[House Hearing, 112 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
STEM IN ACTION: TRANSFERRING KNOWLEDGE
FROM THE WORKPLACE TO THE CLASSROOM
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011
__________
Serial No. 112-50
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov
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COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HON. RALPH M. HALL, Texas, Chair
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas
Wisconsin JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois
LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California
DANA ROHRABACHER, California ZOE LOFGREN, California
ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland BRAD MILLER, North Carolina
FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois
JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona
W. TODD AKIN, Missouri DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland
RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas MARCIA L. FUDGE, Ohio
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas BEN R. LUJAN, New Mexico
PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia PAUL D. TONKO, New York
SANDY ADAMS, Florida JERRY McNERNEY, California
BENJAMIN QUAYLE, Arizona JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland
CHARLES J. ``CHUCK'' FLEISCHMANN, TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
Tennessee FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia HANSEN CLARKE, Michigan
STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi
MO BROOKS, Alabama
ANDY HARRIS, Maryland
RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois
CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota
LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana
DAN BENISHEK, Michigan
VACANCY
------
Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
HON. MO BROOKS, Alabama, Chair
ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois
BENJAMIN QUAYLE, Arizona HANSEN CLARKE, Michigan
STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi PAUL D. TONKO, New York
ANDY HARRIS, Maryland JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland
RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas
DAN BENISHEK, Michigan
RALPH M. HALL, Texas
C O N T E N T S
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Page
Witness List..................................................... 2
Hearing Charter.................................................. 3
Opening Statements
Statement by Representative Mo Brooks, Chairman, Subcommittee on
Research and Science Education, Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives.................. 8
Written Statement............................................ 9
Statement by Representative Daniel Lipinski, Ranking Minority
Member, Subcommittee on Research and Science Education,
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of
Representatives................................................ 9
Written Statement............................................ 10
Witnesses:
Dr. Michael Beeth, Professor, Department of Curriculum and
Instruction, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Oral Statement............................................... 12
Written Statement............................................ 14
Mrs. Christine Sutton, Secondary Math Teacher, Virgil I. Grissom
High School, Huntsville City Schools, Alabama
Oral Statement............................................... 18
Written Statement............................................ 19
Ms. Robin Willner, Vice President, Global Community Initiatives,
Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM Corporation
Oral Statement............................................... 22
Written Statement............................................ 24
Mr. Jason Morrella, President, Robotics Education and Competition
Foundation
Oral Statement............................................... 27
Written Statement............................................ 30
Dr. Jennifer Jones, Principal Clinical Scientist, Abbott Vascular
Oral Statement............................................... 35
Written Statement............................................ 37
Discussion
............................................................... 40
Appendix: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Dr. Michael Beeth, Professor, Department of Curriculum and
Instruction, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh................... 58
Mrs. Christine Sutton, Secondary Math Teacher, Virgil I. Grissom
High School, Huntsville City Schools, Alabama.................. 60
Ms. Robin Willner, Vice President, Global Community Initiatives,
Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM Corporation... 62
Mr. Jason Morrella, President, Robotics Education and Competition
Foundation..................................................... 63
Dr. Jennifer Jones, Principal Clinical Scientist, Abbott Vascular 65
STEM IN ACTION:
TRANSFERRING KNOWLEDGE FROM
THE WORKPLACE TO THE CLASSROOM
----------
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Research and Science Education,
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in Room
2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Mo Brooks
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
hearing charter
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
STEM in Action: Transferring Knowledge from
the Workplace to the Classroom
thursday, november 3, 2011
10:00 am-12:00 pm
2318 rayburn house office building
Purpose
On Thursday, November 3, 2011, the Subcommittee on Research and
Science Education held the fourth in a series of hearings to highlight
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education activities
across the Nation, their role in inspiring and educating future
generations, and their contribution to our future economic prosperity.
The purpose of this hearing was to examine approaches and programs that
encourage and assist STEM professionals looking to transition their
knowledge and skills from industry to a second career in teaching or to
give back to classroom education as a mentor.
Witnesses
Dr. Michael Beeth, Professor, Department of Curriculum
and Instruction, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Mrs. Christine Sutton, Secondary Math Teacher, Virgil I.
Grissom High School, Huntsville City Schools, Alabama.
Ms. Robin Willner, Vice President, Global Community
Initiatives, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, IBM
Corporation.
Mr. Jason Morrella, President, Robotics Education and
Competition Foundation.
Dr. Jennifer Jones, Principal Clinical Scientist, Abbott
Vascular.
Overview
In the United States, student mastery of STEM subjects is essential
to thrive in the 21st century economy. As other nations continue to
gain ground in preparing their students in these critical fields, the
U.S. must continue to explore a variety of ways to inspire future
generations.
The 2007 Rising Above the Gathering Storm report called for an
increased emphasis on recruiting, educating, training, and increasing
the skills of K-12 STEM education teachers and increasing the pipeline
of American students who are prepared to enter college and graduate
with a degree in STEM.
The U.S. workforce is in a state of flux due to shifting employment
demographics and continues to be aggravated by the current economic
situation and the upcoming retirements of the baby-boomer generation.
Many STEM industry professionals may be looking to make a career
transition that could put them in a classroom by incorporating their
professional experience with teaching or by mentoring students or
teachers in and out of the classroom.
Programs working to connect STEM industry professionals to the
classroom and students, including alternative certification
opportunities and employer-driven mentor and volunteer opportunities,
help to solidify the connection between class work and real-life needs
for students.
The connection between STEM industry professionals and students, in
the classroom and through mentoring and volunteer opportunities,
illustrates for students the opportunities and rewards associated with
STEM careers and may help to prepare and inspire them to pursue STEM
educational opportunities and careers.
Background
STEM industry professionals offer a unique perspective to students
due to a combination of hands-on experience and content knowledge.
Working to increase the involvement of these professionals both inside
the classroom and through outside activities, as teachers, mentors or
volunteers is of interest to many concerned with the need to strengthen
STEM education in the U.S.
STEM Education Funding in the Federal Government
A consensus exists that improving STEM education throughout the
Nation is a necessary condition for preserving our capacity for
innovation and discovery and for ensuring U.S. economic strength and
competitiveness in the international marketplace of the 21st century.
The National Academies Rising Above the Gathering Storm report placed
major emphasis on the need to improve STEM education and made its top
priority increasing the number of highly qualified STEM teachers. This
recommendation was embraced by the House Science, Space, and Technology
Committee following the issuance of the report and was included in the
2007 America COMPETES Act, primarily through the Robert Noyce Teacher
Scholarship Program. The 2010 America COMPETES Reauthorization Act
continues this priority.
Beyond activities authorized in America COMPETES, President Obama
has called for a new effort to prepare 100,000 science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) teachers with strong teaching skills and
deep content knowledge over the next decade. As a component of
achieving this goal, the fiscal year (FY 12) Budget Request proposes an
investment of $100 million through the Department of Education and the
National Science Foundation (NSF) to prepare effective STEM teachers
for classrooms across America. This proposal also responds to a
recommendation by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology (PCAST) to prepare and inspire America's students in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
With specific regard to K-12 STEM education funding beyond what has
already been identified, the FY 12 Budget Request calls for $206
million for the Department of Education's proposed Effective Teaching
and Learning in STEM program; a $60 million (28 percent) increase for
NASA's K-12 education programs; $300 million for an ``Investing in
Innovation'' program (expansion of a Department of Education American
Reinvestment and Recovery Act program); and $185 million for a new
Presidential Teaching Fellowship program.
In total, the FY 12 Budget Request devotes $3.4 billion to STEM
education programs across the Federal Government. \1\ The 2010 America
COMPETES Reauthorization Act called for the creation of a National
Science Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on STEM Education to
coordinate federal STEM investments. The first-year tasks of the
Committee are to create an inventory of federal STEM education
activities and develop a five-year strategic federal STEM education
plan. The inventory, as well as a similar Government Accountability
Office (GAO) survey requested by the Committee on Education and
Workforce, is currently underway and results are expected in early
2012.
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\1\ White House Office of Science and Technology Policy,
Innovation, Education, and Infrastructure: Science, Technology, STEM
Education, and 21st Century Infrastructure in the 2012 Budget, p. 2.
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In the 112th Congress, the Science, Space, and Technology Committee
will continue to hold oversight hearings and briefings on STEM
education activities across the Federal Government and will closely
monitor the scope and findings of both the NSTC and the GAO federal
STEM education inventories.
The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
The National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship
(Noyce) Program is one of the cornerstones of the Federal Government's
efforts to increase the number of highly qualified STEM teachers.
Originally authorized in the 2002 National Science Foundation
Authorization Act (P.L. 107-368), expanded under the 2007 America
COMPETES Act, and reauthorized in the America COMPETES Reauthorization
Act of 2010, the Noyce program provides funding to institutions of
higher education to provide scholarships, fellowships, stipends, and
programmatic support to recruit and prepare STEM majors and
professionals to become K-12 teachers. In FY 11 Noyce programs were
funded at nearly $55 million dollars. The FY 12 budget request is $45
million, a $10 million reduction. \2\
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\2\ FY 2012 NSF Budget Request to Congress, p. EHR-19.
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The Noyce program encourages talented STEM students and
professionals to pursue teaching careers in elementary and secondary
schools in an effort to respond to the critical need for K-12 STEM
teachers. One goal of the program is to recruit individuals with strong
STEM backgrounds who might otherwise not have considered a career in K-
12 teaching. The program works to increase the number of K-12 teachers
with strong STEM content knowledge who teach in high-need school
districts. The Noyce program consists of two different tracks: the
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship track, and the NSF Teaching Fellowship
and Master Teaching Fellowship track.
The Teacher Scholarship track provides funding to colleges and
universities to offer scholarships and programs for undergraduate
students majoring in STEM disciplines and stipends for STEM
professionals seeking to become teachers. Teacher Scholarship projects
include partnerships with school districts, recruitment strategies, and
activities to enable scholarship recipients to become successful
elementary or secondary math and science teachers. Teacher Scholarship
grantees administer scholarships and stipends; offer academic courses
and clinical teaching experiences to prepare scholarship recipients to
teach in elementary and secondary schools; and offer programs during
and after program matriculation to help scholarship recipients become
better math and science teachers and exchange ideas with others in the
field.
Through the Teacher Scholarship program, scholarships of at least
$10,000 per year are available to juniors and seniors majoring in a
STEM discipline. Scholarships may be awarded for up to three years to
include a fifth year of study in a post-baccalaureate teacher-
credentialing program. Stipends of at least $10,000 are available for a
maximum of one year for STEM professionals who hold a baccalaureate,
master's, or doctoral degree in science, mathematics, or engineering
and enroll in a teacher certification program. Teacher Scholarship
projects include program development and enhancement as well as
programmatic support for students. Program components are designed to
attract students into teaching, provide high-quality preparation for
their success as teachers, and to retain them in the teaching
workforce. These activities may include early field experiences,
academic courses in content and pedagogy, and professional development
and mentoring support for new teachers.
The NSF Teaching Fellowship track supports STEM professionals
(recent STEM graduates and STEM career-changers) who enroll as NSF
Teaching Fellows in master's degree programs leading to teacher
certification, and the development of exemplary math and science
teachers to become NSF Master Teaching Fellows. The Teaching Fellowship
track requires cost-sharing, through which grantees provide between 30
and 50 percent of the amount of the Noyce grant from non-federal
sources, depending on the total award amount.
The Teaching Fellowship track provides stipends of at least $10,000
and programmatic support to STEM professionals who enroll in a one-year
master's degree program leading to teacher certification or licensing.
Institutions provide academic courses, activities, and clinical
teaching experiences for the NSF Teaching Fellows. Projects provide
mentoring and professional development while the Teaching Fellows are
fulfilling their four-year teaching requirement in a high-need school
district. The Fellows receive a salary supplement of at least $10,000
per year while they are fulfilling the four-year teaching commitment.
Through NSF Master Teaching Fellowships, institutions offer academic
courses, professional development, and leadership training to prepare
participants to become Master Teachers in elementary and secondary
schools. Master teaching fellows receive salary supplements of at least
$10,000 for each year of the five-year teaching requirement. \3\
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\3\ http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/spring2009/
prival.cfm.
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Alternative Teacher Certification
Pursuing teaching as a second career may be challenging for current
STEM industry professionals who must consider numerous issues from
monetary concerns to certification and licensure requirements.
Alternative certification routes have become more promising for these
transitioning professionals as they may provide more opportunities to
have previous work experience count toward licensure, certification, or
degree requirements.
According to the Secretary's Seventh Annual Report on Teacher
Quality, ``In 2007, alternative route programs to teacher certification
were approved in 48 States, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana
Islands, an increase of two since 2006 (Rhode Island and Northern
Mariana Islands).'' \4\ Many STEM industry professionals already have a
bachelor's degree in a core competency, but are missing the required
teacher-education courses for certification. Alternative teacher
certification requirements differ by State but often include an
accelerated post-baccalaureate program, a student-teaching component,
and the successful completion of certain tests or interviews. In some
cities and States, one can pursue a provisional teacher license that
allows second-career teachers to begin teaching immediately. After
completing required education courses and working under the supervision
of experienced educators for one or two years, those who initially
received provisional licenses can receive a full teaching credential.
Other States offer programs that allow college graduates who do not
meet licensure requirements to take only those courses they lack in
order to become licensed. Additionally, teacher shortages in some areas
and subject matters have prompted many States to offer temporary
emergency licenses to prospective teachers who hold bachelor's degrees.
\5\
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\4\ https://title2.ed.gov/TitleIIReport10-508.pdf, p.
5.
\5\ http://www.alleducationschools.com/education-careers/article/
teaching-as-a-second-career.
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Alternative routes to teacher certification are impacting the way
teachers are educated and brought into the profession. It is estimated
that more than 200,000 persons have been licensed through these
programs. \6\ Not only have more States instituted legislation for
alternative teacher certification, but institutions of higher education
have initiated their own alternative programs for the preparation of
teachers leading to a license to teach. ``California, New Jersey, and
Texas have been developing and aggressively utilizing alternative
routes for licensing teachers since the mid-1980s.'' \7\
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\6\ http://www.teach-now.org/overview.html.
\7\ http://www.teach-now.org/overview.html.
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Alternative certification programs often involve collaboration
between States and schools offering certification programs. For
example, in Virginia, the Career Switcher Alternative Route to
Licensure Program was established in 2000 by the General Assembly.
Initially for military personnel interested in becoming teachers, the
program has been expanded to include individuals in other professions
interested in pursuing a career in education. Institutions of higher
education, school divisions, and private organizations can develop
proposals to act as program providers for the VA Career Switcher
Program. Program providers are responsible for recruiting, screening,
and selecting applicants. Providers must also document that individuals
accepted into Career Switcher Programs meet all Board of Education
requirements. Virginia institutions of higher education serving as
program providers include George Mason University, Old Dominion
University, Regent University, Shenandoah University, and Virginia
Community College System. \8\
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\8\ http://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching/
educator-preparation/career-switcher/index.shtml.
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In Wisconsin, the Alternative Careers in Teaching (act!) program is
an individually tailored, alternative pathway to initial Wisconsin
licensure as a secondary mathematics or science teacher. The program is
customized to adult career-changers looking for an alternative path to
licensure. Participants must hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally
accredited institution and must also have five or more years of work
experience. The act! program is a cooperative program between the
University of Wisconsin Colleges and the University of Wisconsin
Oshkosh. \9\
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\9\ http://www.uwfox.uwc.edu/academics/act2teach/.
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STEM Industry: Teachers, Mentors, and Volunteers
The looming retirements of the baby-boomer generation and current
unemployment rates have exacerbated a U.S. workforce in flux for many
generations. According to a 2007 report from the U.S. Department of
Labor, ``Industries and firms dependent upon a strong science and math
workforce pipeline have launched a variety of programs that target K-12
students and undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields.'' \10\
STEM industry professionals looking to give back to their communities
or to make a career transition to the classroom by incorporating their
professional experience with teaching or by mentoring students or
teachers in and out of the classroom are encouraged by those
organizations launching programs to support STEM education. These
programs often provide the venue for industry professionals to help
students in their communities connect to STEM fields.
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\10\ http://www.doleta.gov/Youth-services/pdf/
STEM-Report-4%2007.pdf, p. 6.
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Beginning a second career as a STEM teacher is a noble endeavor,
but not the only way to give back to a community. A number of STEM
industry professionals prefer to use their capabilities as volunteers
or mentors to help inspire the next generation of STEM professionals.
Programs that encourage employees to volunteer in the classroom and
through on-line mechanisms, or those that highlight industry work
through community events are vital to encouraging students to follow
STEM academic and career paths. Teaching, mentoring, and volunteering
help to illustrate to students the opportunities and rewards associated
with STEM careers and may help to prepare and inspire them to pursue
STEM educational opportunities and careers.
