Awakening Your STEM School: Assuring A Job-Ready Workforce

By Aaron Smith and Bud Ramey

Dr. Aaron Smith, the director of a pioneering STEM public school, answers the question, "How can educators transform an ordinary STEM site into an inspired, premiere learning center?" "Awakening Your STEM School" provides a proven framework for teachers, administrators, and business partners offering forty-two actions and ideas with over 300 tips to transformation. Dr. Smith's passionate approach is simple and focused; prepared just for teachers, principals, and business leaders who are daily cobbling together their STEM school, seeking inspiration and valuable suggestions. No matter where a school or program is in the advancement toward STEM education, the catalyst for transformation is already there – residing in the heart of the teachers and leadership. (Dr. Aaron L. Smith)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dr. Aaron L. Smith
• Release date: Dec 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781633930612

Aaron Smith

Aaron Smith has been encouraging husbands to lead their families according to the Bible through his site HusbandRevolution.com since May 2011. He passionately urges men to strive for spiritual maturity, supporting husbands with marriage encouragement. Aaron has coauthored several books on marriage with his wife, including 31 Prayers for My Wife, 31 Prayers for My Future Wife, a thirty-day marriage devotional titled Husband After God, and Marriage After God. Aaron and Jennifer have been working together as a team for the last decade, using their giftings to produce over ten books and help others draw closer to God through their website marriageaftergod.com. The Smiths are eager to continue working together to fulfill God’s purpose for their marriage by publishing Christian marriage books and resources and hosting a weekly Marriage After God podcast as a means to inspire others in their marriage and faith journey. They live with their five young children in central Oregon.

Book preview

PRAISE FOR

AWAKENING YOUR

STEM SCHOOL

Teachers and administrators can use this book as a guide to develop and implement other innovative approaches to enhance STEM learning in their school, community, and state.

—Dr. Roger A. Hathaway,

Special STEM Programs Manager, NASA

Dr. Smith’s experiences in STEM education are sure to inspire educators and leaders to answer the national call to action in STEM education.

—Tami Byron,

EIR/STEM Specialist,

Newport News Public Schools,

National Institute of Aerospace

In a 21st century classroom, it is essential to provide students with real-world experiences to drive interest in fields that are critical to the U.S. manufacturing sector.

—Josh Cramer,

Senior Educational Programs Officer,

Society of Manufacturing Engineers

Dr. Smith uses his experiences with real students and their stories to illustrate his ideas about how to make a STEM school work. This book will inspire educators to think ’out of the box’ about how to really motivate students and parents to engage with STEM.

—Dr. Marsha Srague,

Director of Teacher Preparation,

Christopher Newport University

Awakening Your STEM School

by Dr. Aaron L. Smith

with Bud Ramey

© Copyright 2015 Dr. Aaron L. Smith

with Bud Ramey

ISBN 978-1-63393-061-2

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.

FOR SHERRI

This book is dedicated to my wife, Sherri, who has truly inspired me to dream big and never to settle for being average, and to our children Hunter, Ryan and Addison, who I hope will have teachers that will challenge them to reach for the stars.

—Aaron

THE REAL WORLD

Presidential goals for the nation are published. States are drawing up Visions and funding initiatives. School systems are raising the STEM flag.

Dr. Aaron Smith publishes this guide for teachers and principals who are daily cobbling together their STEM school, seeking inspiration and valuable suggestions.

Dr. Smith uses a simple and focused approach: bring industry to the school where the culture and curriculum are integrated to model real world applications. Make your actions deliberate and focused on the students. Enable the teachers and faculty to become inspired, playing key roles in the planning and implementation.

And as he concludes, no matter how far along the STEM education journey a school or program has advanced, the catalyst for transformation is already there—residing in the heart of the teachers and leadership.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE AWAKENING

SPECIAL THANKS

DEDICATION

FOREWORD

PREFACE

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

CHAPTER ONE:

HANDING ME THE THROTTLE

CHAPTER TWO:

SHAPING HOW WE THINK ABOUT THE WORLD

CHAPTER THREE

FACING THE HIGH STAKES OF FAILURE

CHAPTER FOUR

ASKING FOR SUPPORT—ASK NOT…GET NOT

CHAPTER FIVE

DEVELOPING PRACTICAL CORE BELIEFS FOR SCHOOL

CHAPTER SIX

DEVELOPING CHALLENGING CORE BELIEFS FOR TEACHERS

CHAPTER SEVEN

CREATING INSPIRATIONAL CORE BELIEFS FOR STUDENTS – 2.0

CHAPTER EIGHT

EVOLVING WITH CONTINUOUS TRANSFORMATION

CHAPTER NINE

DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY TECHNICAL PANEL

CHAPTER TEN

CREATING VALUE WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAMPIONING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BUSINESS PARTNERS

