CTE's Role in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

CTE's Role in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. For the last several years, concern has been brewing aboutAmerica's underinvestment and underperformance in science,technology, engineering and mathematics--the fields collectively knownas STEM. What is STEM, and why is it drawing so much attention? STEM canhe described as an "initiative for securing America'sleadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fieldsand identifying promising strategies for strengthening the educationalpipeline that leads to STEM careers."(1) The elements of STEM areintegral parts of our nation's critical economic sectors, fromhealth care to energy, infrastructure and national security. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] STEM careers include not only those requiring a research-basedadvanced math or science degree, but a broad range of relatedoccupations in areas as diverse as aquaculture, automotive technology,accounting and architecture. More careers than ever before require adeep understanding of STEM principles. Unfortunately, the supply of STEMtalent is not increasing to meet the growing need. Two main factors areaffecting the supply side of the STEM equation. First, the loomingretirement of the baby boom generation will significantly affect theSTEM labor force. The number of current scientists and engineersretiring will increase rapidly over the next decade. Second, toofew-students are currently choosing to prepare for STEM careers. TheUnited States is standing still or falling behind in terms of producingits home-grown STEM talent. At the same time, other nations,particularly population-rich ones like India and China, are rapidlyincreasing the number of STEM professionals that their secondary andpostsecondary education systems produce. (2) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While some of the dearth of STEM professionals can be attributed tolack of interest, there is growing concern that students are not gainingthe foundational skills necessary to be successful in STEM career areaseven if they choose that path. Low student performance is evidenced onthe U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress. Math scores for17-year-olds were significantly unchanged from 2004 to 2008, despite thefact that students are taking more and higher-level math courses in highschool. (3) In fact, test results showed that 41 percent of thosestudents did not even have an understanding of moderately complex mathprocedures and reasoning, such as finding averages and making decisionsbased on graphs.(4) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment,American students performed much worse in science and math than studentsfrom other industrialized countries.(5) In addition, scores in theUnited States were much more closely correlated to socioeconomic statusthan in other countries, and achievement gaps also exist among U.S.students based on race, ethnicity and gender. CTE Provides a Solution CTE has long been a leader in the integration of high-levelacademics and technology. For example, CTE courses in agriculture,nutrition and health care have always contained strong sciencecomponents, in many places earning students core academic credits.During the last decade, however, literally thousands of newcutting-edge, STEM-intensive CTE programs have been launched or expandedin schools across the nation. As these programs move to larger-scaleimplementation, they have amazing potential to help many additionalstudents prepare for and pursue careers in STEM areas. CTE programs andrelated initiatives provide key advantages in addressing the STEMchallenge and securing America's leadership in innovation. CTEprograms offer students a deeper understanding of STEM career pathwaysin order to facilitate student transitions into these areas, buildinterest in STEM and STEM-related careers by making math and sciencecontent more relevant and tangible to students through integration, andhelp grow the STEM workforce pipeline by encouraging more students fromunderrepresented populations to enter these career fields. Providing Career Exploration and Pathways There is a significant challenge in American culture of attractingstudents to actively pursue STEM careers. According to a recent surveyabout teen attitudes toward STEM, youths' lack of understanding ofSTEM creates a serious obstacle. ''Nearly two-thirds of teensindicated that they may be discouraged from pursuing a career in STEMbecause they do not know anyone who works in these fields (31 percent)or understand what people in these fields do (28 percent)."(6) CTE programs, integrated with active career exploration and careeradvising, help students understand the breadth of careers that have arelationship to STEM and the varied pathways that can lead to thosecareers. Courses in areas like aviation and aerospace, informationtechnology, engineering, game design, health care, nanotechnology, andsimulation and robotics expose students to curricula and careers theymay have never even imagined. Embedded in CTE programs are the supportservices necessary to help students pursue these rigorous courses andcareer opportunities; these include mentors, Career and TechnicalStudent Organizations, and work-based learning opportunities such as jobshadowing and internships--which connect youth with caring adult rolemodels. Adding Relevance Through Integration While most students have a strong aptitude for learning, theirparticular learning styles vary significantly. Many students may havedifficulty grasping mathematical concepts and scientific theories ifthey are presented in an abstract manner devoid of clear applications.CTE courses deliver STEM content in a manner that is far different fromthe average academic course. Through the thoughtful integration of STEMconcept, CTE programs can help all students become more STEM literate,and increase the chances that these students will consider STEM-relatedcareers. Examples of integration approaches include the"Math-in-CTE" project carried out by the National ResearchCenter for GTE; the STEM Transitions Initiative, led by the Center forOccupational Research and Development and funded by the U.S. Departmentof Education; and the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford PAS)curriculum modules, developed by Ford Motor Company Fund. Stale andlocal integration efforts are also under way all across the country- GTEcourses demonstrate to students in a vivid way the direct applicabilityof STEM concepts in real-world applications, and show that theseknowledge and skills have value in solving interesting and engagingreal-world problems. Encouraging Students in Underrepresented Populations If the United States is going to successfully attract the number ofadditional students needed to pursue STEM-related careers, allpopulation groups must be included in this effort even those currentlyunderrepresented in STEM areas. Females earn significantly fewerbachelor's and associate degrees in STEM fields like engineering.