The IBM Corporation: IBM promotes community engagement and
corporate service programs on specific societal issues, including
education. IBM utilizes its technology and talent to solve problems
through direct action and collaboration. Since 2006, IBM has enabled
its employees to become fully accredited teachers in their local
communities by supporting mature workers who are interested in a second
career in teaching. IBM's Transition to Teaching program is an effort
to help address the shortage of math and science teachers by leveraging
the expertise and backgrounds of IBM's employees. The Transition to
Teaching initiative helps underwrite the costs while employees pursue
the education and training experiences required for teacher
certification--combining traditional coursework, online courses, and
practice teaching. The participants can choose from the existing array
of traditional education and alternative certification programs. IBM
also provides up to one year leave of absence to facilitate student
teaching experience in order to meet State certification requirements
and prepare them with quality experiences. Employees are eligible for a
total of $15,000 for tuition reimbursement and leave-of-absence
stipend. \11\
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\11\ IBM Transition to Teaching one-pager.
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The Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation: The
Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation is a non-profit
organization, supporting robotics and technology events and programs
that aim to inspire and motivate students to advance in STEM education.
The REC Foundation also provides program support and workshops focused
on technology and professional development for educators. It works to
connect students, mentors, and schools in every community to a variety
of technology-based programs. Students and mentors work inside and out
of the classroom through competitive events, workshops, camps, or
conferences. In addition, the Foundation provides those programs with
services, solutions, and a community that allows them to foster the
technical and interpersonal skills necessary for students to succeed.
It is committed to promoting technology and related student and
professional advancement so that one day these programs become
accessible to all students and all schools in all communities. \12\
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\12\ http://robotevents.com/.
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Abbott: Abbott is a health care company working on products from
nutritional products and laboratory diagnostics to medical devices and
pharmaceutical therapies. \13\ Established in 1951, the Abbott Fund is
a philanthropic organization working in science education, engaging
students, families, and teachers in scientific exploration in out-of-
school informal settings; encouraging young people to be more
proficient in science and attract more scientists to the field; and
building strong partnerships that are systemic, replicable, and
sustainable for multiple years and multiple locations. \14\ Through the
Abbott Family Science program, students and families are actively
engaged in learning about science and innovation through experiments
and related activities led by Abbott scientists and volunteers.
Children aged six to 10, parents, and teachers participate in evenings
packed with exciting, hands-on experiments in fundamental science.
Family Science nights are held in China, Germany, Ireland, Singapore,
South Korea and the U.K., as well as California, Illinois,
Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, and Puerto Rico. \15\
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\13\ http://www.abbott.com/global/url/content/en-US/
10:10/general-content/
General-Content-00004.htm.
\14\ http://www.abbottfund.org/about/science.
\15\ http://abbottfund.org/project/11/22/Making-Science-Fun-for-
the-Whole-Family.
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Chairman Brooks. The Subcommittee on Research and Science
Education will come to order.
Good morning. We are almost a little bit tardy but I see it
is 10 o'clock. We are having fun chatting with the witnesses,
but we do have work to do.
Welcome to today's hearing entitled ``STEM in Action:
Transferring Knowledge from the Workplace to the Classroom.''
The purpose of today's hearing is to examine approaches and
programs that encourage and assist STEM professionals looking
to transition their knowledge and skills from industry to a
second career in teaching, or to get back to classroom
education as a mentor. I now recognize myself for five minutes
for an opening statement.
In today's hearing, we will discuss how career
professionals in science, technology, engineering, and math are
taking their knowledge, skills, and talents to the classroom as
both teachers and mentors to help inspire and educate our next
generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians.
This hearing is the fourth in a series of STEM in Action
hearings that the Science, Space, and Technology Committee has
held during the 112th Congress, and the first for the Research
and Science Education Subcommittee.
There are a variety of existing programs, both public and
private, that focus on encouraging and preparing K-12 students
for STEM degrees and careers and helping new and experienced
teachers better teach STEM subjects.
Today's hearing focuses on public and private endeavors
that help STEM career professionals who have no traditional
training or teaching in their backgrounds transition their
industry experience, knowledge, and skills to the classroom.
The transition for these STEM career professionals often
entails a complete career switch or mentoring students and/or
teachers.
The ability to educate and inspire is a quality that all
teachers should possess. Individuals who have spent time in a
STEM profession bring a unique perspective to the classroom and
can make a great contribution to our STEM education efforts. At
the same time, industry experience, knowledge and skills alone
do not necessarily make a good teacher. Good teaching requires
an additional and special set of knowledge and skills.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about
issues and challenges relating to the transition from
successful STEM career professional to successful STEM teacher
and about how STEM career professionals help teach and inspire
our Nation's children, the backbone and future of our economic
and competitive success.
And on a personal note, I would add that my wife, Martha,
took the same path. She was a certified public accountant. We
had kids. She retired from the profession. She went back to
UAH, University of Alabama in Huntsville, obtained a math
degree, and I am going to boast on her for a second because she
was the math student of the year and then taught mathematics,
having been a professional previously.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Brooks follows:]
Prepared Statement of Subcommittee Chairman Mo Brooks
Good morning, and welcome to each of our witnesses. In today's
hearing, we will discuss how career professionals in science,
technology, engineering, and math are taking their knowledge, skills,
and talents to the classroom as both teachers and mentors to help
inspire and educate our next generation of scientists, engineers, and
mathematicians.
This hearing is the fourth in a series of STEM in Action hearings
that the Science, Space, and Technology Committee has held during the
112th Congress, and the first for the Research & Science Education
Subcommittee.
There is a variety of existing programs, both public and private,
that focus on encouraging and preparing K-12 students for STEM degrees
and careers and helping new and experienced teachers better teach STEM
subjects.
Today's hearing focuses on public and private endeavors that help
STEM career professionals who have no traditional training or teaching
in their backgrounds transition their industry experience, knowledge,
and skills to the classroom. The transition for these STEM career
professionals often entails a complete career switch or mentoring
students and/or teachers.
The ability to educate and inspire is a quality that all teachers
should possess. Individuals who have spent time in a STEM profession
bring a unique perspective to the classroom and can make a great
contribution to our STEM education efforts. At the same time, industry
experience, knowledge, and skills alone do not necessarily make a good
teacher. Good teaching requires an additional and special set of
knowledge and skills.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about issues and
challenges relating to the transition from successful STEM career
professional to successful STEM teacher and about how STEM career
professionals help teach and inspire our Nation's children, the
backbone and future of our economic and competitive success.
Chairman Brooks. So with that, I would like to recognize
Mr. Lipinski for his opening statement.
Mr. Lipinski. Thank you, Chairman Brooks, for holding this
hearing. We both share the fact that our wives are apparently
very smart mathematicians, so it is always very helpful, and we
both share a strong interest in improving STEM education in our
country and know how important it is for the future of our
country.
Today, only one-third of the undergraduate degrees earned
by American students are in a STEM field, compared with 63
percent in Japan and 53 percent in China. In a world where
nearly everything we do is built on math, science, and
technology, these numbers should concern us for America's
future. Students with these skill sets are not only needed to
change our world with the next vaccine, energy source, or
communications system, but also to help drive a thriving
American economy that produces good-paying jobs here at home.
And STEM jobs do pay well. According to a Wall Street Journal
survey, majors in engineering, computer science, and accounting
outpace their peers in marketing, psychology, or communications
by $10,000 to $20,000 year in their first job out of college.
I know that many of our country's leading companies are
deeply aware of our workforce challenges. We are going to hear
from IBM and Abbott today about some of their initiatives to
improve STEM education in this country, and many others,
especially defense-sector companies like Boeing and Honeywell,
have similar programs. I am especially looking forward to
hearing from Dr. Jones about how the Abbott education and
outreach programs in both Chicago and at her facility in
California are enabling their scientists and engineers to work
directly with students, teachers, and parents.
Underlying many of these initiatives, as well as a number
of federal programs, is the idea that it is easiest to attract
students to STEM careers when they are inspired by the best and
brightest teachers, mentors, and professionals. This is
especially true at the K-12 level, where researchers can play a
unique role in improving STEM education by volunteering,
serving as mentors to students, and by becoming STEM teachers
themselves.
We know that the success of students is highly dependent on
the quality and effectiveness of their teachers. In fact, the
number one recommendation of the National Academies' Rising
Above the Gathering Storm report was to train more highly
qualified STEM teachers and to enhance the content knowledge of
current ones. Professional scientists and engineers already
possess strong content knowledge, so they have great potential
to be great STEM teachers if given the opportunity to develop
the skills needed in the classroom. I am interested in hearing
about some of the challenges associated with this transition.
One teacher training program that I am particularly proud
of is the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program at the
National Science Foundation. In 2007, in the America COMPETES
Act, I helped then-Chairman Gordon improve this program by
adding NSF teaching fellowships for STEM professionals who want
to complete their master's in education, get certified, and
transition into a career in teaching. I look forward to hearing
more from Dr. Beeth about the teacher preparation program he is
running at the University of Wisconsin with Noyce funding from
the NSF.
While we do not have any of the federal agencies
represented on the panel today, I want to take this opportunity
to highlight the important role of the federal STEM workforce
in inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in the STEM
fields. Historically, NASA has been the most visible example,
helping to create an entire generation of scientists and
engineers. We hear testimony from such individuals all the
time, and I am sure that Chairman Brooks has many of them in
his own district. I find that today's students are equally
inspired and energized by the scientific and technological
challenges we face in energy, environment, and other fields
today. There is great value in connecting talented federal
scientists and engineers from the Department of Energy, NOAA,
and other mission agencies with STEM students who have a
passion for these issues.
Today's hearing provides us with an opportunity to hear
more about how STEM professionals with expertise and valuable
real-life experiences are helping students better understand
STEM concepts and learn about career opportunities. This is
vital, not just for the companies involved, but for the future
competitiveness of our Nation.
I want to thank the witnesses for being here this morning
and I look forward to your testimony. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lipinski follows:]
Prepared Statement of Ranking Member Daniel Lipinski
Thank you, Chairman Brooks, for holding this hearing; as you know,
working to improve STEM education has always been a priority for me.
Today, only one-third of the undergraduate degrees earned by American
students are in a STEM field, compared with 63 percent in Japan and 53
percent in China. In a world where nearly everything we do is built on
math, science, and technology, these numbers should concern us greatly
for America's future. Students with these skill sets are not only
needed to change our world with the next vaccine, energy source, or
communications system, but also to help drive a thriving American
economy that produces good-paying jobs here at home. And STEM jobs do
pay well. According to a Wall Street Journal survey, majors in
engineering, computer science, and accounting outpace their peers in
marketing, psychology, or communication by $10,000 to $20,000 a year in
their first job out of college.
I know that many of our country's leading companies are deeply
aware of our workforce challenges. We're going to hear from IBM and
Abbott today about some of their initiatives to improve STEM education
in this country, and many others--especially defense sector companies
like Boeing and Honeywell--have similar programs. I am especially
looking forward to hearing from Dr. Jones about how the Abbott
education and outreach programs in both Chicago and at her facility in
California are enabling their scientists and engineers to work directly
with students, teachers, and parents.
We know that the success of students is highly dependent on the
quality and effectiveness of their teachers. In fact, the number one
recommendation of the National Academies' Rising Above the Gathering
Storm report was to train more highly qualified STEM teachers and to
enhance the content knowledge of current ones. Professional scientists
and engineers already possess strong content knowledge, so they have
potential to be great STEM teachers if given the opportunity to develop
the skills needed in the classroom. I'm interested in hearing about
some of the challenges associated with this transition.
One teacher training program that I'm particularly proud of is the
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program at the National Science
Foundation. In 2007, in the America COMPETES Act, I helped then-
Chairman Gordon improve this program by adding NSF Teaching Fellowships
for STEM professionals who want to complete the master's in education,
get certified, and transition into a career in teaching. I look forward
to hearing more from Dr. Beeth today about the teacher preparation
program he is running at the Univeristy of Wisconsin with Noyce funding
from NSF.
While we do not have any of the federal agencies represented on the
panel today, I want to take this opportunity to highlight the important
role of the federal STEM workforce in inspiring the next generation to
pursue careers in the STEM fields. Historically, NASA has been the most
visible example, helping to create an entire generation of scientists
and engineers. We hear testimony from such individuals all the time,
and I'm sure that Chairman Brooks has many of them in his own district.
I find that today's students are equally inspired and energized by the
scientific and technological challenges we face in energy and the
environment. There is great value in connecting talented federal
scientists and engineers from the Department of Energy, NOAA, and the
other mission agencies with STEM students who have a passion for these
issues.
Today's hearing provides us with an opportunity to hear more about
how STEM professionals with expertise and valuable real life experience
are helping students better understand STEM concepts and learn about
career opportunities. This is vital, not just for the companies
involved but for the future competitiveness of our Nation.
I want to thank the witnesses for being here this morning, and I
look forward to your testimony.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Mr. Lipinski.
If there are Members who wish to submit additional opening
statements, your statements will be added to the record at this
point.
At this time, I would like to introduce our witnesses, our
panel for today's hearing. Dr. Michael Beeth is a Professor in
the Department of Curriculum Instruction at the University of
Wisconsin in Oshkosh. He has coordinated the Alternative
Careers in Teaching program, also known as act!, since its
inception in 2006.
Mrs. Christine Sutton is a certified Alabama Math, Science,
and Technology Initiative Teacher, also known as AMSTI. She is
very innovative and a creative instructor, employing hands-on
activities in real-life situations to teach math. She fully
embraces the use of technology such as computers, ELMO document
cameras, and active boards as diverse methods of teaching.
Being from my home district, and by the way, where my kids
graduated from high school, I am proud to have her with us
today.
Ms. Robin Willner is Vice President of Global Community
Initiatives for the IBM Corporation. She oversees a range of
global philanthropic and volunteer programs including the
Talent Programs, Corporate Services Corps, Transition to
Teaching, and online mentoring.
Mr. Jason Morrella is President of the Robotics Education
and Competition Foundation, known as REC. Mr. Morrella is
responsible for the overall strategic planning, organization,
development, program operations, and financial management of
the nonprofit organization. Mr. Morrella has more than 15 years
of experience in the nonprofit, corporate, and academic
sectors.
Dr. Jennifer Jones is a Principal Clinical Scientist at
Abbott Vascular. At Abbott Vascular, Dr. Jones is responsible
for phase three clinical trial development in the area of
coronary devices and percutaneous coronary intervention. Dr.
Jones also works closely with the Abbott Family Science Program
in California.
As our witnesses should know, spoken testimony is limited
to five minutes each, after which the Members of the Committee
will have five minutes each to ask questions.
I now recognize our first witness, Dr. Michael Beeth, for
five minutes.
STATEMENT OF DR. MICHAEL BEETH, PROFESSOR,
DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION,
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN OSHKOSH
Dr. Beeth. Good morning. Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member
Lipinski and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the
opportunity to discuss the act! program with you today. My name
is Michael Beeth, and I have coordinated the act! program since
2006.
Act! provides STEM professionals with five or more years of
work experience a path to transition into careers as teachers
of math or science. The act! program is unique in that we
recognize and award credit for the academic preparation and
real-life experiences STEM professionals can bring to teaching.
More than 100 STEM professionals have enrolled in the act!
program since 2006, and we have received inquiries about this
program from another 300 individuals.
The act! program addresses the documented need for highly
qualified math and science teachers in Wisconsin. Northeast
Wisconsin is fortunate to have the types of businesses and
industries that can provide a large pool of individuals with
degrees in math or science for the act! program. Seventy-eight
percent of our students come from within a 60-mile radius of
Oshkosh, although we do have students in nearly every region of
Wisconsin, as indicated on the map attached to my testimony.
The impetus for the act! program came through the Northeast
Wisconsin Educational Resource Alliance, we call NEW ERA, a
consortium of K-12 school districts, public and private
colleges, and universities across 18 northeast Wisconsin
counties. Part of NEW ERA's mission encourages partnerships
like act! that serve the learning needs of the 1.2 million
people in northeast Wisconsin and that strengthen the business
and industrial community as well. NEW ERA is an outgrowth of
NEW North, an organization of private and public sector
business and education leaders that promotes the region's human
resources, talents, and creativity for the purposes of
sustaining and growing our economy.
Individuals become aware of the act! program through our
Web site and human resource departments at their employers'
workforce development offices, admission advisers at one of our
partner institutions, or by word of mouth. We have done little
formal advertising of the act! program since it is well known
and promoted by the members of NEW North and NEW ERA.
Retaining STEM professionals in the region and developing
their talents as teachers is a goal for the act! program, NEW
North and NEW ERA. Of 100 individuals admitted so far, seven
hold terminal degrees, 26 a master's degree and 67 a bachelor's
degree. STEM professionals admitted to the act! program have
majors in genetics, microbiology, wood and paper science,
chemical engineering, geology, environmental science,
economics, and mathematics, to name a few. One individual holds
a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and 10 patents. These STEM
professionals bring real-life experiences from fields such as
engineering, cartography, accounting, quality control, nuclear
medicine and statistical analysis and information technology.
With the average age of individuals admitted to the act!
program being 41, many bring 15 or more years of work
experience.