CHAPTER TWELVE

OBSERVING A STEM CLASSROOM IN THE 21ST CENTURY

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

UNIFYING STEM INITIATIVES ACROSS THE DISTRICT

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

UNDISCOVERED TEACHING TOOLS AWAIT YOUR DISCOVERY

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

MASTERING THE ART OF GRANT WRITING

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

TAPPING THE VAST AND INFINITE RESOURCES OF THE INTERNET HARNESSING A WHOLE NEW ERA OF TEACHING

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CELEBRATING YOUR SUCCESS – TELLING STORIES OF HARD WORK AND THE REWARDS

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

BECOMING A PRO AT EVENT MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER NINETEEN

STIMULATING STUDENT CURIOSITY: BLEND CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION WITH STEM

CHAPTER TWENTY

CREATING ADDITIONAL VALUE BY MAPPING OUT A CAREER CENTER

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

MARKETING AND RECRUITING DAILY

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ENVISIONING STEM IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN FUTURE YEARS

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

OUR GENERATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON AMERICA’s FUTURE

IDEAS IN ACTION INDEX

44 Ideas and Actions for Educators

More Than 300 Tips for Success

IDEAS IN ACTION #1

5 CORE BELIEFS TO LIVE BY

IDEAS IN ACTION #2

FOCUS ON THE DROPOUT: THE SILENT EPIDEMIC

IDEAS IN ACTION #3

5 WAYS TO TEACH WITH INSPIRATION

IDEAS IN ACTION #4

7 COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES TO OFFER DECISION MAKERS

IDEAS IN ACTION #5

7 FEATURES TO EMBED INTO YOUR CURRICULUM

IDEAS IN ACTION #6

CREATING THE VISION AND CORE BELIEFS

IDEAS IN ACTION #7

DEVELOPING THE VISION

IDEAS IN ACTION #8

4 CONSIDERATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORE BELIEFS FOR TEACHERS

IDEAS IN ACTION #9

DEFINING WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

IDEAS IN ACTION #10

CREATING CORE BELIEFS FOR STAFF

IDEAS IN ACTION #11

CREATING CORE BELIEFS FOR STUDENTS

IDEAS IN ACTION #12

CONTINUOUS TRANSFORMATION BLENDS 6 KEY ELEMENTS

IDEAS IN ACTION #13

7 STEPS TO MAXIMIZE RESOURCES

IDEAS IN ACTION #14

5 WAYS TO STIMULATE INNOVATION

IDEAS IN ACTION #15

REVIEW, REFLECT, AND REPORT BACK

IDEAS IN ACTION #16

7 STEPS TO ORGANIZING TECHNICAL PANELS

IDEAS IN ACTION #17

9 PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNICAL PANELS

IDEAS IN ACTION #18

5 KEY MOTIVATIONS FOR INVESTING IN GOOD SCHOOL PR

IDEAS IN ACTION #19

7 WAYS TO CELEBRATE ACHIEVEMENT

IDEAS IN ACTION #20

10 WAYS TO CREATE OWNERSHIP AND VALUE IN THE SCHOOL

IDEAS IN ACTION #21

5 WAYS TO APPROACH BUSINESS PARTNERS FOR SUPPORT

IDEAS IN ACTION #22

8 WAYS TO DEVELOP STEM IN INTERNSHIPS

IDEAS IN ACTION #23

SIMPLE TRAIN THE TRAINER APPROACH

IDEAS IN ACTION #24

12 KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHOOSING STUDENTS FOR INTERNSHIPS

IDEAS IN ACTION #25

GOALS: IDENTIFYING AND IMPLEMENTING STEM IN A SCHOOL

IDEAS IN ACTION #26

ACTIVATIORS AND THEIR EFFECT

IDEAS IN ACTION #27

11 WAYS FOR MEASURING STEM PROGRESS

IDEAS IN ACTION #28

IDENTIFYING AND IMPLEMENTING STEM IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT

