Beccy Hambright on STEM

Is America getting stomped by much of the rest of the world in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)?

BH: In my opinion, the answer to your question is a resounding, NO! American educators and administrators, researchers, corporate sponsors and government leaders have honed in on the need for STEM education and careers in America and are meeting the need with appropriate programs and funding. The Obama Administration has earmarked $250 million for math and science education alone. While recent chatter is that American students are being left behind in a cloud of global dust, current statistics show that it is Finland and other Scandinavian countries that are ahead in STEM education and that American students are no less well prepared than other students throughout the world. There is, of course, always room for improvement, but the need for greater STEM curricula and instruction throughout American schools has not gone unnoticed or unaddressed.

Please tell us about Texas Tech's special efforts to improve the teaching of STEM at the K-12 and college levels.

BH: Texas Tech University is a leader in STEM outreach in K-12 and higher education in Texas. We received a nearly $1 million NSF grant last August to administer the many STEM programs on our campus. Here are some headlines from the past couple years:

Texas Tech Receives $2.7 Million Grant From National Science Foundation (April 2008)
Texas Tech Receives NSF Grant to Fund Low-Income Math Scholars (Sept. 2007)
Texas Tech, Regional Partners Receive $6 Million NSF Grant for Middle School Math Project (Sept. 2008).

Texas Tech was also one of only 30 campuses around the country this summer to host an ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Camp for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students.

Additionally, the Texas Tech College of Engineering Center for Engineering Outreach has actively trained engineering students for the past several years to become mentors for K-12 teachers and students throughout West Texas and the South Plains. Reaching thousands of students yearly, the university students bring robotics, rocketry, STEM literacy, physics and a host of other subjects into K-12 classrooms.

At the K-12 level, aside from more money, what else can be done?

BH: Funding, of course, is crucial to implement and conduct adequate K-12 classroom programs for teachers and students. Professional development training for teachers is a necessity in order to keep U.S. teachers on the cutting edge of STEM curriculum. Corporate and community sponsors who provide assistance to schools and students through a variety of programs and initiatives are also key to the successful marriage of education with future careers.

At the college level, aside from more money, what else can be done?

BH: University mentoring programs have proved highly successful not only for providing academic services to local and area schools and assistance to classroom teachers, but such avenues have helped university students see their roles in the future of STEM in American education and careers. Several Texas Tech professors and departments have already set STEM wheels in motion by incorporating such programs into their classroom curricula so that university students get hands-on experience in dealing with K-12 students. Mentors from the Center for Engineering Outreach report that they have grown both personally and professionally by participating in that program. They have become acutely aware of their personal roles in developing community and classroom relationships and of serving as liaisons between K-12 students and the university as a whole.

Engineering has traditionally been a college subject. Should it be taught at the K-12 level?

BH: Many Texas classrooms have already begun incorporating engineering subjects into their K-12 curricula. The need is obvious: "Whereas scientists ask questions about the world around us — what is out there, how do things work, and what rules can be deduced to explain the patterns we see — engineers modify the world to satisfy people's needs and wants" (Katehi, Pearson, & Feder, 2009). Incorporating an "engineering design" into current curricula helps students develop critical thinking skills and encourages them to understand the "why" of learning.

In sizable school systems, should each school make a strong effort with STEM or should it be concentrated in one elite, area-wide school?

BH: All students in every school, sizable or otherwise, should be afforded STEM learning and related skills by well-trained teachers. Having just completed a two-week, residential ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science camp that included 48 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students from rural West Texas schools, I can say with confidence that ALL students deserve the best education possible. One of our campers avows that she will find the cure for cancer; watching her interest and enthusiasm during classroom activities, I have no doubt she very well may! Excellence in education should never be restricted; American history proves that that necessity. The current push to ensure quality teachers, instruction and curriculum across the nation is crucial for all students to be assured academic foundations that will carry them to successful careers in today's global economy.

How concerned are you about the STEM problem in America?

BH: I would say STEM opportunity, not problem. There is clearly a need for greater focus on STEM-related education and careers, but I believe the need is being addressed in viable and laudable ways. Funding is being provided in a variety of ways; teachers are being provided with superb professional development opportunities; school administrators are embracing programs that enhance STEM-related growth on their campuses. Any problem that has heretofore existed in America with incorporating science, technology, engineering and math into curricula or career needs has been eradicated and successfully addressed and replaced.

Is there anything else about the STEM issue you'd like to say?

BH: I would like to thank you for the opportunity to address STEM education and college and career readiness. As is the case with all current issues, awareness is the key in making sure that lawmakers, fiscal proponents, academics and society as a whole get a clear picture of what is happening and what needs to happen to ensure success for today's K-12 students. Having worked with teachers and their students for over 20 years, I foresee a bright future so long as we remain focused on our children and the programs and policies that ensure their success in a rapidly-evolving universe.

(Dr. Hambright has spent 23 years at Texas Tech, where she earned her bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees.)