Coursework in the act! program is based on principles of
adult learning. Online and hybrid courses allow our students
maximum flexibility to remain employed until the semester they
start their student teaching experience. Financial support for
qualified individuals is available through two Robert Noyce
National Science Foundation grants totaling $1.5 million.
Individuals who qualify for Noyce receive a stipend of $13,000.
We also partner with the Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction on a $2.2 million U.S. Department of Education
grant to increase the number of math and science teachers in
Wisconsin. Both grants require recipients to teach in high-need
schools for two years as a condition of accepting an award.
To date, 30 individuals have completed the act! program and
are teaching. Twenty have full-time teaching positions, many in
high-need schools. Nine of our program completers are
substitute teaching, and one opened a tutoring business in
math. All of our program completers are place-bound in the
sense that they have spousal, family, and civic connections to
their communities. Our students are well known to school
administrators as members of their communities first and
desirable as employees because of their maturity, the depth of
their content knowledge, and their work experience. Thus, we
are producing a pool of highly qualified math and science
teachers who are connected to the communities where they are
likely to teach.
One of the challenges our students face has to do with time
management, broadly speaking. While our students have been
successful learners and employees in the past, they must learn
now how to balance their attention to academic preparation with
demands from their work, civic and family obligations, and
expectations for involvement in extracurricular duties. This
challenge surfaces first during the student teaching experience
and persists in the first year or two of full-time employment.
We are confident the STEM professionals we prepare have a
level of analytic ability and human leadership skills in
addition to their content knowledge that will serve their
schools and the teaching profession well. Preparation in a STEM
profession allows act! teachers to write integrated curriculum
for local, State or national organizations to assist colleagues
in the analysis of student test data and to rigorously document
the impacts of their own teaching on student learning. STEM
professionals bring knowledge and skills to the teaching
profession that traditional undergrad students do not have or
have not had the time to develop. In my opinion, it would
beneficial if all STEM professionals received explicit training
regarding how they can become engaged in the education of K-12
students through programs like those assembled for this
hearing.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Beeth follows:]
Prepared Statement of Dr. Michael Beeth, Professor,
Department of Curriculum and Instruction,
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Lipinski, and Members of
the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, thank you
for the opportunity to discuss with you the Alternative Careers
in Teaching program (act!). My name is Michael Beeth and I have
coordinated the act! program since it began in 2006. Act!
provides STEM professionals with five or more years of work
experience a path to transition into careers as teachers of
math or science. The act! program is unique in that we
recognize and award credit for the academic preparation and
real-life experiences STEM professionals can bring to teaching.
More than 100 STEM professionals have enrolled in the act!
program since 2006, and we have received inquires about this
program from another 300 individuals.
Act! is a multi-institution partnership involving the
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, a four-year comprehensive
university and the third largest public institution in
Wisconsin, and five two-year University of Wisconsin College
campuses. \1\ Our partnership allows students to enroll in
courses close to where they live and work, to take classes in
on-line or hybrid formats, and to remain employed as they
complete our licensure program. We are interested in expanding
the act! program to additional UW college campuses,
particularly in southeast and central Wisconsin. \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ UW Fond du Lac, UW Fox Valley, UW Manitowoc, UW Marinette, and
UW Sheboygan.
\2\ UW Waukesha, UW Baraboo-Sauk County, and UW Richland.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The act! program addresses the documented need for highly
qualified math and science teachers in Wisconsin. \3\ Northeast
Wisconsin is fortunate to have the types of businesses and
industries that can provide a large pool of individuals with
degrees in math or science for the act! program. Seventy-eight
percent of our students come from within a 60-mile radius of
Oshkosh, although we do have students in nearly every region of
Wisconsin, as indicated on the map attached to my testimony.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Fischer, T. & Swanger, W. (2006). Wisconsin Supply and Demand
of Educational Personal. Madison: WI. Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The impetus for the act! program came through the Northeast
Wisconsin Educational Resource Alliance (NEW ERA)--a consortium
of K-12 school districts, public and private colleges, and
universities across 18 northeast Wisconsin counties. Part of
NEW ERA's mission encourages partnerships like act! that serve
the learning needs of 1.2 million people in northeast Wisconsin
and that strengthen the business and industrial community as
well. NEW ERA is an outgrowth of NEW North--an organization of
private and public sector business and education leaders that
promotes the region's human resources, talents, and creativity
for the purposes of sustaining and growing our economy.
Individuals become aware of the act! program through our
Web site, human resources departments at their employers, work
force development offices, admissions advisors at one of our
partner institutions, or by word of mouth. We have done little
formal advertising of the act! program since it well know to
and promoted by the members of NEW North and NEW ERA.
Retaining STEM professional in the region and developing
their talents as teachers is a goal for the act! program, NEW
North, and NEW ERA. Of 100 individuals admitted to act! so far,
seven hold terminal degrees, 26 a master's degree, and 67 a
bachelor's degree. STEM professionals admitted to the act!
program have majors in genetics, microbiology, wood and paper
science, chemical engineering, geology, environmental science,
economics and mathematics, to name a few. One individual holds
the Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and 10 patents related to
tissue manufacture and paper machine fabrics; others have
taught in institutions of higher education but now prefer to
develop their expertise to teach in grades 6-12. These STEM
professionals bring real-life experience from fields such as
engineering, cartography, accounting, quality control, nuclear
medicine, and statistical analysis and information technology.
With the average age of individuals admitted to act! being 41,
many bring 15 or more years of work experience.Coursework in
the act! program is based on principles of adult learning. \4\
Online and hybrid courses allow our students maximum
flexibility to remain employed until the semester they start
their student teaching experience. Financial support for
qualified individuals is available through two Robert Noyce
National Science Foundation grants totaling $1.5 million.
Individuals who qualify for a Noyce award receive a stipend of
$13,000. We also partner with the Wisconsin Department of
Public Instruction on a $2.2 million U.S. Department of
Education grant to increase the number of math and science
teachers in Wisconsin. Both grants require recipients to teach
in a high-need school for two years as a condition of accepting
an award.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Kasworm, C., Polson, C., & Fishback, S. (2002). Responding to
Adult Learners in Higher Education. Malabar: Krieger.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To date, 30 individuals have completed the act! program and
are teaching. Twenty have full-time teaching positions--many in
high-need schools. Nine of our program completers are
substitute teaching, and one opened a tutoring business in
math. All of our program completers are place bound in the
sense that they have spousal, family, and civic connections to
their communities. Our students are well known to school
administrators as members of their communities first, and
desirable as employees because of their maturity, the depth of
their content knowledge, and their work experience. Thus we are
producing a pool of highly qualified math and science teachers
who are connected to the communities where they are likely to
teach.
One of the challenges our students face has to do with time
management--broadly speaking. While our students have been
successful learners and employees in the past, they must learn
how to balance their attention to academic preparation with
demands from their work, civic, and family obligations, and
expectations for involvement in extracurricular duties. This
challenge surfaces first during the student teaching experience
and persists into the first year or two of full employment.
We are confident the STEM professionals we prepare have a
level of analytical ability and human leadership skills in
addition to their content knowledge that will serve their
schools and the teaching profession well. Preparation in a STEM
profession allows act! teachers to write integrated curriculum
for local, State, or national organizations; to assist
colleagues in the analysis of student test data; and to
rigorously document the impacts of their own teaching on
student learning. STEM professionals bring unique knowledge and
skills to the teaching profession that traditional
undergraduate students do not have or have not had the time to
develop. In my opinion, it would be beneficial if all STEM
professionals received explicit training regarding how they can
become engaged in the education of K-12 students through
programs like those assembled for this hearing.
Relevant Web sites: act! program: http://www.uwfox.uwc.edu/
academics/act2teach/; NEW ERA: http://www.neweraonline.org/;
NEW North: http://www.thenewnorth.com/.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Dr. Beeth.
I now recognize our second witness, Mrs. Christine Sutton,
for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF MRS. CHRISTINE SUTTON,
SECONDARY MATH TEACHER,
VIRGIL I. GRISSOM HIGH SCHOOL,
HUNTSVILLE CITY SCHOOLS, ALABAMA
Mrs. Sutton. Good morning, Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member
Lipinski----
Chairman Brooks. Excuse me. You will need to turn on your
microphone and move it towards you so that--there you go.
Mrs. Sutton. All right. Good morning, Chairman Brooks,
Ranking Member Lipinski, and other Members of the Subcommittee.
Thank you for inviting me to come this morning to share my
personal experiences as a professional who left industry to
pursue a second career in education at this hearing this
morning. I have a bachelor's in industrial engineering and a
master's in computer science. I worked in manufacturing
automation and spent 22 years in industry, ending up as a
program manager deploying transit management systems for public
transit.
When I reached my mid-40s, I decided that I might want to
make a change to be more involved in my community, but also I
really enjoyed working with students, and I think that that is
something that really needs to be kept in the forefront; when
you make the move to leave industry to become a secondary
educator or any kind of educator, you are teaching students.
You are not teaching your content. You have great expertise but
you need to have the preparation and the heart to really be
involved with the students. And so I wanted to bring that out
something that was really key.
I ended up finding a program at Johns Hopkins which would
recognize my previous coursework which a lot of industries--a
lot of universities, rather, don't recognize that engineering
is similar to math and so they didn't give me the prerequisites
that I would need to actually become a core math teacher. But
through Hopkins I was able to get my master's degree in
education, move to Alabama, where I now teach at Huntsville
City Schools, and I am working right now--after three years in
the middle school I now work at the high school. I teach
algebra, computer science, advanced placement computer science,
and I also teach cybersecurity. The cybersecurity course is
part of our applied math and science academy that we set up in
our school district. It has right now eight courses that are
focused at STEM education, and the other courses that we have
at the academy are introduction to engineering design,
principles of engineering, digital electronics, principal
biomedical sciences, and human body systems. Through additional
community partnerships, we added building science and EMT
training in partnership with Calhoun University, and we also
have the cybersecurity class I teach, which is the pilot in the
country, and it is a wonderful opportunity. It is the kind of a
place that I was hoping that I could find to teach when I
envisioned teaching. It gives me an opportunity to work with
all levels of students, which I think is also very important.
When you become a STEM educator, you have to be equipped to
teach core courses, which are basic sciences or mathematics, so
that you can strengthen the skills of the students so they can
go on to succeed.
I do teach in the city school system, so I get students at
all levels coming into the high school, and as a ninth grade
math teacher, I have to bring them up to a level where they are
in a place where they can continue their education in high
school and then qualify to get accepted to good, solid STEM
education programs in universities; so as a person
transitioning you need to have the skills and the education in
a quality teacher preparation program which gives you the tools
to develop interventions, to teach students at all levels,
students with special needs, to help them bring them along too.
So I think that having solid teacher preparation is really
critical to being successful as a STEM educator in the high
school.
I think that in my situation, I was very lucky that I was
able to have the position I have, but I also had a lot of
preparation and an opportunity with the Huntsville city
schools. One of the things that I would really love to see is
that if we could have the academy, which is now piloted in my
high school, extended to other high schools to give other
students the opportunity to learn and other STEM teachers an
opportunity to teach. Each of the academy classes is taught by
a different instructor. We have eight instructors, we teach six
other classes during the day, we have relatively large class
sizes, and we have a contribution to make to the school beyond
just our STEM education. So I think that when we think about
STEM, it has to be broader than just the technology, it has to
also include teaching fundamentals to students to make them--to
prepare them to be successful in STEM careers.
[The prepared statement of Mrs. Sutton follows:]
Prepared Statement of Mrs. Christine Sutton,
Secondary Math Teacher, Virgil I. Grissom High School,
Huntsville City Schools, Alabama
Chairman Brooks and other Members of the Subcommittee, thank you
for inviting me to share my personal experiences, as a STEM
professional who left industry to pursue a second career as an
educator, at this hearing entitled STEM in Action: Transferring
Knowledge from the Workplace to the Classroom.
My name is Christine Sutton, and I am employed by Huntsville City
Schools to teach students enrolled in mathematics, computer science,
and cybersecurity courses at Virgil I. Grissom High School in
Huntsville, Alabama.
I'd like to begin by sharing my background with you. I graduated
from Pennsylvania State University in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in
industrial engineering and began my industry career as a software
engineer working for Westinghouse, near Baltimore, Maryland, deploying
automated manufacturing systems. I earned my masters degree in computer
science from Johns Hopkins University to enhance my software systems
engineering skills. Twenty-two years later, I was a program manager
responsible for leading teams of engineers and subcontractors to deploy
public transit Computer Aided Dispatch/Automated Vehicle Location (CAD/
AVL) systems.
In my mid-40s, I decided to broaden my life experiences by changing
careers and began to take the steps to make it happen. As a parent, I
had many opportunities to volunteer at my children's schools and to
help their friends with math assignments. I was amazed by how many
students (and adults) disliked math and believed that I could transfer
my love of problem solving to the classroom to change attitudes and
build confidence.
As I explored my options for preparing to teach full-time, I found
that many local Universities had a narrow definition of the
prerequisite education required to be accepted into a teacher
preparation program. Engineering courses would not satisfy 400-level
mathematics course requirements, my local universities did not offer
programs leading to certification as a computer science teacher, and
industry experience was not recognized. However, Johns Hopkins
University offered a full-time and a part-time program that
acknowledged my engineering and computer science course work and
allowed me to become a certified, highly qualified secondary
mathematics teacher with a Master of Arts in Teaching. They also
encouraged me to apply for the Christa McAuliffe Scholarship, since I
was seeking certification in a critical shortage area, to receive
tuition assistance in exchange for teaching three years in a Maryland
public school.
I chose the part-time program so I could begin my teacher education
at night while I continued to work, enabling me to confirm that I had
an understanding of the demands of a teaching career before I left
industry. Many of the instructors for this program were active full-
time educators and administrators from the Montgomery County, Maryland,
School District who helped prepare career changers to succeed in a
multilingual, inclusive classroom.
Before I could complete the program, my husband's company relocated
us to Huntsville, Alabama, and I repaid the scholarship money. However,
Johns Hopkins allowed me to complete my full-semester teaching
internship with Huntsville City Schools under the supervision of NCATE-
accredited University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH). After passing the
secondary math Praxis and delivering my portfolio, I graduated from
Johns Hopkins in spring 2007. My certification was recognized by
Alabama because they have reciprocity with Maryland.
I applied for a teaching position with Huntsville City Schools, but
there were no openings for secondary mathematics teachers. While
waiting for a full-time position, I began working as a substitute
teacher and then accepted an industry offer to work as a system
engineer, and my security clearance was reactivated. Two weeks before
the beginning of the 2008 school year, one of the mathematics teachers
at the middle school where I did my internship left unexpectedly.
Thankfully, the principal remembered me and requested that I be added
to the list of applicants for the position.
For the next three years, I taught math to middle school students.
During this time, I became adept at using Alabama Reading and Math Test
(ARMT) data to identify areas of weakness for individual students and
within the school population, and collaborated with the other seventh
grade math teacher to develop targeted interventions to try to
strengthen the basic math skills of all seventh grade students. At the
end of my first year at Challenger Middle School, the percentage of
students proficient on the seventh grade Math ARMT jumped 10 percent.
Administration support was key to our success. The other seventh grade
math teacher was assigned (and compensated) to serve as my mentor. She
helped me develop solid classroom and behavior management strategies
and guided me through the reporting requirements mandated for
struggling students and students with learning disabilities.
This summer I was given an opportunity to transfer to Virgil I.
Grissom High School. Grissom is a large (2,000 student) Blue Ribbon
Award winning school which hosts the Huntsville City School System's
Academy of Applied Math and Science. The Academy is a pilot for Project
Lead the Way (PLTW) and independently raises funding for teacher
training, computers, and lab equipment from industry, community groups,
and local political leaders. PLTW provides training and curriculum for
courses which encourage hands-on problem solving activities in a
variety of areas which have been shown to significantly increase
interest and abilities in STEM-related programs at the college level.
Grissom's Academy, which in its third year has an enrollment of 256
students, currently offers Introduction to Engineering Design,
Principles of Engineering, Digital Electronics, Principles of
Biomedical Sciences, and Human Body Systems (all PLTW classes). Through
additional community partnerships, it added Building Science (sponsored
by the local chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors), Emergency
Medical Training (EMT) (in partnership with Calhoun Community College),
and Cybersecurity (in partnership with the Career Technical Education
Foundation and the SAIC corporation). The Academy plans to expand the
course offerings this fall to include four additional PLTW classes:
Civil Engineering and Architecture, Aerospace Engineering, Biotechnical
Engineering, and Medical Interventions.
Currently, all the PLTW courses are taught by degreed engineers,
and the Academy is enriched by community volunteers. The Engineering
Applications course is supported by two UAH Engineering professors who
work with the class once each week, and an ongoing engineering mentor
(who also sponsors the robotics team). An SAIC penetration tester works
with my Cybersecurity students twice each month and mentors our two
Cyber Patriot Teams.
