Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Why aren’t female students sticking with STEM?

Female middle and high school students have a high aptitude fit with, but low interest in, STEM careers, such as technology, manufacturing, and architecture, among others, according to the 2023 Female Student and STEM Career Exposure Gap Report from YouScience.

Based on nationwide data gathered from the test results of more than 225,000 female middle and high school students who completed the Aptitude & Career Discovery assessment from YouScience Brightpath in 2022, the key findings show that female students have:

  • More than 11x the aptitude for Advanced Manufacturing careers than interest
  • 8x more aptitude for Computers & Technology careers than interest
  • Nearly 4x more aptitude for Agriculture & Natural Resources than interest
  • Nearly 3x more aptitude for Architecture & Construction careers than interest

Additionally, the report found that female students have greater interest than aptitude for careers in Human Services, Law and Public Safety, Teaching, and Arts & Media.…Read More

Building pathways to successful STEM careers for ALL learners

The journeys that children take through education are not as straightforward as most people think.  

In recent years, close to 70 percent of students went straight from high school to college, with those going to four-year universities typically outnumbering those enrolling in two-year colleges by roughly two to one. But a growing number of young people are forging new paths that involve a detour around college altogether.

College-going rates have been trending down since before the COVID-19 pandemic. And a national survey conducted in 2021 by ECMC Group found that less than half of high school students said they planned to attend a four-year college or university–a decrease of more than 20 percentage points from 2019. …Read More

Gen Z students are aiming for STEM careers

A majority of high school and college students chose STEM as their No. 1 preferred career path, according to a survey of 11,495 Gen Z students conducted by the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS).

The 2022 Career Interest Survey gives insights into what motivates an adventurous, civic-minded, concerned, vocal, tech-savvy, emerging workforce.

NSHSS is an academic honor society that recognizes and serves high-achieving student scholars in more than 26,000 high schools across 170 countries.…Read More

STEM careers are among students’ top choices

Students’ interests in various career fields had an overwhelming STEM and digital focus, according to a survey from the nonprofit American Student Assistance (ASA).

ASA, which aims to change the way middle and high schoolers learn about careers and navigate education-to-career opportunities, used its free immersive digital Futurescape platform to survey more than 2,000 students as they explored real-world careers beyond the classroom.

“We need to set students up for success by exposing them to career choices that they can explore where they live, which is on their mobile devices. We also have to reach them as early as middle school, before a world of career and postsecondary options begins to narrow,” said ASA President and CEO Jean Eddy. …Read More

6 female tech leaders offer advice for women in STEM

It’s common knowledge that engaging–and retaining–girls and women in STEM classes, STEM degrees, and STEM careers is an ongoing challenge.

Some key elements in this equation are representation, along with ensuring girls and women have role models to support them in their STEM learning and career paths.

The pandemic has prompted many workers to change their career paths, and many STEM sectors like cybersecurity struggle with talent shortages. Women only account for 28 percent of the STEM workforce today.…Read More

The STEM Careers Coalition Celebrates Black Leaders in STEM with Dynamic Digital Careers Content and Exclusive Virtual Events

The  STEM Careers Coalition – the first-of-its-kind national STEM initiative powered by corporate leaders and anchored in schools by Discovery Education – invites educators, students, and communities to celebrate Black leaders in STEM year-round with the launch of dynamic careers content and a series of virtual educator events. The array of new on-demand resources leverages the power of digital content to connect all learners to their innate curiosity by bringing real-world STEM to life in the classroom. Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms worldwide.

Connecting the dots between classrooms and careers, the STEM Careers Coalition presents a robust array of career profiles introducing students to leaders in dynamic industries and job roles – like Boeing aircraft maintenance technician Brandon James, engineering project manager Antoine Sande from American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Microsoft program manager Wadood Daoud, drilling engineer Jesica Holley at Chevron, and senior policy advisor Uni Blake from American Petroleum Institute – and shows how students can use their STEM skills to make a difference in the world. Each career profile video is accompanied by fun activities that help students gain a deeper understanding of the world of work, helping them see themselves as the next generation of STEM leaders. Learn more  here.

Discovery Education is supporting the launch of this new content with two exclusive virtual events spotlighting the importance and value of diversity in STEM:…Read More

Here’s why robotics education will help students for life

Much of today’s impactful teaching focuses on the “why” behind the concept being taught. When it comes to STEM concepts such as robotics, educators and students alike may wonder why they should learn robotics if they don’t plan to pursue it in college or the workforce. The answer? Robotics education will help students for life.

Students are more engaged when they understand how classroom concepts apply in the real world. Learning how robotics, science, engineering, and other STEM concepts are used to solve complex problems speaks to the “why” behind robotics education.

Related Content:…Read More

Survey: Boys have waning interest in STEM careers

Boys’ interest in STEM careers has dropped over the past year, while girls’ interest remains the same, according to an annual survey from Junior Achievement and Ernst & Young LLP.

Last year, 36 percent of surveyed male high school students said they wanted a STEM career, but this year, only 24 percent reported the same. For two years straight, just 11 percent of female high school students say they want to pursue a STEM profession.

Girls’ low interest in STEM education and careers isn’t exactly new–by middle school, many girls lose interest in and enthusiasm for STEM subjects for a variety of reasons, including the false perception that science, math, and technology classes aren’t “cool,” as well as a lack of female representation in STEM professions. Still, many initiatives and schools are working to combat this trend.…Read More

New Trump laws will support women in STEM fields

President Donald Trump has signed two bills aimed at increasing the number of women who pursue entrepreneurial endeavors and space-related STEM careers.

“Currently, only 1 in every 4 women who gets a STEM degree is working in a STEM job, which is not fair and it’s not even smart for the people that aren’t taking advantage of it,” Trump said in remarks during the signing. “It’s unacceptable that we have so many American women who have these degrees but yet are not being employed in these fields. So I think that’s going to change. That’s going to change very rapidly.”

The Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act authorizes the National Science Foundation “to encourage its entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world.”…Read More