IDEAS IN ACTION #29

15 GRANT WRITING TIPS FOR STEM GRANT SUBMISSIONS

IDEAS IN ACTION #30

15 IMPORTANT GUIDELINES FOR USING THE INTERNET IN STEM CLASSES

IDEAS IN ACTION #31

13 PLANNING TIPS FOR VITAL EVENTS

IDEAS IN ACTION #32

4 OUTSTANDING RESOURCES FOR COMBINING CTE AND STEM

IDEAS IN ACTION #33

12 IDEAS FOR CREATING A ROBUST CAREER CENTER

IDEAS IN ACTION #34

12 SUGGESTIONS FOR MARKETING AND PROMOTION OF YOUR STEM PROGRAM

IDEAS IN ACTION #35

11 VITAL QUESTIONS YOUR LITERATURE SHOULD ADDRESS

IDEAS IN ACTION #36

15 WAYS TO PLAN A GREAT OPEN HOUSE

IDEAS IN ACTION #37

15 BIG DREAMS FOR THE STEM SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE

IDEAS IN ACTION #38

7 IMPORTANT ACTIONS TO STRENTHEN AND NURTURE YOUR BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

IDEAS IN ACTION #39

12 LESSONS FOR DIRECTORS FROM THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

IDEAS IN ACTION #40

6 LESSONS FOR TEACHERS FROM THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

IDEAS IN ACTION #41

11 BIG QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN CREATING YOUR PLAN

APPENDIX 1

IDEAS IN ACTION #42

28 GREAT WEBSITES FOR STEM CLASSROOM RESOURCES

APPENDIX 2

IDEAS IN ACTION #43

23 GREAT WEBSITES FOR STEM GRANTS

APPENDIX 3

IDEAS IN ACTION #44

53 FREE OR LOW-COST STEM-RELATED APPS

ENDNOTES

STEM IN ACTION PHOTOS

THE AWAKENING

It is my pleasure to be included in this chronicle of how the Denbigh High School Aviation Academy has built a successful STEM program through leadership, teamwork and the ability to inspire students and surrounding business partners.

In Newport News, we count the STEM learning model as a key benefit. Inquiry-based, student-driven, self-direction, critical thinking and teamwork are just a few words commonly used to describe STEM learning. The Denbigh High School Aviation Academy is a prime example of how students are working together on projects that require these characteristics and strong skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As Aviation Academy students build a working airplane, all of those skills and talents are put into action and will become marketable career skills for their future.

Throughout our community, we see a high level of interest and excitement from students, family members and business people who know how important STEM is to student advancement and economic development. That’s why I am so pleased that Newport News Public Schools is a leader in STEM education and provides students with opportunities every day to engage their minds in meaningful ways that help them become college-, career-, and citizen-ready.

The Aviation Academy and its leadership are demonstrating that public education can be relevant, rigorous and motivating as we prepare students for success in the 21st century. I hope this book will provide its readers with insights and knowledge that will help build more successful STEM programs for students.

—Ashby C. Kilgore, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Newport News (Virginia) Public Schools

SPECIAL THANKS

Special thanks goes out to Dr. Leslie Kaplan, Dr. William Owings, Dr. Marsha Sprague, Dr. Theresa Banks, Dr. Crystal Taylor, Mrs. Tami Byron, Mr. Josh Cramer, Mr. Anthony Vladu, Ms. Susan Tilley, Mr. Dhyronn Goggins, and Dr. Roger A. Hathaway. Special thanks go out to our school superintendent, Dr. Ashby Kilgore, who is not only passionate for children, but also a true visionary for all 21st century educators.

Bill Grace, one of the finest photographers in the nation, provided us with some marvelous photography for this inspired work. We express our deepest gratitude to Bill for his wonderful contribution to the future of STEM education in America.

DEDICATION

THE POWERFUL IMPACT OF STEM ON STUDENTS

BECAUSE OF MY EXPERIENCES with several special students, I am passionate about inspiring our students with STEM education. We clearly witness a transformation with many young people.

A young man from a broken family who visited my first orientation tour at the Academy with his grandparents became one of the first students to truly inspire me.

Lante Tucker’s grades suffered as an eighth grader. Yet he indicated high interest in the Aviation Academy program and came to us, expressing that he wanted to become a pilot. We chatted. Later, after checking his academic performance, we told him he had to improve his grades first. If he got his grades up in the 9th grade year, we promised, Aviation would pick him up as a 10th grader.

We continued to meet over that year. He demonstrated a continued and sincere desire to become an Aviation Academy student.

Lante earned a 3.4 GPA in his 9th grade year, and we believed he would succeed. Grinning from ear to ear, as a student he immediately began to inspire others.

Lante’s confidence grew, as did his leadership. He loved the Academy. His project team presented their wind tunnel science fair project, winning the city competition and bringing home three major honors at the regional level. Lante and team partner Josh Ramey received first place honors from the U.S. Air Force and the Armed Forces Electronic Association.

He evolved into a leader in our program. The staff committed to help Lante excel. We inspired and motivated this young man at every opportunity, helping him learn to overcome his personal struggles. We all believed in Lante.

In his 10th grade year, everything went fairly well, but something seemed wrong. He confided his concerns about his grandmother’s health. I reminded him to keep going and to let us know what we need to do to help him. Unfortunately, his grandmother, who championed him to excel in his academics, who inspired him more than anyone, passed away. This had a profound impact on him.

He finished the year but could not get back on top of