In addition to Cybersecurity, I also teach Introduction to Computer
Science, AP Computer Science, and Algebra I. The environment at Grissom
is ideal. It is the type of situation I hoped to find when I initially
envisioned a second career as an educator. At Grissom, I have an
opportunity to work with students at every level and am able to bring
my industry experience into the classroom in a meaningful way. This
year I earned tenure and plan to continue teaching for at least the
next 10 years.
As mentors, industry professionals can enhance the delivery of STEM
education when they:
work closely with classroom teachers to help create
projects which challenge students to apply their skills in new ways;
model problem-solving strategies and encourage students
to collaborate (not compete) as they work toward a common goal;
encourage students to become independent problem solvers
who recognize opportunities for improvement and have the confidence to
follow through with their own ideas and solutions; and
help students imagine themselves applying their gifts and
skills in a variety of contexts, to understand that a career in
medicine is not limited to becoming a doctor or nurse, and engineers do
more than draft designs.
I think one of the greatest challenges industry professionals face
when they try to become mentors is finding the time to work with the
students on a continuing basis to build relationships and share a
variety of experiences.
While they may have extensive expertise, they cannot lose sight of
the fact that they are not just teaching their content, they are
teaching students. Also, their involvement needs to extend beyond face
time with the students. They need to work with the classroom teacher to
plan lessons and be willing to help supply materials if necessary.
Finally, they need to find an environment, like Grissom, which offers
STEM courses and has a faculty and administration which welcome their
contributions.
Professionals who are seeking to make the transition from industry
to the classroom must overcome many impediments. If they want to teach
full-time, they must:
be willing and able to teach core subjects, not just
engineering or technology electives;
be prepared to teach students who come to their classes
with various levels of preparation, not just advanced students;
genuinely enjoy pre-teen and adolescent students, and be
prepared to manage the inconsistent behavior which characterizes this
stage in their development;
work in classrooms with relatively high student-to-
teacher ratios (Grissom has 101 instructors for 2,000 students);
be willing to give up their flexible schedules and work
in relative isolation from other adults for the majority of the day;
recognize that teaching involves a tremendous amount of
preparation, especially when they are piloting new curriculum; and
be prepared to continue their own education during their
evenings and summers.
After they realistically assess and accept what full-time teaching
entails, they must find a certification path which will culminate in
the recognition that they are highly qualified to teach their core
subject.
My expertise in requirements and criteria for certification is
limited to my personal experience and the experiences of my peers. That
said, I believe that quality formal teacher education is critical to
long-term success as an educator. I believe that teaching is a
profession, which is the source of all professions, and that just
because you know something does not mean you know how to teach it.
Teaching professionals must have a solid understanding of human
development and learning, curriculum, instruction and assessment, and
be able to work collaboratively to differentiate instruction for
students with special needs. They must also be able to prepare their
students to succeed in their post-secondary education.
I believe that the Federal Government could pursue the following
three avenues to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from the
workplace to the classroom:
Encourage professionals who are considering leaving
industry and accepting a significant pay cut (often greater than 50%)
to seek teacher education by offering federally funded scholarships for
certification in a STEM discipline in exchange for teaching three years
anywhere in the country.
Facilitate programs like the Johns Hopkins University/
Montgomery County Maryland School System partnership to encourage
universities to look for alternative ways to assess transferrable
knowledge (like Praxis II) and partner with local school districts to
enhance the faculty of part-time teacher education programs which
target industry professionals looking to transition to the classroom.
Help school districts like Huntsville City Schools extend
successful programs, like The Academy of Applied Math and Science, to
additional secondary schools to create teaching positions for STEM
educators.
To quote Seneca, ``Luck is what happens when preparation meets
opportunity.'' I believe that the Federal Government can play a
meaningful role in facilitating teacher preparation and creating
opportunities for STEM educators.
Thank you for inviting me to share my experiences with you this
morning, and I welcome further opportunities to discuss ways to help
equip students to meet the demands of continued education in STEM
disciplines, which will prepare them for future employment in areas
critical to maintaining our country's security and prosperity.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Mrs. Sutton.
And we respect each of our witnesses. Just remember to push
the little talk button and have the microphone closer pointed
at you instead of off to the side as they seem to have been set
up before we got here.
The Chair now recognizes our next witness, Ms. Robin
Willner, for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF MS. ROBIN WILLNER, VICE PRESIDENT,
GLOBAL COMMUNITY INITIATIVES,
CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP AND
CORPORATE AFFAIRS, IBM CORPORATION
Ms. Willner. Thank you very much, Chairman Brooks and
Congressman Lipinski and the other Members of the Committee. It
is a great pleasure to be here and share with you the
experience from IBM, and we already, I think, have some great
convergence here and violent agreement on what these programs
should be, so it is a great panel. Thank you for the
opportunity.
As you know, I am Robin Willner, Vice President of Global
Community Initiatives at IBM, and I have the great honor to be
responsible for IBM's investments in our philanthropic programs
around the world with a special emphasis on education, which
has long been our priority. We know at IBM that we make the
biggest difference when we provide not only our hardware, our
software, the services that we are so well known for--but the
talent of our IBMers, that is what really makes the difference.
This year, I hope you have heard, it was IBM's centennial,
and as part of that, our chairman and CEO challenged IBMers
around the world to do volunteer work, to actually provide at
least eight hours of service in the community. As a result,
more than 300,000 IBMers around the world were volunteering,
many of them for hundreds of hours, not just eight, and I do
know that in every State represented by the Committee, every
State in America, that we had IBMers volunteering. As I said,
the place that they are most likely to volunteer is in a
school. They have a great tradition there, and that leads me
into this issue of transition to teaching and the topic today.
Congressman Lipinski already summarized much of the data
that I had in my testimony on why this matters, but for IBM, we
know that our future is absolutely dependent on the robust
economy in the United States, and that means in the 21st
century we need STEM professionals. We need to be able to hire
staff who are not only going to be capable but are going to be
innovators and leaders in the new economy. Our customers need
to be able to hire people and we need to grow the economy. The
volunteerism that we do and projects like Transition to
Teaching and Second Career Teaching also matter to IBM so that
we can attract the best employees. I am delighted that just
today, Fortune magazine rated IBM as the leader, the best place
for leaders to, work in the United States, and part of that is
because of things like Transition to Teaching. So this is a
very, very important program for us.
When we think about the kinds of students that we need to
grow the economy, as has been mentioned before, of course they
need to have great basic skills in math and science but they
also need, beyond the rudimentary skills, to have the social
skills to work in diverse multidisciplinary teams. They need to
be adaptable. They need to have leadership skills. They need
communication skills to work with customers and clients and
coworkers, and they need the ability to be comfortable with
ambiguity, to recognize patterns among disparate data, to be
inquisitive and analytical. In other words, they need fantastic
teachers.
IBM announced Transition to Teaching in the fall of 2005,
and we started the program in 2006. We now have more than 120
IBMers who have participated and we have 31 IBMers who have
left the company and are now teaching around the country. They
are our stars at IBM, the 31 who are now teaching.
What exactly is Transition to Teaching? Well, we provide
them with a stipend of $15,000. The $15,000 can be used to
cover their tuition while they are still working at IBM and
going to school part-time. It covers all related coursework,
all related fees, whatever costs they have to complete their
certification. They can also use those dollars for a stipend so
that they can take a special leave of absence while they do
their student teaching or other work in the classroom. That way
they can maintain their benefits and they can have a smooth
transition.
Three things that I would highlight that we need to be
thinking about as we go forward. We need better teacher
training programs that are focused, that provide them with
everything they need to know. Nothing more; they are anxious to
get into the classroom. But nothing less because they need to
be prepared. We encourage them to be in the classroom. We
encourage them to get the skills of being a teacher, not just
their basic math and science skills. We also need to make sure
that when they do student teaching that they are working with
qualified teachers, with mentors, with real master teachers so
that they are learning from the best, and we also need to make
sure that when they get into the classroom that they have
ongoing support and mentoring. By the way, online technology
and social networking can help make that happen in a very
efficient way and a much cheaper way.
I see that my time is running out and I was hoping that I
could also talk a little bit about P-Tech, which is a new
program that we just started this fall where IBMers are not
only providing mentorships but we are also bringing the
students from this career program into our workplace, giving
them work-based learning, and preparing them directly for good-
paying careers in the IT sector, and hopefully I can cover that
in the questioning period.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Willner follows:]
Prepared Statement of Ms. Robin Willner, Vice President,
Global Community Initiatives, Corporate Citizenship and
Corporate Affairs, IBM Corporation
Good morning. I am Robin Willner, Vice President of Global
Community Initiatives. I am responsible for IBM's community relations
program worldwide, including our work in education. Over the last two
decades, IBM has been one of the leading corporate contributors of
cash, technology and IT services to non-profit organizations and
educational institutions across the U.S. and around the world. We have
learned that our most effective grants and partnerships are those that
focus on IBM's unique offerings--leveraging our software, hardware and
technical services and most importantly, the talent of IBMers. We are
most successful when we design initiatives to bring the skills and
experience of our employees into the classroom, interacting directly
with students, teachers and administrators, to provide what we call a
``smarter education.''
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with you IBM's
Transition to Teaching initiative as well as other innovative
strategies that we have developed. These all aim to increase the
pipeline of young people prepared to be the STEM professionals and the
leaders of a growing economy.
I don't need to review the growing body of research that highlights
the disconnect between the labor market needs and the employment
opportunities of the 21st century against the inadequate number of
students graduating from high school prepared and ready to pursue STEM
careers. This hearing is one step in this Committee's recognition and
examination of these issues and potential solutions.
We all know that the U.S. is falling well behind other countries in
the number and proportion of high school graduates who intend to pursue
STEM careers. The relatively small number of students who eventually
complete their post-secondary education in STEM fields further
increases our economic disadvantage. Moving from the macro-economic to
the personal, a new report from the Georgetown Center on Education and
the Workforce shows that 65 percent of individuals with bachelor's
degrees in STEM occupations earn more than their peers with master's
degrees in non-STEM occupations. Further, 47 percent of those with
bachelor's degrees in STEM occupations earn more than even individuals
with Ph.D.s in non-STEM occupations. Additionally, even people with
only STEM certificates can earn more than people with non-STEM degrees.
Clearly, continued economic growth will require a base of
scientists and engineers and the next generation of innovators. It is
clear that if we are going to have a constant flow of talent in science
and engineering, we need to attend to the earliest stages in the K-12
pipeline. We must insure that students in middle and high school are
having the experiences that will generate enthusiasm about science and
math and their ability to solve problems. They must also complete a
rigorous curriculum with high academic standards so that they have the
option of pursuing scientific and technical degrees in college.
Beyond basic math and science, they will also need a range of
workplace competencies. These include the social skills to work in
diverse, multi-disciplinary teams; adaptability and leadership;
communication skills to work with customers and clients and co-workers;
and the ability to be comfortable with ambiguity, to recognize new
patterns within disparate data, and to be inquisitive and analytical.
This is a very tall order, and while there are many components to
effective school improvement, a critical and necessary factor is
developing a cadre of excellent math and science teachers in our
schools, teachers who have the content expertise, the real world
experience, an understanding of problem-based learning, and the
pedagogic practice to launch the next generation of innovators.
In September 2005, IBM announced Transition to Teaching, our own
initiative to address the K-12 pipeline issues and encourage young
people to enter science and engineering careers. This is just one
program in our portfolio of education programs including those aimed at
early childhood education, TryScience and Teachers TryScience,
MentorPlace and P-TECH. Transition to Teaching emerged from a decade of
programs and learning of what works best.
For Transition to Teaching, we decided to address the issue by
leveraging our greatest asset--IBM employees. Of course, most IBMers
have backgrounds in math and science; whether they are currently
working in software development, research, consulting, or management.
IBMers are also great volunteers. This year is IBM's Centennial and a
major component of our anniversary was Celebration of Service, where
IBMers around the world answered our Chairman and CEO's call to do at
least eight hours of service in their community. More than 300,000
IBMers worldwide volunteered through our On Demand Community,
contributing more than 10 million hours of service. This will not end
with our Centennial celebration--the volunteering will continue.
The place that IBMers are most likely to volunteer is in a school,
whether to teach hands-on science classes for eWeek, serve as one of
our 6,000 eMentors providing online academic assistance to students,
work with children in a Head Start or daycare program, lead an after-
school program for middle school students, present at Career Days on
STEM opportunities, provide professional development to teachers or
coach high school students for a science fair through TryScience.org.
They also run EX.I.T.E. camps for middle school girls to encourage them
to pursue math and science careers. These IBMers tell us repeatedly
that they have a passion for education, for young people and for giving
back to the community.
At the same time that we are focusing on the national decline in
math, science and engineering, another trend has the public's
attention--the changing face of the labor force. Recognizing that there
is a large group of IBM employees who are approaching what was once
formal retirement age, and that IBM employees are eager to continue
working and contributing to their communities, we are specifically
targeting our mature workers who are interested in a second career in
teaching.
Many IBM employees are already thinking about teaching as a second
career and are seeking good information and programs. Others have the
exact background and skills and we want to introduce the idea of
teaching into their plans. We want to reach all of them and encourage
these IBM employees who are ready for their next challenge to help
address the national teacher shortage in math and science.
More than 120 IBMers have participated in the Transition to
Teaching program to date. Each employee chosen for the program is a
math or science professional with at least one degree in a STEM field--
though most of them have several. The most common degree that we see is
in some area of engineering, but participants come from all parts of
IBM's business with experience in every area of math, science,
engineering, and computer science. They have experience working with
children, volunteering in one of the many IBM programs and often adding
additional volunteer time at after school, weekend, and summer programs
in their communities. They participate in a range of teacher
certification programs, depending on their experience, prior course
work, and the specific licensing requirements and available graduate
programs in their respective States
IBM provides each participant with up to $15,000 for tuition
reimbursement and to cover related costs. The IBMers can choose to use
some of these funds as a stipend for a special leave of absence that
enables them to gain direct experience in the classroom and complete
student teaching, all while maintaining their benefits at IBM.
Transition to Teaching is based on a number of proven programmatic
essentials. Teachers must have a strong, in-depth background in the
subject area. Our criteria focus on IBMers who already have a
bachelor's degree or higher in a math or science discipline. We also
believe that IBMers need to learn the craft and skill of teaching,
classroom management, and instructional practice to be effective. So we
are reimbursing their tuition costs for education preparation. And
finally, we believe that it is absolutely essential for an individual
to have real-life K-12 classroom experience to observe good teaching
and then practice good teaching before taking responsibility for a
class of children. Therefore, we are also providing stipends for IBMers
so they can go on a leave of absence, maintain their benefits, and do
student or practice teaching for up to one year.
I want to highlight three challenges that we need to address going
forward in order to attract math and science professionals into the
schools and prepare them to become exemplary teachers:
We need to develop standards for the pedagogic and
instructional skills and knowledge required and focus on just the
limited number of effective education courses necessary for teacher
certification,
We need to assure that candidates are placed in
supportive environments for practice teaching positions under qualified
teachers, and
We need to provide mentoring and peer support during the
first two years of a new teacher's career to assure that they are able
to provide the highest quality of education for their students.
The vast majority of degree programs in education still do not meet
these criteria. First, too many programs include coursework that is not
relevant or helpful to new teachers. There is not enough practical,
hands-on experience. We don't prepare world champion sports teams by
discussing the physics of the jump shot or the history of the Olympics.
We give them time to practice, and that's what our teachers need.
IBMers are also eager to start teaching. Just as we now have standards
for what every student in grades K-12 must know and be able to do in
each subject, we need to have consensus standards on what a candidate
for teaching needs to know and be able to do. We need to focus on the
essential skills while recognizing the distinct experience of adults
approaching a second career. We still need to develop streamlined
programs that provide second-career teachers with a program that can be
completed in a limited period of time, that include everything they
need to know, but nothing more.
Second, we need to make sure that practice teaching is done under
qualified, experienced teachers. This means collaborating with schools
and school districts to place teacher candidates in appropriate
settings and also providing support to mentor teachers. We need to
assure that the valuable time of these candidates is spent on
worthwhile experiences. And third, beyond student teaching, once
teachers enter their new careers, they need ongoing mentoring from
expert teachers and peer support to succeed. Social media and new
communication tools make this much easier and cost-effective to provide
without interfering with the school day.
IBM's Transition to Teaching is one small effort. At this time, we
have 31 IBMers who have completed the program and have left IBM as
fully certified teachers who are now teaching math and science around
the nation. However, we know that our 120 or even 150 participants will
not make an appreciable difference in a teacher shortage of national
proportions, though we are convinced that they will have a significant
positive impact on the thousands of students they teach. If another 25
large companies established similar programs, we could bring a
substantial number of math and science teachers into the ranks. We can
also change the community conversation and raise the reputation of
teaching as a desirable career. However, the private sector alone can
not solve this problem. It will take improvements in teacher training
programs and professional development at every school district. And
school districts must change the way the recruit, hire, place, and
supervise teachers to retain the best professionals.
