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Welcome to the debut issue of Spotlight on Southeast STEM. We hope it is a helpful tool for keeping informed about STEM-related news, organizations, and activities in Southeastern Massachusetts, as well as policy developments at the national and state levels. To suggest articles or information for inclusion, contact Lee Anne Campbell, the Southeast/Cape and Islands Regional PreK-16 STEM Network coordinator, at southeaststemnetwork@connectsemass.org. Thank you! |
| Southeast MA STEM News and Events |
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Revitalization of the Southeastern MA/Cape & Islands
Regional PreK-16 STEM Network
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Students at KidsCollege, Bristol Community College |
The Southeast/Cape and Islands Regional PreK-16 STEM Network is a collection of schools, institutions of higher education, other formal and informal educational organizations, and business and industry whose representatives are concerned with improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the region. The Network serves as a clearinghouse of STEM-related information in southeastern MA. It is one of six Regional STEM Networks in the state funded through the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education's STEM Pipeline Fund. |
 | | Student at microscope |
All-Network Meeting March 23, 2011,
Bristol Community College,
Attleboro Campus
SAVE THE DATE!
WHEN: Wednesday, March 23, 2011
4:00 to 6:00 pm
Refreshments served at 3:30
Networking until 6:30 pm
WHERE: Attleboro Center of Bristol
Community College
DETAILS: An invitation, more detailed program information, and
registration form will be issued shortly through this
newsletter mailing list.
The SE/Cape and Islands K-16 STEM Network and the UMass Dartmouth Kaput Center invite you to a meeting entitled Connecting K-12 STEM to Higher Education. Representatives from the CONNECT higher education institutions will be on hand to talk about their STEM outreach efforts and about specific programs for which they are soliciting K-12 participation, and hear about the needs of our region's K-12 educators. The CONNECT Partnership includes six public colleges in southeastern MA: Bristol, Cape Cod, and Massasoit Community Colleges; Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts Maritime Academy; and the University of MA Dartmouth. All those interested in STEM education are welcome to attend this free program. This event takes the place of Roundtable #3 previously advertised on the Kaput Center website. Please note the new location. |
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State and National News and Events |
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Report from Governor Patrick's STEM Advisory Council
A new statewide STEM plan is helping to re-energize science, technology, engineering, and math education at the K-12 and higher education levels throughout Massachusetts. Entitled A Foundation for the Future: Massachusetts' Plan for Excellence in STEM Education - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, this first-ever long-term STEM plan was delivered on September 28, 2010 at the 7th Annual STEM Summit hosted by the University of Massachusetts. Read the press release or the full report at the website of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council. |
 President Obama's Education Agenda In his second State of the Union Speech, President Obama focused heavily on the need for improved STEM education in the U.S. He called for a new effort to prepare 100,000 STEM teachers over the coming decade, and emphasized the goal that all students should graduate from high school ready to embark on college or eventual careers. As relayed by the New York Times, 01/25/2011, "Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school education. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren't even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree." "To compete, higher education must be within the reach of every American." View a video of the complete speech. |
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STEM Report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
In September of 2010, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) produced a report entitled Report to the President, Prepare and Inspire: K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math (STEM) For America's Future. View the full version, or the Executive Report, or the press release. |
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MASS Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary offers monthly Celebration Saturdays with workshops for adults, kids, and families. It's free for Sanctuary members, and non-members are welcome to join in the fun when they pay regular Sanctuary admission. |
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Help for Middle School Teachers Preparing to Take the MTEL in Math
The Regional Science Resource Center of the Central Regional PreK-16 STEM Network (in Shrewsbury), will sponsor a co urse designed to help prepare teachers to take the middle school mathematics portion of the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL). Classes will be held Thursdays after school, from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm, beginning on March 3 for the May 14 test date. Further information and a registration form are available. |
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Navigating MA Environmental Education: Mountains to Marine
The Massachusetts Environmental Education Society (MEES) will hold its annual one-day conference on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. Check the MEES site
to download the conference brochure and register online (if space is still available). |
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Micropipette: a precision tool for bio-technology |
6th Annual Conference on Health and Biotechnological Topics, March 3
Bridgewater State University's Center for the Advancement of Science Exploration (CASE) has announced its Conference on Health and Biotechnological Topics to be held Thursday, March 3, 2011 (snow date: Tuesday, March 8) from 3:00 to 9:00 pm at the BSU Moakley Center. The keynote address by Melissa R. Mazan, Associate Professor and Director of the Equine Sports Medicine Program at Tufts University is titled, Everybody's Doing It: The Pathway from Stem Cell Experiment to Regenerative Medicine. Registration is limited, and a fee of $10.00 will be collected at the door. Click here for further information and to register. |
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A Weeken d of SCUBA and Undersea Research
The Boston Sea Rovers, one of the oldest SCUBA clubs in the nation, will hold its annual weekend program Saturday and Sunday, March 5 and 6, at the Crowne Plaza Boston North Shore Hotel in Danvers, MA. There are daytime seminars, workshops, an international film festival, and the largest display of dive equipment and services in New England. For more information, visit the website www.bostonsearovers.com, Facebook page, or contact the group at educators@bostonsearovers.com. |
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 Check out the High School Marine Science Symposium to be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Teachers may register to bring their students to the event on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Students will attend concurrent workshops and two keynote talks,"JAWS" Revisited: The White Shark in New England and Oh My Cod! The Extraordinary Life and Times of Cod in New England. The deadline for registration is March 11.
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Hands-On STEM Workshops
The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) will have their BuildingEnergy Conference March 8- 10, 2011 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. The conference brings together architects, designers, planners, builders, policymakers, manufacturers, and installers who work together in a cross-disciplinary approach generate new ideas in sustainability. An Educators' Summit will be held on Wednesday, March 9, as part of the BuildingEnergy conference. Further details and registration. |
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16th Annual Cape Cod Natural History Conference
On Saturday, March 12, the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary will host its 16th annual review of on-going natural history research on the Cape and Islands. The conference will be held in the Tilden Arts Center of the Cape Cod Community College from 8:30 am (registration begins) to 3:00 pm. Click here for further information and registration information. |
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From the Kaput Center
The Kaput Center's free Interdisciplinary Colloquium Series takes place on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:00 pm at the Kaput Center. On March 9, Dr. Pamela Karimi of the University of MA Dartmouth will speak on Stars in the Classroom: Teaching Geometry Through Islamic Art. |
 Teachers in Space Offers Historic Flight Opportunity in 2011
High School Teachers to Fly Experiments on Excelsior Stem Mission
In the summer of 2011, high school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers will have a chance to fly experiments on an early unmanned flight of a suborbital reusable launch vehicle (RLV). The workshop is being developed under a cooperative agreement between Teachers in Space and NASA. In addition to the Suborbital Flight Experiment Workshop, Teachers in Space announced four other workshops for high school teachers - a Space Medicine and Human Factors workshop and three Suborbital Astronautics Workshops - all to take place during the summer of 2011. Additional information and workshop applications can be found at Teachers in Space.
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STEM Directory | |
Coming Soon | |
A major goal of the Southeast/Cape & Islands Network is to establish and maintain a database of the region's STEM-related organizations and programs. Our homepage will soon sport a new link to a directory listing form.
Representatives of organizations that want to be listed will input their own data after registering as official users of the site. People seeking resources will be able to view the information, and it will be searchable by location, name, and other fields.
While our website is currently being redeveloped, there is a great deal of useful information at the present site. The menu for teachers contains a lengthy list of STEM-related resources.
Please watch this space in upcoming newsletters for announcements about the status of the interactive directory listing form.
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