to students across the state. The contest gives these students an opportunity to learn about air quality and think about solutions to air pollution and put THEM in charge of creating a project to educate others about an air quality problem.
The AQ-IQ contest allows students to explore their interests and strengths while engaging with the material and learning about air quality. Students are asked to think creatively while designing their projects. Past projects have been posters, videos, Minecraft creations, games, and artistic projects off all sorts!
Winners will be recognized at a REGIONAL and STATEWIDE level and will receive AWESOME prizes!
For details about how to enter, deadlines, general information and past project examples, please visit the NC Environmental Education webpage.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Keith Bamberger at [email protected], or Janina Millis at [email protected].
Please share with other 7th grade science teachers!!!!!!
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Engineering Mindset
One of the primary goals of engineering education is to promote development of an engineering mindset. An
engineering mindset refers to the values, attitudes, and thinking skills associated with engineering.
Engineers solve problems using systematic, iterative processes. The technologies (objects, systems, or processes)
they design address the needs and desires of people, animals, society, and the environment. Engineers shape the
world we live in. The clean water, toothbrushes, traffic pattern, smart phones, stain-resistant materials, and
electric vehicles we use have all been developed by engineers. Though the products of engineering are diverse,
engineers approach their work using a common set of engineering practices. High-quality engineering experiences
that engage youth in these practices help them develop and strengthen an engineering mindset.
Million Girls Moonshot is highlighting 10 engineering practices. An overview of each follows. Subsequent briefs
will explore each one individually. These practices are also more fully described in educational research articles
(Cunningham, 2018; Cunningham & Kelly, 2017).
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References
Cunningham, C. M. (2018). Engineering in elementary STEM education: Curriculum design, instruction, learning, and assessment. New York, NY: Teacher College Press.
Cunningham, C. M., & Kelly, G. K. (2017). Epistemic practices of engineering in education. Science Education.101, 486–505. |
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Explore our extensive resource database, featuring curriculum, professional development, and research at the intersection of STEM, Civic Engagement, and youth empowerment. Educators can discover effective strategies for engaging young people through STEM to foster community-driven change. Resources in this repository can be sorted based on subject matter, keywords, or alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For submissions or inquiries, please contact us.
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Future City
This is the official website of the Future City Competition, which is an engineering competition for middle school students. There are also free STEM activities available. Click below.
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| April’s NC Science Festival was a huge success thanks to all of our amazing partners. Across our school initiatives and public events, this year’s festival featured over 1,000 events in all 100 counties. Check out our impact report to see highlights and stories from this year’s celebration. |
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Add Your Events to NC STEM Center!
NC STEM Center is an online portal dedicated to all things STEM. In partnership with the Science Near Me platform, the site has an easy and intuitive portal to find STEM events across North Carolina.
The portal also makes it easy to add your organization’s opportunities to the platform. Post your special events, summer camps, and afterschool programs for us to promote outside the Festival window. For questions about how to add opportunities, send us an email.
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Program Summary
A partnership between Shell USA, Inc. and the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), this award recognizes one outstanding classroom teacher (grades K–12) who has had a positive impact on his or her students, school, and the community through exemplary science teaching. Special projects may be mentioned but should not be the main focus of the candidate’s application.
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YOUR CHALLENGE IS:
DESIGN AN EXPERIMENT TO TEST ON A HIGH-ALTITUDE BALLOON
ENTRIES DUE: November 01, 2024 | 11:59 PM PT
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| Watch for more STEM opportunities in the STEM West Newsletter! |
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