But the success of Transition to Teaching is evident when we speak
to the new teachers and their principals.
Gary, now teaching math in New York: ``This is my dream! To become
an eighth grade math teacher.''
Jim, now teaching math in Texas: ``People wonder what IBM has to
gain. My impression is that it is the right thing to do to help the
country.''
And from one of the principals in White Plains, NY, now supervising
a Transition to Teaching graduate: ``Jennifer has had an outstanding
beginning as a teacher. Her experience as a mother and a former manager
has enabled Jen to nurture and advance middle schools students at this
critical crossroad. She is exuberant and enthusiastic about math and
makes it come alive for her students. Jen is an integral part of this
building. Undoubtedly, her professionalism comes from her IBM
background and her enthusiasm is contagious. I am very grateful that
IBM's Transition to Teaching Program helped to add Jen to our team.''
Transition to Teaching works on several fronts. The participants
achieve their career aspirations and are able to make a significant
contribution. IBM's support makes the transition smooth and viable in
terms of preparation, financing, and benefits. IBM also gains
substantially, both in terms of personnel recruitment and retention in
the near term, by reinforcing our status as a great corporate citizen
and an excellent employer. Moreover, this is an investment in the long
term, insuring the pipeline of new STEM professionals who will one day
work at IBM or one of our clients.
I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to share with
you one other new IBM initiative in education. As I explained, our
employees have many opportunities to volunteer in schools. This fall,
we combined this great volunteer pool with a new partnership to design
secondary schools that will prepare students to enter a good-paying
career in information technology. Working with the NYC Department of
Education, the City of New York, and New York City Technical College,
we have launched P-TECH or Pathways in Technology Early College High
School. This unique 9-14 program provides students with academic
preparation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. P-
Tech graduates will earn a no-cost Associate in Applied Science (AAS)
degree in computer systems technology or electromechanical engineering
technology. P-Tech graduates will be prepared to enter the growing
high-technology workforce immediately upon completing their academic
program. Graduates also will receive the strong academic grounding
necessary for them to pursue four-year bachelor's degrees and beyond.
P-Tech is located in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York,
and serves a very diverse population.
P-TECH is an early college high school, a model that provides
students the opportunity take college-level courses as early as 10th
grade, earn college credits, and complete an integrated high school/
associates degree curriculum that seamlessly leads them into the adult
world. But P-TECH goes one step further. Not only will students be able
to take college-level courses and earn credit--they will be able to
complete a free associates degree. And with the participation of IBM,
we have been able to map the job skills required for every entry-level
job at IBM that requires an associate's degree and review, revise, and
enhance the curriculum to assure that the students will meet those
requirements. They will also have workplace experiences and work-based
learning to complete their learning and preparation for success in the
workforce. To make sure that students, regardless of their background
or experience, can meet this very high bar, every one of them will have
an IBM mentor. Last month, we had more than 100 IBMers at P-TECH to
meet the ninth-grade students they will mentor this year and over the
next several years. I had the privilege of participating--hearing and
seeing the excitement, the inspiration, and the learning that these
pairs of students and mentors have already begun.
Our goal is not to have one unique school for several hundred
students, but to develop a core program that can be readily replicated
and localized and brought to scale. We are already working with the
Mayor and Schools Superintendent in Chicago to replicate P-TECH and to
bring the model to other key industries as we scale the program.
There's no reason why this approach can not be used in school districts
across the nation to upgrade the STEM curriculum, provide new rigor to
both the high school and community college programs and assure students
that they will indeed be career- and-college-ready upon graduation.
P-TECH, along with all of our initiatives, requires intensive
partnership. We must work closely with our colleagues in public
education to assure that we have deep and widespread reforms. Business
partners, like IBM, bring a unique perspective on labor market needs,
the skills gap, and the workplace environment. These issues must be
integrated into all curriculum and professional development reforms if
we expect to deliver on our promise to students that they will be
prepared for good-paying careers and that many of them will be the
leaders to grow the economy going forward. Thank you.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Ms. Willner. We may have that
opportunity towards the end, too.
We next recognize Mr. Jason Morrella for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF MR. JASON MORRELLA, PRESIDENT,
ROBOTICS EDUCATION AND COMPETITION FOUNDATION
Mr. Morrella. Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Lipinski and
Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for giving me the
opportunity to appear before you today.
Fifteen years ago, I began teaching at a continuation high
school in San Jose, California, for students that were not
succeeding at other area high schools. These students had very
little desire to finish high school and very little confidence
in themselves. The school was able to enter two different
robotics programs thanks to grants made available by NASA. I
was honored when the principal asked me to be the teacher and
the coach for those teams, but I later learned that I was the
equivalent of Mikey from the Life cereal commercials as the
rest of the faculty had already passed on the offer and said
ask the new naive teacher, Jason, he will do it. I probably
should have known I wasn't the first choice because I was not a
science or technology teacher, I was an English and social
studies teacher, so I should have seen that coming.
To make a long story short, I was in over my head, but
thankfully, three amazing engineers from the NASA Ames Research
facility volunteered their time to come to the school a couple
days a week and work with us. With their help, we were able to
build the robots for both programs and even won some
competitions, but what mattered was the impact that the
engineers had on those students. Previously, the students
thought they just weren't smart enough to ever consider
pursuing a career in STEM, but after working with those
professionals, the students looked at STEM careers and their
education in a new light.
During the past 15 years, I have had the opportunity to be
on almost every side of this topic. I have been a teacher
working with mentors in various programs. I have overseen
programs designed to encourage mentors to work with schools,
and I now oversee the Robotics Education and Competition
Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing science,
technology, engineering, and math through robotics programs.
Many of you probably have schools in your districts that
participated in one or more of the great robotics programs that
are out there: BEST Robotics, Botball, Underwater Robotics,
FIRST Robotics or the VEX Robotics competition, which is now
the largest and fastest growing middle and high school robotics
competition in the United States and the world.
There are many differences between these programs--cost,
resources required, curriculum--but what is most important is
what they actually have in common. They are all project-based
STEM programs that excite and motivate students, and they are
all volunteer-driven programs that rely on building a strong
relationship in educational relationship and partnership
between schools, teachers, parents, and professional mentors
from industry. Competitions put the students and mentors in
situations where they have a challenge to solve. They don't
have the time they would like. They don't have the funding they
would like, and they are competing against others who are
trying to reach a better solution faster. It is real life.
By working with and observing professional mentors,
students see that problem solving is an iterative process, that
in the real world, it is not just a matter of knowing the
answer, it is how you work with others, how you communicate,
how you innovate, and that you don't give up when an idea that
you have doesn't work. Students can't learn these skills just
in the classroom and by taking tests.
While it is easy to focus on the knowledge that industry
professionals possess, I would argue that it is their presence
that has the most influence. They become role models, not just
mentors. Students frequently look toward these mentors for
advice and guidance. They ask them about colleges, to provide
letters of recommendation, and are commonly listed as
references on applications and job applications.
An even bigger impact is that these mentors have helped
redefine STEM fields and careers in the eyes of the students.
They show students that normal people can be really smart and
still be cool and that there are lots of interesting and
exciting jobs out there waiting just for those kinds of people.
Our foundation is very fortunate to work with some of the
top corporations, government organizations, and academic
institutions in our country who support STEM-based programs,
companies like AutoDesk, EMC, Northrop Grumman, Microchip, and
government agencies like NASA. They support these programs and
encourage their employees to go into the classroom to mentor
students, and the difference they make is incredible. They
don't do it only because it is a good, responsible thing to do;
they do it because it is in their best interest. They are
worried about the future workforce and making sure that they
can find enough qualified graduates coming out of college with
STEM degrees.
However, there are challenges associated with industry
professionals getting involved in the classroom. I have seen
industry mentors have a great deal of success working in the
classroom but I have also seen situations where the experience
did not go well. There are issues that can become significant
barriers to becoming a classroom mentor, some of these being
time, resources, experience or credentials, which I will be
happy to expand on during the hearing.
In closing, we need to engage, inspire, and prepare
students to pursue science, engineering, and technology in
higher education and as a profession. Getting industry
professionals to volunteer or work with teachers and students
is an invaluable tool to reach those goals. Whether it is a
robotics competition or another hands-on project-based
challenge, having real-life industry professionals work with
schools makes STEM relevant to students, and relevancy drives
engagement, inspiration, and action. Teachers, parents,
mentors, and companies working together can help inspire and
prepare students of today to become the science and engineering
workforce of tomorrow.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I look
forward to answering any questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Morrella follows:]
Prepared Statement of Mr. Jason Morrella, President,
Robotics Education and Competition Foundation
Chairman Brooks, Ranking Member Lipinski, and Members of the
Subcommittee, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to appear
before you today to speak about how STEM professionals can share their
knowledge and experience to make an impact in education.
During the past 15 years, I have had the opportunity of being on
almost every side of this topic: I have been a teacher participating in
STEM programs with and without professional mentor support, I have
worked with various programs that are dependent on industry volunteers
and professionals for their success, I have overseen programs
specifically designed to encourage professional mentors to work with
schools, and I now oversee a foundation dedicated to advancing science,
technology, engineering, and math through robotic programs that inspire
students to pursue STEM disciplines and careers. The Robotics Education
and Competition Foundation exists to connect students, mentors,
schools, and STEM-based programs in every community.
I'd like to share a little bit about my background and the journey
I've had from the classroom to working with all of these great
programs. Starting 15 years ago, I began teaching at a continuation
high school in San Jose, California, for students that had been kicked
out of the regular high schools in the district for a variety of
reasons. These students had very little desire to finish high school
and very little confidence in themselves, in the system, or in their
chances to succeed in society. To make a long story short, the
principal enrolled the school in two different robotics programs,
thanks to grants made available by NASA. I was honored when she asked
me to be the teacher and coach for those teams. I later learned that I
was the equivalent of ``Mikey'' from the LIFE ceral commercials, as the
rest of the faculty had already passed on the offer and said ``ask that
new (naive) teacher Jason; he'll do it.'' They were right, I agreed,
and clearly didn't know what I had gotten into. When the kits and parts
arrived, I knew that very first week that I was in over my head, but
thankfully three amazing engineers from the NASA Ames Research Facility
at Moffett Field volunteered their time to come to the school a couple
of days a week and work with us. With the help of these very skilled
mechanical and electrical engineers (Steve Kyramarios, Bob Homes, and
Mark Leon), we were able to build the robots for both programs, were
very competitive and even won some competitions--but what mattered was
the impact the engineers had on those students. Those students saw
Steve, Bob, and Mark as real-life rock stars--but through working with
them realized they were normal, down-to-earth people who didn't know
all the answers all the time, just people who worked hard to find the
solutions and solve the problems. For the first time, those students
looked at STEM professions as careers that real, normal people did.
Previously they thought they just weren't smart enough to ever consider
pursuing a career in STEM, but by meeting, observing, and working with
these industry professionals, the students looked at those careers in a
new light.
Witnessing the impact that these hands-on technology-based programs
could have on students and education was a life-changing experience for
me, inspiring me to spend the next decade working to expand these
robotics programs throughout California and the western United States.
I've worked with various educational STEM programs, including BEST,
FIRST, and the VEX Robotics Competition, now the largest and fastest-
growing middle school and high school education robotics program in the
world. My passion to see these programs grow and become even more
successful led me to my current position as the President of the
Robotics Education and Competition Foundation. When I look back on that
pivotal year, stumbling into robotics and working with those amazing
NASA engineers who volunteered their time to share their knowledge with
my students, I realize how different things could have been. Without
the contributions of those mentors, that year would have been much more
difficult, much less successful, and a less fulfilling experience for
the students and myself. Without that experience, I would never have
had the exposure and gained the insight into how important it is for
students to engage in educational, hands-on STEM programs that include
interacting with real-life professional mentors. That experience
changed my outlook on what was important, what was needed, and what I
wanted to focus my career on. What makes my journey a little more
amusing to those who knew me more than 15 years ago is that I was not
an engineer or scientist--when that principal asked that naive teacher
to lead the robotics programs, I was teaching English and social
studies, one year away from joining the San Jose Fire Department. I now
have a much greater appreciation for the concept of serendipity, as
that simple spur-of-the-moment decision in my 20s, to help some
students build a robot for what I thought would only be a few months,
ended up being a permanent fork in the road that completely changed my
life.
I come here today representing the Robotics Education and
Competition Foundation and the various programs we support. BEST
Robotics, Botball, Underwater Robotics, FIRST Robotics, the VEX
Robotics Competitions--these are some the the incredible programs that
we support. Many of you probably have schools in your districts that
participate in one or more of these programs. The problem is that not
enough schools are able to offer these programs, and that is what our
foundation is committed to changing. Having these different programs
available is important, because different schools need different
options. Some of these programs are free or very low cost, some are
extremely expensive and require lots of resources that many schools
don't have, some are very educational and include curriculum, some are
not classroom based, some are completely autonomous, some are all
mechanical with no programming involved, and some are both. There are
many differences between these programs, but what's most important, and
what makes the REC Foundation want to support them and see them all
grow, are two things that they all have in common. First, they are all
hands-on project-based STEM programs that excite and motivate students,
frequently igniting a desire for many students to pursue STEM degrees
in college and careers in STEM fields. Second is that they are all
volunteer-driven programs that rely on building a strong educational
partnership between schools, teachers, parents, and professional
mentors from industry. It is this exposure to STEM professions and
careers, in and out of the classroom, that makes the impact of these
programs so much more powerful and long lasting--not ony for the
students but also for the teachers, parents, and professionals who are
able to give back to their field of expertise.
Industry professionals have a much bigger influence on students and
teachers than they might initially understand. While it's easy to focus
on the ``knowledge'' that they possess, I would argue that it is their
``presence'' that has the most influence. Students and teachers are
used to ``career day''-type exposures to professionals, where they hear
what certain people do in certain fields. It's taking that next huge
step to actually working WITH the students, mentoring them in a STEM
challenge, and solving problems with them that makes the impact and has
a long-term influence. In this way, these mentors help supplement and
validate what the teachers have been telling the students--that the
concepts matter and real careers are out there for people who learn
these concepts and skills. When professionals work WITH students,
instead of just lecturing students, they teach skills you can't just
learn from a book. These professionals are able to demonstrate project
management, time management, brainstorming, teamwork, and that solving
a problem is a ``process,'' not just something smart people are
genetically able to do. These professionals show students that even
college graduates don't have all the answers, but they ``find'' the
answers and solve the problems. Students are able to watch these
professionals, talk to them, ask them questions, and most importantly,
see that the fields they are in are interesting, stimulating, and
actually ``possible'' to pursue.
There are a few key reasons we at the Robotics Education and
Competition Foundation focus a lot of our energy and resources into
programs that also include a competition outlet in addition to just
classroom education. Students are not lacking access to information--
between lesson plans, lectures, books, their teachers (and now Google),
there is no shortage of knowledge for students to access. What students
don't get enough of in school, and what is very difficult for teachers
to provide, especially in these times of increased class sizes and
slashed budgets, is an understanding of how what they are learning
applies to real life and how to apply what they are learning to
situations that happen in real time. Competitions put the students and
mentors in situations where they have a challenge or problem to solve,
with not as much time as they would like, and not as much funding as
they would like, while competing against others who are trying to reach
a better solution faster. Sometimes the competitors have more funding
and more resources, sometimes they don't--either way, the only choice
is to keep working as hard as you can to find the best solution you
can, and when you don't have what you ``want,'' be innovative and find
the best solution you can. The professional mentors are critical to the
team's success because they show the students there are different ways
to solve problems, that even when you think you might have solved the
problem, you don't stop and you continue to look at different ways to
improve upon your solution. By working with and observing professional
mentors, students see that problem solving is an iterative process--
that in the real world it's not just a matter of knowing the answer,
it's how you work with others, how you communicate, how you innovate,
and how you don't give up when the idea you had doesn't work. You can't
learn these skills in the classroom and/or on a test.
As I said before, I don't think professional mentors really realize
the role they play and true impact they have on students beyond the
competitions and beyond the high school or college education of the
students. Mentors take pride in the knowledge they share and pass on,
as they should. They are aware of what challenge or problems the
students faced and how they as mentors helped them find a solution. But
it goes way beyond that. Students frequently look towards these mentors
for advice and guidance, they ask them about colleges and options for
academic advancement after high school. Mentors provide letters of
recommendation for college applications and are commonly listed as
references by students on job applications. These are not small things
in the eyes of a student and show a great deal of trust and respect was
developed. The bigger impact is that these mentors have helped redefine
STEM fields and careers in the eyes of students. These mentors help
break down stereotypes that only ``nerds'' and ``brainiacs'' can enjoy
or succeed in science, technology, engineering, or math. These mentors
show students that gaining knowledge in STEM can lead to very
interesting, exciting, and rewarding careers.
Think of the world our students are growing up in and all the
stereotypes they are subjected to from early on and throughout their
childhood. Cool kids are the sports captains or cheerleaders.