(7) African-American and Latino students, as a group, have significantlylower achievement levels in math and science and have been declining inthe percentage of degrees earned in STEM fields. (8) These groups arekey to the future of the STEM workforce, and CTE programs across thecountry are taking great strides in attracting them to STEM fields. Tohelp increase the number of women in STEM careers, the Carl D. PerkinsCareer and Technical Education Act continues to require that CTEprograms work to recruit students to programs considered"nontraditional," and holds them accountable forstudents' participation and completion rates. To encourageminorities to enter STEM career fields and better prepare these studentsto overcome current achievement gaps, CTE programs are expanding intourban areas and focusing on low-income and minority students. Forexample, in the Los Angeles Unified School District, a program funded bythe National Science Foundation has focused on encouraging more studentsto enroll in computer technology programs. (9) Meeting the Challenge In an always-growing, flattening, global economy, the United Statesis facing strong international competition in STEM areas. Fortunately,schools and colleges in the United States are rising to die challenge byoffering rigorous, relevant CTE programs with content strong in science,technology, engineering and mathematics. The nation's economicleadership, inherently linked to STEM achievement, will not bemaintained without support for critical CTE programs that build studentinterest and skills in STEM areas. Through the thoughtful investment inSTEM-intensive CTE programs, America can readily increase its supply ofmotivated and prepared students entering STEM-related fields andstrengthen the general STEM literacy of the emerging U.S. workforce. Since 1997, when Project Lead the Way (PLTW) was launched as anindependent not-for-profit organization with 12 high schoolsparticipating, PLTW's pre-engineering program has experienced rapidgrowth. By 2009, approximately 3,000 middle and high schools wereparticipating in the effort, with 250,000 students enrolled in PLTWcourses in engineering and biomedical sciences. (10) This is significantheadway in reaching the goal of producing 400,000 scientists andengineers annually. At Lake Travis High School (LTHS) in Texas, the PLTW curriculum isused as part of the Institute of Math, Engineering and Architecture.LTHS is using an integrated, cohort-based approach to implement PLTW andhelp more students explore careers in engineering. Ninth-grade studentsbegin the program with the PLTW Introduction to Engineering Designcourse and continue with the l0th-grade Principles of Engineeringcourse. During the sophomore year, these students take special,engineering-focused academic courses that help them sec the relevance oftraditional academics to their future career options. For juniors, the coursework includes Digital Electronics, a coursefocusing on skills in basic electronics; logical thinking; problemsolving and troubleshooting; and four articulated credits are offered atAustin Community College. Seniors complete the LTHS PLTW program withmore in-depth elective engineering courses, as well as internships,capstone projects and college connections. Much of the expansion andintegration of the engineering program at Lake Travis has been madepossible by a grant from Siemens Building Technologies. Siemens waslooking for a school district to model and disseminate best practices inhigh school engineering programs. Due to the highly recognized postsecondary engineering programs atAustin Community College and the University of Texas, Take Travis wasselected to participate. The grant has provided business and industryexternships for academic and CTE teachers, common planning time toenhance curriculum integration, partnerships that connect students withthe professional STEM community, and prepares them for postsecondarysuccess across a wide range of career options. Endnotes (1) Alliance for Education, "S.T.E.M.,"www.sbcalliance.org/stem.htm. (2) Business Roundtable, "Tapping America'sPotential," www.tap2015.org/about/TAP_report2.pdf. (3) Zehr, Mary Ann, "Older Students Less Successful on MathNAEP," Education Weekly no. 31 (April 28,2009). (4) U.S. Deportment of Education, Notional Center for EducationStatistics, The Nation's Report Card: Long-Term Trend 2008(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, April 2009). (5) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,"PISA 2006: Science Competencies for Tomorrow's WorldExecutive Summary," www.oecd.org/dataoecd/l5/13/39725224.pdf. (6) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "Survey: Majorityof U.S. Teens Feel Prepared for Careers in Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics, Yet Many Lack Mentors," Press Release,January 7, 2009. (7) U.S. Department of Education, National Center for EducationStatistics, The Condition of Education 2009 (Washington, D.C.: U.S.Government Printing Office, June 2009). (8) "Report: STEM Gap Widens for UnderrepresentedMinorities," THE Journal, May 2, 2008,www.thejournal.com/articles/22543/. (9) Cole, Rebecca, "LA. Unified Makes Computer ScienceAccessible," Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2009,www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-digital-divide21-2009may21,0,4195521.story. (10) Project Lead the Way, "PLTW at a Glance,"www.pltw.org/About/About-Us.cfm. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This article summarizes the Association for Career and TechnicalEducation's(ACTE) Issue Brief titled "CTE's Role inScience, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics." it was releasedin the summer of 2009 to capitalize on the national attention being paidto STEM fields and to position ACTE and career and technical education(CTE) as leaders in improving students' STEM achievement. ACTEIssue Briefs are designed to highlight the role of CTE in a broaderissue of national interest. Each Brief is designed to strengthen thevoice of CTE related to the specific issue and to draw more attention toCTE activities and best practices around the country. The Briefs providebackground information, highlight research, profile CTE programs andinclude numerous examples of how CTE is tied to the broader issue. IssueBriefs are designed in a concise, easy-to-read format that is ideal foruse in advocacy and public awareness efforts with a variety ofaudiences. The STEM Brief's complete text, including case studiesand examples, can be accessed online atwww.acteonline.org/issuebriefs.aspx. Alisha Hyslop is ACTE's assistant director of public policy. She can hecontacted at ahyslop@acteonline.org.