Having worked for a variety of higher education institutions over the course of the past decade, it is very concerning to me that each institution’s hope of attaining more racial diversity is not necessarily translating into any drastic changes in enrollment. Currently, enrollment in higher education is not reflective of our increasingly diverse society, but rather is representative of an overtly White, post-secondary environment. My experience and research has indicated that practition...
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education seems to be the most popular fad in the field of education today. Many educational leaders are convinced that the multidisciplinary and engaging nature of STEAM learning is what will finally hook students into developing “21st century skills.” As the STEAM administrator for Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS), I can say that these expectations are a bit far afield. I will say, however, that STEAM education frameworks...
Alligator clips connect to copper tape, batteries, and lights to create a working paper circuitry notebook that features 13 major constellations. The 20 educators who signed on to participate in the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project ’s 21st Century Notebooking Inquiry Project, a Grable-sponsored exploration into paper circuitry, dove straight into “doing,” trying out first hand what they intended to teach others. The group represented various contexts: public, private, and char...