Scientists are just strange geeks, normally crazy white men in lab
coats. Athletes and TV stars are the heroes and role models that people
cheer for and are celebrated in the media. No one knows or cares which
students are on a spelling bee, mock trial, or academic decathlon team,
but everyone cheers for the student playing football or basketball--and
we're all guilty of it. If I asked everyone here today who won the
Super Bowl last year or the World Series last week, the majority would
know and could probably tell you at least three players on the team.
But if I asked who won the Nobel Prize for Physics this year, who would
know? Now I'm sitting before the Subcommittee on Research and Science
Education, so I'm sure many hands would go up--but I didn't know, I had
to Google it, and it turns out three United States-born astrophysicists
won the prize.
So how do robotics competitions and professional mentors change
this? Robotics competitions make STEM education exciting and fun. They
take the best aspects of sports (competition, teamwork, cheering fans,
life lessons), combine that with intense education to develop a real
tangible understading of science, tehcnology, engineering, and math,
and show students all the fields and careers that the skills they are
learning can lead to. Many students look at professional STEM careers
as they do sports superstars--things they aren't athletic or smart
enough to ever do themselves. But that's where they are wrong. With
only a few thousand ``jobs'' available in the NFL or NBA, students have
little to no chance of ever making a living playing sports, but they
aren't aware that there are millions of jobs out there in STEM fields
and that they do have the very real opportunity to achieve a career in
STEM if they just pursue those paths academically. Imagine if the high
school sports teams could have Joe Montana, Magic Johnson, or Willie
Mays work with them as mentors and coaches. When teachers, parents, and
professional mentors work with students in the classroom, that's what
happens; students have the opportunity to be coached by the true
``superstars'' of STEM. Imagine exposing students to a combination of
Einstein, Michael Jordan, and Sally Ride . . . you've got a pretty
impressive role model there, someone REALLY cool and REALLY smart who
does some REALLY cool stuff with their knowledge in STEM. I've had the
privilege of watching students get to meet and interact with people
like Woodie Flowers from MIT (the true father of educational
competitive robotics as we all know it today) and Dave Lavery from
NASA. These are incredibly impressive and very busy men who go out of
their way to work with students and model what a true mentor can and
should be. That's the role these mentors have when they work hand in
hand with teachers and students in these programs. They show students
that normal people can be really smart, can still be cool, and that
there are lots of interesting and exciting jobs out there waiting for
just those kinds of people.
I've been very fortunate to work with some of the top corporations,
government organizations, and academic institutions in our country
through the various programs I've worked with and the Robotics
Education and Competition Foundation. Some companies have created
incredible programs to support STEM-based competitions, both
financially and by encouraging their employees to give back to the
community and help mentor students. Companies like Autodesk, EMC,
Northrop Grumman, Microchip, and government agencies like NASA--and the
difference they make is incredible. They don't do it only because it's
a good, responsible thing to do, they do it because it's in their best
interest. They are worried about the future workforce and making sure
that they can find graduates coming out of college with STEM degrees.
However, just being ``smart'' isn't enough--they need employees who can
communicate their ideas and work well with others, they need employees
who have the ability to solve difficult problems with innovative ideas.
They need employees who realize they are in a very competitive global
economy and are passionate about their careers. Supporting these
programs and having their professionals go into the classroom to mentor
students is critical to creating a better, more qualified future
workforce.
A lot of students in middle school and high school don't have any
idea what career they might want to pursue or even if they want to go
to college or what they might want to study if they do go to college.
But they know, from watching a lot of TV, that lawyers and doctors seem
to make a lot of money and get on TV a lot. But if meeting and working
with a professional engineer or scientist can expose some students to
academic and career paths that they hadn't previously even considered,
that's a great thing. If these mentors can inspire just one student at
the school they work with, just one girl or boy who looks at that
mentor as a role model and says ``I want to be like Mike'' and pursue
an education and career in that field, then that's a great thing. Not
every student who participates in these programs and works with mentors
is going to pursue a STEM degree or career, which is fine. Working with
mentors and participating in these programs will have a lasting effect
on students, whether they enter a STEM field or not. The involvement of
the mentors and the experiences gained in these programs will result in
an increased awareness of science, technology, engineering, and math
and a better, more educated understanding of how STEM issues impact us
in our daily lives.
And don't forget, companies know the power of branding and
advertising. Students on these robotics teams remember the company of
the mentor who helped support their team, and that positive brand
association will be with them for many years, and companies know that.
The biggest investment companies and organizations make is allowing
their employees to donate their valuable time, energy, knowledge, and
passion. Students getting the opportunity to work with teachers,
parents, and professional mentors in project-based STEM programs are a
much larger investment for companies and organizations than just being
a sponsor on a banner. I've heard from more than a few companies that
they found in post-hire surveys that some very sought-after prospects
they hired, who had very strong offers from competitors, listed in
their reasons why they chose the offer they did that they had been on
the ``NASA/Innovation First/Autodesk'' Robotics team in high school and
really liked the mentors they had worked with.
There are a few different ways I've seen companies that have
figured this out encourage their employees to support students and
teachers in the classroom. Some give the employees X number of hours to
volunteer at a local school during the day in the classroom. This could
range from an hour a day to a couple of hours a week, to one day a
month--whatever works for the employee and the school. Some will
financially sponsor a team at a local school with many employee
children attending and encourage the employees/parents to volunteer
some time after work to work with the students. Some companies will get
a group of employees to mentor together, so individually they each
volunteer a little but collectively spend a lot of time in the
classroom. Some employees may not be able to mentor during school
hours, but they can volunteer for workshops or training sessions on
weekends or as volunteers at events.
Having industry professionals participate in the classroom has a
number of very beneficial results. For one, the students get to meet
real people with STEM-based jobs at real companies. This might sound
simplistic, but think back to being a young student and what careers
were considered glamorous and what things you ``wished'' you could be
when you grew up. The answers haven't changed a lot over the years:
professional athletes, movie stars, astronauts/pilots, policemen,
firemen, doctors/vets. When kids get to middle school and high school,
a very troubling thing starts to happen: students start to look at
those ``dreams'' as unrealistic, unattainable, or intimidating. Many
don't think they are smart enough, they don't see people like them
(their ethnicity/gender) pursuing those fields, they think it takes too
much work or an education that they can't afford, and frequently they
aren't even aware of what fields are out there. Bringing industry
professionals into the classroom tears all of that down--the students
see real-life, normal people who have jobs in interesting fields.
Students get to speak with and interact with these professionals, and
they realize that they aren't that much different--yes, they know a lot
and are smart, but what's eye opening for the students is that the
professionals ``don't'' have all the answers, they just keep thinking
and working until they ``find'' the answers.
It's also important to involve industry professionals because they
truly are ``mentors.'' Even though it's not true, students sometimes
think parents and teachers do what they do because they ``have'' to. At
a time in their lives where they want to question authority and
sometimes don't trust parents or teachers, this other adult comes in
who doesn't ``have'' to be there. The message that sends is very
powerful, and students will frequently be open to listening when they
think that person comes from the real world and is there because they
``want'' to be there. These mentors can use this unique role to help
the teacher, to reinforce that what the teacher has been ``teaching''
is important and will apply to life outside of school.
There are challenges associated with industry professionals getting
involved in the classroom. A big one is that the teacher and student
are on their ``turf'' and have a comfort level with each other already,
while the mentor can initially feel like a fish out of water. A
classroom is a much different environment than the workplace--there may
not always be an understood and respected hierarchy. At work, employees
and co-workers listen to their bosses (or at least respectfully pretend
to), but in a classroom there are plenty of students (employees) who
don't listen and don't try to pretend they are listening. To use the
analogy of a ship--a company is kind of like a cruise ship, with lots
of co-workers working together to make sure the customers get from
point A to point B in the most pleasant and productive way possible.
But in the classroom, that cruise ship is more like a pirate ship (with
some leaks)--there are no co-workers or support structure, you're the
captain, and sometimes you're just hoping you can get the crew (the
students) to land before they sink (or mutiny). Industry professionals
coming to work with students in a classroom need to exhibit many
important attributes beyond just their specific knowledge base and
skill set--they need to demonstrate patience, communication,
compassion, and resolve.
I have seen industry mentors have a great deal of success working
in the classroom and with students, but I have also seen situations
where the experience did not go well and a professional mentor without
any teaching experience had a very difficult time making a positive
impact on the students. There are issues that can become significant
barriers to industry professional or parent volunteers becoming a
classroom mentor, some of these being time, resources, credentials, and
experience, so I will briefly speak to each of those:
Time: Any mentorship is valuable. It's important that
industry professionals do what they can and don't try to do too much.
If they feel there's too great a time burden and expectation, they
might not get involved even in a limited way. If they can give a few
hours every week or two, great. The key is to get involved and then
they will gradually adapt and determine if they can give more time.
Resources: Industry professionals are used to having
basic supplies and support materials, or having a deparment or budget
to get resources when needed. That's frequently not the case,
especially right now in the average U.S. classroom. It can be very
overwhelming to try to mentor a class of students in a program that you
then find out the school doesn't have the funding to support. The key
is to help the teacher and students in whatever way you can. Let the
school worry about the funding, and if a certain program is too
expensive, then find a less expensive and more sustainable program for
the students to participate in. There are MANY great STEM programs out
there that all offer great experience for the students. Industry
mentors need to focus their time working with the students with their
knowledge and expertise, they should not feel like they need to be
fundraisers and burn themselves out trying to do more than they
originally signed on for.
Credentials: There's always a lot of talk about getting a
teaching credential or bypassing the process so a professional can
start working with students right away. I think the key is to find
creative ways to address the unique situation of the available mentor.
If an industry professional wants to vounteer part time but not full
time, the sports model can work--much like coaches for sports teams.
They don't need a credential, but they can coach the team. A system
like that can work, with stipends to partially compensate them for
their time.
Experience: A classroom environment and a work
environment are like two different worlds. Being successful in one
doesn't guarantee success in the other. It takes time to learn many of
the subtleties of teaching 30 students, how to communicate with them as
a group and individually when there isn't a cubicle or ``private''
meeting room available. The working relationship between the teacher
and the industry professional is critical. If the professional wants to
get a credential and go into teaching full time, then plan a transition
to shadow and/or mentor with a teacher for a year while working on a
credential. There's no training like being in the classroom, but always
do it with an experienced teacher to start, and don't try to jump right
into teaching if you've never done it before. That's not a recipe for
success for the mentor and, more importantly, for the students.
In closing, we need to engage, inspire, and prepare students to
pursue science, engineering, and technology in higher education and as
a profession--getting industry professionals to volunteer or work with
teachers and students is an invaluable tool to reach those goals.
Whether it's robotics competition or another hands-on project-based
challenge, having real-life industry professionals work with schools
makes STEM relevant to students, and relevancy drives engagement,
inspiration, and action. At the Robotics Education and Competition
Foundation, our goal is to continue to support the top STEM-based
competition programs that are educational, affordable, and accessible.
To engage industry to work with schools, to get real professional role
models working with students is to show them there are exciting
academic and career opportunities ahead of them.
Corporations have the most to gain from investing in programs like
the VEX Robotics Competition, BEST Robotics and others that help
movtivate students to pursue academic excellence and prepare students
for the workforce. If every corporation were to allocate some of the
resources that they use on recruiting efforts and community involvement
and reinvest those funds into these programs, they would gain enhanced
exposure for their company, they would be giving back to their
community, and most importantly, by investing in these students at an
early age, corporations would gain immediate access to some of the best
and brightest minds from which to pull talent when it comes to
workforce development. Supporting robotics and finding ways for
professional mentors to work with students in and out of the classroom
creates a lifelong learner that is actively involved in building their
21st century skills in addition to developing their expertise in the
fields of STEM, qualities that all good employers need and want when
they look to bring a talented new hire on board.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today about the value
of transferring knowledge from the workplace to the classroom through
industry professionals. Teachers, parents, mentors, and companies
working together can help inspire and prepare the students of today to
become the science and engineering workforce of tomorrow.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Mr. Morrella.
The Chair now recognizes our final witness, Dr. Jennifer
Jones, for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF DR. JENNIFER JONES,
PRINCIPAL CLINICAL SCIENTIST, ABBOTT VASCULAR
Dr. Jones. Thank you to the Subcommittee for this
opportunity to speak today. I am Dr. Jennifer Jones, a
Principal Clinical Scientist at Abbott in Santa Clara,
California. Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company
devoted to the discovery, development, manufacturing, and
marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products.
I am here today because I have a passion for science and
science education and the impact that we as science
professionals can have on our community. I know firsthand what
it feels like to work with children and parents who have never
met a real scientist, to see the excitement in their faces when
they realize a real scientist can actually look like them. I
see the profound impact that mentoring has on my colleagues,
and because of my own positive experience with mentors, I
believe we have an obligation to serve the generations to come,
and I am pleased to be part of a program that provides a solid
framework for the effective mentoring.
The science education program at Abbott and at the Abbott
Fund, our philanthropic foundation, are an example of the kind
of public-private partnerships that can serve as a catalyst,
inspiring an interest in science in young people, teachers, and
enriching the professional lives of scientists. By engaging in
rigorous research and thorough preparation, we offer programs
that have a long-lasting impact on the participants involved.
These partnerships are critical in leveraging existing
effective delivery models and for providing expertise and
innovative science content and exposure to STEM careers.
I see on a daily basis the need for innovation in solving
some of the greatest problems that face us as a Nation and as a
global community, yet we are lagging behind developed
countries. In the Program for International Student Assessment,
PISA, rankings, the United States is average, low behind top
performs such as Canada, Finland, Japan, and China. We are
average, yet average will not work in solving the 21st century
problems.
As Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated after the
release of the rankings, ``Being average in reading and science
and below average in math is not nearly good enough in a
knowledge economy where scientific and technological literacy
is so central to sustaining innovation and international
competitiveness.''
Even more sobering is a large gap in United States rankings
between low socioeconomic students and their high socioeconomic
classmates. We need these students not only to be better than
average at math and science but we need them to be better, more
knowledgeable, and more innovative than those of us in science
today.
The Global Science Forum of the Organization of Economic
Co-Operation and Development, OECD, advocated that providing
positive exposure to science at an early age is critical to
inspiring future interest.
I know firsthand the impact of bringing scientists directly
together with families from underserved communities. One of the
schools we work with is Brookfield Elementary School in
Oakland, California. They are an example of a school that
struggles to provide the basic resources, much less serving as
an inspiration for their students. The day prior to our first
program, they were robbed of all their electronic and computer
equipment, yet we still had the event bringing together
scientists and families. The principal, Adam Taylor, has seen
an increase in participation of parents in their children's
education, an increase in the willingness and comfort of
teachers to work with scientific activities with their
students, and an increase in the school's overall science
scores.
For an event such as this to be effective, we recognize the
need to invest in professional development that can prepare our
scientists to effectively serve as mentors. The Abbott and
Abbott Fund programs span the K-12 STEM learning spectrum. The
Abbott Family Science Program starts in elementary school and
encourages the critical parent-child interaction around
science. Abbott scientists and volunteers serve as
facilitators. Abbott Operation Discovery brings middle school
students together with scientists in a working lab environment
to engage in hands-on experiments that complement the school
curriculum. We also support Project Exploration, a nonprofit
organization serving minority and female students at a time
when they are most vulnerable to losing interest in science,
technology, engineering, and math.
High school students are served by programs such as After
School Matters, a Chicago-based after-school internship
program, and the FIRST Robotics program. Abbott scientists
again serve as facilitators and mentors for these programs.
Our support includes a presence in science and children's
museums where a broad range of public audiences can be reached.
The new traveling science exhibition, Science + You, for young
children was created in partnership with the Kohl Children's
Museum, and scientists were actively involved in the
development of exhibits and serve as active activity
facilitators. Collectively, these programs have reached
millions of students, parents, and teachers.
The Abbott Fund has invested in a program structure based
on training best practices and our rigorous understanding of
the impact on the program's participants. The methodology
applies to the professional development we provide to
scientists as well as the evaluation of the impact of the
programs on the participants. Best practices identified in
national projects and informal science education field are
continuing being applied to our training model for scientists.
We encourage active student and family engagement and discovery
of science rather than giving lectures and demonstrations. We
modify programs based on the particular needs of the community,
and this model increases Abbott's scientists' capacity to train
other volunteers and serve as internal and external
ambassadors.
Regarding the program impacts, we have found significant
change in participants' interest in science following
participation in Abbott Family Science and Operation Discovery.
Abbott Family Science has shown to increase participants
reporting more likelihood of engaging with scientific
activities from 39 percent to 84 percent.
