STEM Resources: One Stop Shopping Guide for Programs and Organizations Dedicated to Supporting STEM
The 2012 AuthenticSTEM Guide was published yesterday. It is a wide ranging collection of STEM resources organized by Diana Laboy-Rush’s Eight Keys to Education Reform Through STEM. The Eight Keys: investigate, focus, collaborate, inspire enrich engage design, integrate.
The guide contains brief descriptions of programs and organizations from all over the U.S. that support youth in STEM. Some you will recognize as they have been around for several decades–others will probably be unknown to you. So do some browsing. You may find a program or an organization whose materials and approach will be a great fit for the youth with whom you work. 
KIDS Consortium and the Maine Math and Science Alliance are in the Collaborate section of the guide as organizations that can help educators to combine high quality service-learning with high quality STEM instruction. See examples of projects from the partnership.
21st Century Skills and Service Learning: Data Collection and Analysis Creating Critical Thinkers and Effective Citizens
Wanted: caring citizens who think critically, analyze information and make well-informed choices.
Last week I posted a list of seven ways service learning provides opportunities for students to demonstrate 21st Century Skills and gave examples of one of the skills being met through a real project.
Here again is the list:
1) Solve complex, multidisciplinary problems;
2) Think critically, analyze information and make well-informed choices;
3) Be creative and entrepreneurial;
4) Communicate effectively in person and in writing;
5) Collaborate and foster teamwork;
6) Participate in civic life and democratic decision-making; and
7) Cultivate an ongoing commitment to learning.
Let’s look at another project and see how students are developing these skills. (more…)
Seven Ways Service Learning Helps Students to Master 21st Century Skills while Helping Communities to Meet 21st Century Challenges
You have heard it before…service learning is a powerful strategy for helping students to meet 21st Century Skills while transforming communities. Well, it’s true. But how does service learning do that? Over the next few weeks through this blog we are going to explore that a bit. I hope that you will use the comment space to share your own thoughts and examples.
The title above says “Seven Ways Service Learning Helps Students etc…” So that’s it…there are seven. Well, there maybe more, maybe less. In KIDS as Planners: A Guide to Strengthening Students, Schools, and Communities through Service-Learning we identify seven. So let’s start with the idea that there are seven and go on from there. (more…)
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