Just in time for Women’s History Month, the White House presented the first report on the status of American women since the Eleanor Roosevelt Commission prepared one for President Kennedy. Men still out earn women by $1 to 75 cents. However, fields like computer science and engineering enjoy the narrowest gaps.

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Tags: Public Policy, Women in Engineering

Is America ready to join Europe and Asia in embracing a common curriculum? A bipartisan group of educators, business leaders and labor representatives thinks so. Citing the common English and math standards some 40 states have adopted, the group announced support this week for a proposal to provide specific guidelines for schools and teachers about what should be taught in each grade.

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Tags: Curriculum, Education Policy, Public Policy

The U.S. Navy now spends $60 million a year on STEM education, but Navy Secretary Ray Mabus wants to double that amount over five years, officials say. The expanded effort is directed particularly at elementary and middle school students in rural and urban communities – not just areas with existing naval facilities – and at university freshmen and sophomores, too many of whom now drop out of science and engineering.

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Tags: Office of Naval Research (ONR), Outreach, Outreach for Schools, STEM education, STEM subjects, U.S. Navy

Elementary schools are struggling to fit science lessons into a school day packed with other subjects, particularly reading and math that are tied to accountability measures. The amount of science instruction varies by school and district, but many educators say students need more hands-on lessons beginning in elementary school to help prepare them for careers in science fields.

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Tags: Curriculum, Lesson Plan, Lesson Plans, Teachers

What do you call a design problem that includes a futuristic twist and extreme deadline pressure? One of Project Lead the Way’s most daunting–and engaging–challenges, as Pennsylvania students discovered at a recent competition to create a maglev vehicle in just 2.5 hours using only a laptop, bag of parts and their wits.

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Tags: Competitions for Students, Programs for Students, Robotics

Microsoft founder Bill Gates says the nation isn’t getting its money’s worth in education, and faults two assumptions that have led to rising costs: that reducing class size will boost student achievement, and that teachers must be rewarded on the basis of seniority. He suggests identifying the top 25 percent of teachers and paying them more to teach more students.

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Tags: Corporations, Education Policy, Research on Learning, Teacher Training, Teachers

Teachers nationwide could face sharp reductions in their ranks as state and local governments tackle crippling budget shortfalls. Providence, R.I., sent notices to teachers last week warning all of them could lose their jobs. New York City’s preliminary budget calls for thousands of layoffs. How is your district faring?

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Tags: Education Policy, Public Policy, Teachers

Get excited, STEM teachers – it’s time for our final eGFI Engineers Month Giveaway!

In honor of National Engineers Week, eGFI will be giving away free packs of colorful, laminated eGFI cards for your classroom.

And because we love engineering so much, we’re extending the celebration all month and will be giving away one pack of our popular cards every week in February, 2011.

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Filed under: K-12 Education News, K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features | 3 Comments »

Farewell, bulky backpacks–at least in Florida. State education officials recently rolled out a five-year proposal that calls for all students in K-12 to use only “electronic materials” delivered by Kindles, iPads and other similar technology by 2015.

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Tags: Curriculum, Education Policy, Technology for Learning