Lastly, in closing, recently an Abbott colleague had a
comment about people he has mentored: ``These people are now
better than me, and that is the way it should be. That is what
we should be striving to, enabling our students, our children
to be better to us, to accomplish more than we could ever
imagine.'' So we hope that this testimony will serve as an
example of identifying the most effective ways to prepare STEM
professionals for effective and transformational interactions
with students.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Jones follows:]
Prepared Statement of Dr. Jennifer Jones,
Principal Clinical Scientist, Abbott Vascular
Hello, I'm Jennifer Jones. I am a Principal Clinical Scientist at
Abbott Vascular in Santa Clara, California. I have a Ph.D. in
kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise physiology, hypertension, and
genetics. Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company,
headquartered north of Chicago, Illinois, devoted to the discovery,
development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical
products, including nutritionals, devices, and diagnostics. The company
employs nearly 90,000 people and markets its products in more than 130
countries. At Abbott Vascular, I am the lead clinical scientist for the
phase III Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) trial to support the
United States approval of a new coronary artery device technology.
However, I have also been privileged to provide leadership in one of
our major volunteer efforts, Abbott Family Science.
I am here today because I have a passion for science and science
education and the impact we as science professionals can have on our
community. I have experienced firsthand what it feels like to work with
children and their parents who may have never met a ``real'' scientist.
I have seen the excitement in their faces when they learn that a
scientist may be someone who looks like them. And I see the profound
impact that mentoring experiences have on my colleagues as they gain
valuable skills in learning how to translate both their knowledge and
interest in science to people in their community.
I have experienced continued scientific and personal growth
throughout my development and career with the help of mentors who have
exposed me to scientific areas that were initially not in my vantage
point. Through these relationships I realized how limitless our
potential for intellectual and personal growth can be. I believe that
many of us have an obligation to serve as mentors to the generations to
come and am pleased to be part of a professional program that provides
a solid framework for effective mentoring opportunities.
The science education programs of Abbott and the Abbott Fund,
Abbott's philanthropic foundation, are an example of the kind of
public-private partnership that can serve as a catalyst, inspiring an
interest in science in young people, enriching the professional lives
of scientists, and inspiring teachers. By engaging in both rigorous
research and thorough preparation, we can develop programs that have a
long lasting impact on the communities and people involved. By
developing strong community collaborations, we can ensure that the
programs we offer serve students who are most in need of programs that
complement their school offerings.
Private-public partnerships are critical for leveraging existing
effective delivery models, and for providing expertise and innovative
science content based on authentic science experiences, interaction
with working scientists, and exposure to STEM careers. Through this, we
are not only giving our children the best possible opportunities, but
also ensuring that they will have the tools, creativity, and
inspiration they need to continue to transform their own communities
and the world.
Overview of Need
As a working scientist, I see on a daily basis the need for
innovation in solving some of the greatest problems we face, as a
Nation and as a global community. To address those problems, we need to
cultivate and nurture the next generation of scientists, yet we are
lagging behind other developed countries in these efforts. Perhaps
nowhere is that need more apparent than in the U.S. rankings in the
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) measurement. In the
2006 and 2009 ranking, the U.S. was ranked as average, below top
performers like Canada, China, Finland, and Japan. We are average, yet
``average'' will not work in solving 21st century problems.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated after the release of
the PISA rankings, ``Being average in reading and science--and below
average in math--is not nearly good enough in a knowledge economy where
scientific and technological literacy is so central to sustaining
innovation and international competitiveness.''
Even more sobering is the large gap in U.S. rankings between low
socioeconomic status students and their high socioeconomic status
classmates. While our white and Asian students perform about as well in
science and math as the average student in high-performing countries
like Canada and Japan, our Latino and African American students perform
at lower levels.
We need a fully engaged and scientifically literate society. We
need these students not only to be better than average in math and
science, but also to be better, more knowledgeable, and more innovative
than those of us working in the sciences today.
Science Professionals as Mentors
A 2006 Global Science Forum of the Organization for Economic Co-
Operation and Development (OECD) advocated that providing positive
exposure to science at an early age is critical to inspiring future
interest. A recent 2011 study published in the Journal of Science
Education found that the most promising route to generating more
college graduates with STEM degrees is not enrolling them in more
advanced science and math courses, but simply doing more to spark their
interest at an earlier age.
Beyond the statistical evidence, I have seen firsthand the impact
of bringing scientists together to work directly with families in
underserved communities. One of the schools we work with, Brookfield
Elementary School in Oakland, California, is an example of a school
that struggles with providing basic resources, much less serving as an
inspiration for its students. The day prior to our very first program
at this school a few years ago, the school had been robbed and gutted
of all electronic and computer equipment. Yet we held the event,
bringing together working scientists and families, and for that school
began a process of transformation with more engaged parents, more
engaged teachers, and kids who started to envision science careers as a
possibility. For Brookfield Elementary, the principal, Adam Taylor, has
seen an increase in participation of parents in their children's
education, an increase in the willingness and comfort of the teachers
in engaging in hands-on experiments with their students, and an
increase in the school's overall science scores.
We know that these types of transformational moments do not happen
by accident. For the event to be effective, we recognize that we need
to invest in professional development and training that can prepare our
scientists to effectively serve as mentors in these and other programs.
As a company that values science, Abbott recognizes that one way to
provide this positive exposure to science and science professionals is
to get working scientists and students together. The Abbott Fund
established the science education programs to work with students in a
variety of settings, from classrooms and actual working labs to science
museums and festivals. Abbott scientists lend their expertise to these
programs to help cultivate an interest in science learning.
These programs look to spark an interest in science among young
people to inspire the next generation of scientists and to foster a
better understanding of science and a richer appreciation of the value
it brings to improving human health. Engaging and inspiring students,
families, and schoolteachers in scientific exploration, these programs
deliver vital educational science opportunities in informal settings.
We create a culture for students in which their interest in science is
encouraged, including through real-world experiences beyond the
classroom.
The Abbott and Abbott Fund Science Education Programs span the K-12
STEM learning spectrum, starting early to spark that interest. The
Abbott Family Science program starts in elementary school and
encourages parent-child interaction around science with Abbott
scientists and volunteers serving as facilitators. Research has shown
that at this age, it is crucial to encourage parental involvement and
engagement.
For middle school students, we offer the Abbott Operation Discovery
program, which brings students together with scientists in a working
lab environment to engage in hands-on science experiments that
complement school curriculum. Also receiving support is Project
Exploration, a non-profit organization serving minority and female
students at a time when they are most vulnerable to losing an interest
in science, technology, engineering, and math.
High school students are served by programs such as After School
Matters--a Chicago-based after school internship program--and FIRST
Robotics--a global afterschool science and engineering program. Abbott
scientists serve as frequent mentors and advisors in both programs.
Our support includes a presence in science and children's museums,
where a broad range of public audiences can be reached. One example is
the recent development of a new traveling science exhibit in
partnership with the Kohl Children's Museum in Illinois. The Science +
You exhibit is specifically designed for children ages eight and under,
giving them a positive early exposure to science labs and scientists.
There are very few exhibitions of this nature for this age group. Thus
the exhibition is in high demand and will be traveling to DC, San
Francisco, and other U.S. and international locations. Abbott
scientists were actively involved in the development of the exhibits
and serve as volunteer demonstrators, reaching visitors directly. In
each locale, Abbott scientists will present live demonstrations and
science activities.
Collectively these programs have reached millions of students,
parents, and teachers worldwide. While we are pleased with the numbers
of individuals we are reaching, we know as a science company that
thorough and rigorous evaluation of effectiveness and impact is key to
the programs' continued success.
Creating an Effective Program Framework
The Abbott Fund has invested in a program structure based on best
practices and a solid understanding of the impact on the program
participants. This methodology applies to both the training and
professional development we provide to participating scientists, as
well as to evaluation and assessment of the impacts of the programs on
students, parents, and teachers.
We have learned a great deal since we began to offer these programs
more formally in 2005. Traditional programs that place a scientist in a
classroom or museum setting are not necessarily beneficial to the
student or the scientist. Often the scientist needs guidance, not only
in how to convey content but also in how to communicate passion and
enthusiasm. Training and professional development has been provided for
scientists on how to do just that.
In order to apply best practices in training and professional
development, the Abbott Fund has participated in national projects and
conference sessions focused on preparing scientists for working with
the public in informal settings such as after-school programs and
science museums. Best practices identified in these settings are
continually being applied to Abbott Fund training models for
scientists. These models are designed to prepare the scientists to work
as facilitators and guides for families and students. We particularly
train the scientist to encourage active student and family engagement
in science discovery, rather than simply providing demonstrations or
lectures.
The training increases the capacity of Abbott scientists to serve
as trainers for future volunteers and to serve as internal and external
ambassadors for the programs. In addition, the skills developed and
enhanced are beneficial not only to scientists' volunteer efforts but
also to their ability to communicate and work together effectively in
the workplace. For us, we believe our scientists learn valuable lessons
working with, and within, their community.
Of course, a solid understanding of the impact and effectiveness of
programs is key to making a difference. Not only are the programs
evaluated for their effectiveness, we modify programs based on the
particular needs of the community, whether it is the need for
translators at an event or helping to provide transportation for
families who may need it. We are currently adapting the Abbott Family
Science model to work in a very large festival setting. I am bringing a
group of scientists to participate in the first-ever free Bay Area
Science Festival, and we expect to interact with thousands of visitors.
For the Abbott Family Science and Operation Discovery programs, an
analysis of findings from programs found significant change in the
participants' interest in science following participation in the
programs. In the case of Abbott Family Science, only 39% of
participants reported they were likely to engage in science exploration
as a family prior to attending an event, compared to 84% of the
participants after the event.
I hear from my colleagues that giving back to the community is more
than a ``feel-good'' opportunity. I recently heard a soon-to-retire
Abbott colleague's perspective on being a mentor. Now that he is at the
end of his career, he looks back at the people he has mentored over the
years. What he said struck me; ``These people now are better than me,
and that is the way it should be.'' That is what we should be striving
to do, enabling our students, our children, to be better than us, to
accomplish more than we ever could imagine.
REFERENCES
Abbott Fund, www.abbottfund.org.
David Heil & Associates, Inc. ``Abbott Family Science and Abbott
Operation Discovery: 2009-2010 Program Evaluation.'' January 2011.
Duncan, Arne. ``Statement on the Results of the Program for
International Student Assessment.'' U.S. Department of Education,
December 7, 2010. www.ed.gov.
Maltese, A.V, Tai, R.H., ``Pipeline persistence: Examining the
association ofeducational experiences with earned degrees in STEM among
U.S. students,'' Science Education, May 2011.
Michigan State University, ``Parents still major influence
onchild's decision to pursue science careers,'' ScienceDaily, February
21, 2010.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
``Evolution of Student Interest in Science and Technology Studies
Policy Report,'' Global Science Forum, May 2006.
Stephens, Laura. ``Ed Trust Analysis of 2009 PISA Results: United
States Is Average in Performance, but Leads the World in Inequity,''
The Education Trust, December 10, 2010. http://www.edtrust.org.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Dr. Jones.
I would like to thank the entire panel for their testimony,
reminding members that the Committee rules limit questioning to
five minutes. The Chair will at this point open the round of
questions, and I recognize myself in that regard.
My first question is directed to Mrs. Sutton. Mrs. Sutton,
interacting with other more conventional teachers, have you
found that your teaching style and tools are different because
of your industry experience from outside the classroom, and if
so, how?
Mrs. Sutton. Yes. Thank you, Chairman Brooks. Yes, I have
found that I do have--I do employ a number of different
techniques that they don't use. I feel more comfortable in
developing targeted interventions. I can use different kinds of
software applications to pull together tests that are not just
straight from the curriculum but can be custom-made, and I also
deliver my lessons with some animation and some different kinds
of things that attract the students and keep their attention
while I am trying to teach them while they don't even notice
they are being taught.
Chairman Brooks. As a follow-up, how much freedom are you
given to either alter or expand your curriculum, if any?
Mrs. Sutton. Oh, I am given tremendous freedom. We have a
mandate that we have to help these kids gain proficiency, and
now they are in high school, they have to pass graduation exam,
and we know where they are weak. We test them regularly and we
are called to do whatever it takes to bring them up to the
level they need to be. In my computer science and the
cybersecurity classes, I get free rein to do whatever I think I
need to bringing projects in from my industry experience and
from my peers so that I can enrich what is going on in my
classroom.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you.
Dr. Beeth, in your testimony you mentioned that act!
partners with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to
increase the number of math and science teachers in Wisconsin.
Can you tell us more about the relationship between the
Department of Public Instruction and act!?
Dr. Beeth. The Department of Public Instruction in
Wisconsin approves all teacher licensure programs so they
actually are encouraging some alternative pathways. There are
12 alternative programs in the State of Wisconsin at this time.
Act! is the only one that is devoted exclusively to math and
science while some of the others do as well. so they are
primarily an approval body but also a body that is trying to
stimulate more of this kind of work.
Chairman Brooks. Was it complicated to obtain approval from
the State of Wisconsin for the act! alternative certification
program, and also in that regard, can you explain the process?
Dr. Beeth. It wasn't complicated, but being in a college of
education and human services, we do these kinds of things on a
fairly regular basis so we are familiar with the process, and
the second part of your question?
Chairman Brooks. I will go back to it. Can you explain the
process?
Dr. Beeth. You have to apply and you have to indicate who
will be involved in teaching these individuals, what their
credentials are, what the curriculum will be for the program,
how you will support the program to get it started budgetarily
and in the event that the program is not successful and
students remain in the program. We go through a review process
annually. We have a visit from a liaison from the Department of
Public Instruction who comes to hear about where we are at in
our program. We have formal reviews that occur periodically as
well.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you.
And Ms. Willner, you had wanted some additional time to
complete your remarks. Go ahead.
Ms. Willner. Thank you very much.
Chairman Brooks. Microphone on.
Ms. Willner. Thank you very much, Chairman. I appreciate
that. I just did want to add that in addition to Transition to
Teaching, which has been so successful and brought so many
great IBMers into the community, we have recently started a
program. Just this September, we launched a new school in
Brooklyn, New York, in collaboration with the city of New York,
the Department of Education, the City University of New York.
It is a unique model that goes from grades 9 to 14, so the
students actually receive a high school diploma and an
associate's degree and will be prepared to take a job that
leads to a good-paying career in the IT industry. We have
actually mapped our job skills for real jobs that we hire at
IBM with an associate's degree and worked with the faculty to
make sure that the young people will be prepared. So we think
that that is the essence of making real on the promise to our
children that they will be college and career ready, and we are
now starting to replicate the model in Chicago working with
Mayor Emanuel, and we are hoping to be putting out a range of
tools and playbooks on exactly how to use this model to
energize secondary and postsecondary education around the
country.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Ms. Willner.
The Chair's time is about to expire. With that, I recognize
Mr. Lipinski for his five minutes.
Mr. Lipinski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to start with Dr. Jones. Certainly, we are here to
learn about how we can really help scientists make a successful
leap from scientists to classroom mentor or to teacher. I just
wanted to ask you what best practices are taught in order to
help Abbott scientists make that leap. And I also wanted to see
what recommendations you might have along those lines for what
the Federal Government could do to support scientists at our
national labs doing something similar.
Dr. Jones. Okay. Well, I can answer the first part of the
question. So as we talked about applying best practices and
training, and so what the Abbott Fund has done is participate
in the national projects which detail specific critical
elements that will help scientists such as myself make that
transition. We are doing informal settings. Therefore, we learn
to take our knowledge and what we know and convey it and apply
it to a setting of students in schools or outside the schools
such as in museums, such as some of the museum projects that I
talk to in collaboration with the Kohl Children's Museum.
Now, regarding what the Federal Government can do, I don't
believe that I can actually speak on that.
Mr. Lipinski. I just assumed that there probably--you have
people with similar backgrounds, they just happen to be working
for the Federal Government. What types of things that Abbott
does, that the Federal Government may also do as an employer to
help, you know, federal scientists make that same sort of--do
that same sort of work?
Dr. Jones. Well, and some of the ideas, what we have used
in our models is, one thing that is key is teaching scientists
to use their personal experience as an example for the student.
We have to remember that in the classrooms sometimes, science
can be very abstract to all of us, but with programs such as
Abbott Family Science, we are able to take that abstract and
apply it to the real world and what many of us do on a regular
basis. So again, taking the best practices, taking the tools
learned from many of these national projects, from the agencies
that actually teach in formal science education and then
applying that to those employees who will be serving as
volunteers in those classroom or outside of the classroom
settings.
Mr. Lipinski. Thank you.
I want to move on to Ms. Willner. You had mentioned, and
you had the opportunity to talk more about this in the
questioning from the Chairman about P-Tech, and I am happy to
hear about P-Tech being replicated in Chicago. Can you tell me
what types of skill sets P-Tech focuses on and what jobs you
hope that they will fill?
Ms. Willner. Great. Thank you very much. So we started out
the program by actually looking at IBM, and we identified every
single job where we would hire with an associate's degree, and
we know from some of the research actually that you quoted that
even students with an associate's degree in a STEM area will
earn more than their colleagues who get a bachelor's degree in
another non-STEM area. So that is really fruitful. And we
didn't include minimum-wage dead-end jobs; we only looked at
entry-level jobs that would really lead to a career, start them
on the path to a career so they could raise a family. That is
our benchmark. They will be working in support. Some of them
will be doing customer support. Some of them will be doing
programming, Web site design.
There is a whole range of programs and so we are working
with the faculty to look at exactly those skills, both the
rudimentary math and science, the engineering, the programming.
But most exciting in this program is that they are also taking
a work-based competency strand starting in ninth grade. Every
one of them has an IBM mentor. They will start visiting IBM
sites in two weeks. They are going to be coming to IBM
research. They will actually--we are working with the State
education department to get approval to get credit-bearing
workplace experience, because we believe that when these young
people come to an IBM site, not just to shadow somebody but to
actually solve a problem, do some work, that should help them
earn credits. So it will be a very integrated program, rich in
academics, rich in workplace environment. They are going to
learn how to take supervision, work in teams, and they are
going to be excited about knowing that every day they are
getting closer to a real career.
Mr. Lipinski. Is this because IBM is having trouble finding
people, workers in the United States, who are qualified? Is IBM
outsourcing jobs because you can't find workers here in the
United States who are qualified?
Ms. Willner. Well, you know, I think this is a worldwide
problem. We are always looking for the best employees. They
need to have great skills, and as I mentioned before, we want
those leaders who will actually invent the next best thing and
take us to the innovation. So, you know, everywhere that IBM
has a business, we are looking to help with education, But
absolutely in the United States where our roots are, where we
are headquartered, where we have been for 100 years. We want to
make sure that we continue to be a leader, and that means we
need to invest in education here and every State.
Mr. Lipinski. Thank you.
My time is up. I will yield back.
Chairman Brooks. The Chair next recognizes Mr. Bartlett of
Maryland for his five minutes.
Mr. Bartlett. Thank you.
Next year will be the 60th anniversary of my doctorate in
science from the University of Maryland, and I already had four
years of full-time teaching experience when I got my doctorate.
I went to Washington Missionary College in 1943 with no
interest in science. I was going to be a medical missionary,
and to be that, I had to have a degree in theology, which I
acquired, and I had to go to medical school, so I took some
pre-med courses. I had a really good teacher, a Dr. Freeman
Quimby, who ended up the Chief Scientist at Library of
Congress, and I was so inspired by his teaching that I took all
the courses he offered and enough more courses that when I
graduated in 1947, I had a major in Bible, a minor in
homiletics--that is theology--and I had a major in biology and
minor in chemistry. I was 21 years old. I looked 17. I had
decided to go into the ministry, but you don't have much an
immediate bright future in the ministry looking 17 and not
being married. So they suggested I go to graduate school until
I got older and got married, and I was there for five years and
got my doctorate. That was one teacher who changed a life.
My youngest of 10 children was really a problem. He
wouldn't study. Immediately when he got home he went out to the
shop to make toys with our saws out there. Every year we would
argue, should we hold Ross back, he is really doing just awful,
and then Ross had a science teacher in the seventh grade. He
got turned on. He found that he really could do it. He got
inspired. Ross ended up number one of 185 graduating engineers
at UMBC and went on to get his doctorate at Carnegie Mellon.
Here was another life that was drastically changed by a good
science teacher.
We have another son who was a blue baby at birth, and Fred
was in school where they spent three times as much on his
education as they did on Ross's education. We almost lost Ross.
He could have ended up a druggie somewhere. We are just so
darned lucky for that teacher that turned him on.
I worked eight years for IBM, by the way.
Ms. Willner. Great.
Mr. Bartlett. Just a little anecdote. That was a very
different IBM than you are familiar with. Dr. Pete Castrucio
was starting a new department, and he would go out without
collaboration with the personnel office and he would hire
people so the personnel would walk around and when they saw a
new face they would introduce themselves and the person would
say oh, I just started working here for Dr. Pete Castrucio;
well, you maybe ought to come to the personnel office and sign
some papers so you will get paid then.
I transitioned from IBM. I went from teaching in basic
research to the engineering world where I was awarded 20
patents, and I culminated that with my career at IBM and I
transitioned back to teaching. Even then, 36 years ago this
year, IBM was very interested in transitioning people back to
teaching, and so you have a long, long career in doing that.
This year the Chinese will graduate seven times as many
engineers as we graduate. Half of our graduating students here,
about half of them are Chinese students. We face a huge
challenge. There is no way that we are going to continue to be
the premier economic and military power in the world if a
potential adversary competitor is graduating seven times as
many engineers as we are graduating.
The fundamental problem in our country is a cultural
problem, and I am going to ask you to submit something for the
record because you won't have time in my allotted five minutes,
but the problem we have here is a cultural problem, that people
who go into these pursuits are not appreciated. Bright young
men are called geeks and nerds. They were squares, by the way,
when I was going to school and now they are geeks and nerds and
pretty girls won't date them, and bright girls play dumb to get
a date. You know, this just isn't very bright for a culture, is
it? When was the last time you remember the White House
inviting an academic achiever there and slobbering all over
them the way they do sports figures and entertainers? Before we
have our best and brightest students go into careers in
science, math, and engineering, they are going to have to
believe that this is something appreciated by their society. It
is not. We have got to change that. We are at risk as a country
if we can't change that.
Please, for the record, would you provide some counsel to
us as to what we might do from this Committee to help in
changing this culture in our country so that this is--our
brightest and best students now are increasingly going into law
and political science? I tell them, these are potentially
destructive pursuits. We have enough of both of those, thank
you. We need to do something so these bright kids want to go
into science, math, and engineering. Please help us.
And I yield back.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Mr. Bartlett.
Next we have Mr. Clarke of Michigan.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
You know, if the gentleman from Maryland would like, I
could yield him some of my time.
Mr. Bartlett. I hope that our panel would provide a very
thoughtful recommendation, because this is really a very
serious thing. We face a couple of really big challenges in our
country. One is with energy, another is with our huge economic
problems, our deficit, our debt, you know, but the solution out
of both of these might be science, math, and engineering, might
it not? Maybe you could bring some manufacturing back to this
country. You know, every 12 hours we have another billion-
dollar trade deficit. That is only half, by the way, because
about every six hours we have another billion-dollar budget
deficit which increases our debt and, you know, we are here
because we have been failing in this area. Our jobs have been
going overseas. And so we really need to change. The culture in
our country has got to be appreciated. You know, a culture gets
what it appreciates. You know, I think of Rome and the
gladiators, and I am concerned for our future.
Thank you very much and help if you can.
Mr. Clarke. In any event, I just learned a lot listening to
the gentleman from Maryland, and one thing I would agree with
you on is that I think we have got too many lawyers here in
Congress. Either scientists or artists like me would be a great
combination here. I have got to bite my tongue; I'm an artist
that also has a law degree.
Chairman Brooks. As an attorney, I think your time just
expired.
Mr. Clarke. Oh, my goodness. My apologies, Mr. Chair.
This question is more for Mr. Morrella because he actually
reads it at the end of his oral testimony. You indicated that
sometimes industry mentors may have difficulty working in the
classroom and you stated that sometimes an industry mentor
could be effective in the classroom if they take the role
analogous to a coach where they may or may not need educational
credentials in the classroom.
When do you think it is appropriate for an industry mentor
to get the credentials they need in order to be effective in
the classroom and how would you compare that role with an
industry mentor that works as a coach in the classroom and
works as a coach effectively? Just so I can get the
distinction, based on your experience, on when you need an
educational credential to be effective in the classroom and
when you don't.
Mr. Morrella. Sure. That is a great question. There is a
wide spectrum there too. It depends on what the goal of that
mentor is going to be, and I would say when they absolutely
need to get the credential and go through that process.
Obviously if they are going to want to be a full-time educator
and if they are going to want to be doing that on their own
alone, if they are not working in conjunction with a teacher
that is in the class or with an existing team or program. When
I talked about coaching, and I think in the written testimony I
had mentioned what I have seen happen a lot is, industry
professionals who want to get in education and help educators
or help work with students, the coach analogy is similar to
sports. You see students in high schools who get to work with
people who play professional football or basketball or
baseball, and they come and they coach the teams after school.
They don't need a credential. They get a stipend. They can work
with the schools, with the students. They are not required to
have a credential because they have got the expertise. I think
that that is a possible solution to help mentors and engineers
from companies come and work in a classroom and work with
students, that maybe they don't need the full-time credential
but what they can do is be on that kind of coaching level, get
a stipend. The key is to work with a teacher, with a teacher
that is in the classroom.
It is two totally different worlds, and coming from the
corporate world, that environment, and going into a classroom,
an analogy I use is kind of like a ship, right? The corporate
world is like a cruise ship and you have got a lot of employees
working on different decks trying to make sure that everything
works in the best way possible in a profitable way to get
everybody from point A to B. Teaching is more like being on a
pirate ship, you know, and it is leaking. Your goal is to get
the students to land without the ship sinking and hopefully
without a mutiny, and what I have seen happen with some
professionals that come into the classroom is, they are not
prepared for that environment, for the, you know, without the
hierarchy and the structure, and it really does take--I think a
couple of panelists mentioned, it takes patience, it takes
experience, it takes resolve, it takes getting involved with
the students and listening, and I think it is important that
they work with experienced teachers and they go through the
process to kind of learn what it takes to teach, and if they
want to pursue that full time, then I think that is when, to
answer your question, they need to then pursue a credential so
they can do it full time, but if they don't want to do it full
time, I think we can find ways that they can work in the
classroom without needing a credential.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you, Mr. Morrella.
I yield back my time.
Chairman Brooks. The Chair next recognizes Ms. Sewell from
the great State of Alabama, and she is also an attorney. If you
need any additional rebuttal time, please let me know.
Ms. Sewell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First I would like to thank and welcome all of our
panelists. I especially want to say how delighted I am to see a
fellow Alabamian in Mrs. Sutton, and I actually have a question
for you.
Looking back on your educational and professional
experience, what do you think was the most, has been the most
beneficial experience that you have had in relating that
experience to the classroom and making that transition? I know
that the Hopkins program that you were a part of, are there
recommendations that you can give to other programs about how
they can better educate professionals to make that transition
into the classroom?
Mrs. Sutton. Yes. My experience was unique in that I did
study with Johns Hopkins and then moved to Alabama where I had
my student teaching experience, and the Johns Hopkins programs
that I selected was a part-time program at night and it was
staffed by Montgomery County schools educators and
administrators so they were working--a lot of the people there
were working in the schools every day and then coming to teach
us at night, and they really helped prepare us for the
environment that we were going to be entering. For example, at
the time Montgomery County had over 140 languages being spoken
in the school system. I didn't even know there were 140
languages.
So just that awareness of, you know, what my students were
going to be like when I got there was really, really important.
And yes, they recognized what we had but they also knew that
without having strategies--and there was very focused, targeted
instruction to help us build on what we already had but how to
change up so that we could present material to children in a
way that they would be able to grasp it and to reinforce and to
bring it back in different ways because you do have to tell
them sometimes 20 times or more before it does sink in. I mean,
that is just part of what it takes to be a teacher, to be
creative enough and think of enough different applications for
what you are trying to deliver that they are exposed to it over
and over again so that they really truly understand and then
can begin to apply it themselves.
Ms. Sewell. You know, I am really interested in--and all
the panelists, anyone can answer this question. I am very
interested in scaling these kinds of programs, mentorship
programs, transition programs, to rural areas of America. I
know, Ms. Sutton, you had the benefit of being in Huntsville,
and Huntsville is a science and tech hub for the State of
Alabama. I represent a lot of the rural counties in Alabama,
and you know, our kids need to be sparked and interested as
well. What recommendations would you all make on how to scale
these effective programs to rural Alabama and rural America?
Ms. Willner. If I can, one idea is that at IBM we have an
online mentoring program and we have about 6,500 IBMers who are
mentoring students, and something that is unique about it is
that we adopt a class so every child in that class receives a
mentor, and then we work with the teachers so it is actually
clued into supporting their classroom work. They meet the--the
students meet their mentor at the beginning. They have a big
kickoff and then we have a pizza party at the end. But in
between it is online mentoring, and that does help with--I
mean, we still need infrastructure in the schools but there are
a lot of reasons why we want to bring technology infrastructure
to the rural schools, and that way they can have mentors. They
can also have access to a lot of the experiences of the world.
So that is one thing that we might want to consider.
Ms. Sewell. Dr. Jones, how could I encourage some of the
big corporations like Abbott and others that may have a
satellite office in Huntsville, Alabama, to come and be
interested in rural Alabama and rural areas?
Dr. Jones. Well, first I think we would have to look at
location, but one thing that, if we can use an example, is our
Abbott Family Science program and Operation Discovery is that
the whole objective is this informal out-of-school setting,
okay, to encourage and spark that interest in the students.
When we talk about STEM education, there is actually new,
published information that details that it is not taking the
math or science courses all the time but it is doing other
things to spark the education or almost inspiration of the
student.
We actually have three goals that we have focused on with
our work in science education, and one of them is this engaging
the student and the families, okay, that connection as well as
the teachers and general science exploration, and that is what
we hope that our programs can do, science exploration. And the
second, actually, if I may go on, is encouraging the young
people to be more proficient in science and that attracts more
scientists to the field, okay. And then, lastly, it is also
building these partnerships I talked about in my testimony, the
public-private partnerships, so if we can continue that and
take it to the next level, I think we can tap into some of the
communities that you speak of.
Ms. Sewell. Thank you. I want to encourage all of our
panelists to really be forward-thinking on how to increase
participation as well as how to scale that which has worked in
other areas to rural America as well as to underserved
communities. Thank you very much.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Ms. Sewell, for your insight
and questions.
Next, the Chair recognizes Mr. Sarbanes of Maryland for
five minutes.
Mr. Sarbanes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it.
Thank you to you all for being here.
This is a really interesting topic. It is something I was
involved with quite a bit before I got here. I worked with
Leadership Maryland, which is a group of business and other
leaders in our State, for a number of years in designing a
career-changer program. In fact, they did kind of a summit at
one point on ways to impact education, and the piece that came
out of it, and was sustained the longest, was this idea of
career changers coming out of other walks of life and into
teaching and all the challenges that that can present,
obviously. And you have spoken, I know, to the issues of how
you give credit for life and work experience that, you know,
may not fit into the typical credentialing process and how you
can effect a smooth transition for people who actually want to
change careers. But you have also spoken to all the other
permutations of partnership that can be developed to help bring
to bear in the classrooms around STEM education the experience
and expertise and, frankly, life perspective that a lot of
these professionals have, even without them necessarily making
a full transition.
There is a partnership now between the National Commission
on Teaching and America's Future and NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center to create this NASA 21st Learning Studio model, and
there are a couple of schools in my district that are
benefiting from this partnership, which basically brings
Goddard professionals and scientists into these team project
learning opportunities in the schools. I went to visit a couple
of them and, you know, it has brought the school to life really
when it comes to STEM education. The kids are wowed by it. The
teachers in the schools are also benefiting tremendously from
this partnership, and it turns out the scientists themselves
are benefiting because they are discovering they are needing to
think about their subject matter in different ways and teach
what they know. They are then going back to Goddard, and it is
having a benefit for them in terms of how they interact and
team with their own colleagues there. So it is important to
note that the benefits of this kind of partnering really cut
across all of the participants. So I think there are a lot of
exciting opportunities.
I wanted to ask you, Dr. Beeth, because you have this
innovation program, the act! program, which is helping people
make this transition, how much progress is being made? I looked
at the numbers but as again, say, the shortage of STEM
teachers, particularly in high schools that may exist in that
State, in your State, you know, how much progress are you
making sort of filling the shortages or addressing in a
significant way the shortages overall with these programs?
Dr. Beeth. I think that is a good question and an
interesting question. Because of the nature of this program
with people being place-bound, we fill shortages locally, but
we are not reaching out to all parts of the State to fill the
shortages in some of the rural areas, in some of the high-need
urban areas in the State.
Mr. Sarbanes. And then I wanted to ask Ms. Willner, I know
IBM has had a really innovative approach to this for a long
time. Maybe you could speak to, is there a process by which as
people are approaching retirement within IBM that they get
surveyed or canvassed for their potential interest in this, and
then you are starting to provide support and partner with
credentialing institutions, you know, in terms of the pedagogy
that they may need as a threshold matter before they actually
hit retirement? So you are kind of getting this cohort ready to
go out and do the partnership but before they actually retire?
Ms. Willner. That is exactly right, Congressman. So we want
to make sure that our employees have a smooth transition and
are able to continue to have a salary. They are working at IBM
while they are getting their coursework completed. And then as
I mentioned, we actually have a special leave of absence. They
can hold onto their benefits. Because one of the things we hear
about career changers is that there is that gap: I leave one
job and then before I get placed as a teacher, you know, I
still need health insurance and I still need to hold things
together. So we cover those bridges for them.
And we want to make sure that they have been in the
classroom and had real classroom experience. I think some of my
colleagues talked about math and science expertise is necessary
but it is not sufficient, and you can't just throw somebody
into a classroom. They really need that practice. So this leave
of absence that we have constructed allows them to do that so
they are really prepared. We want them to start teaching day
one, not--you know, because those kids, they only get one time
through, you know, eighth grade.
Mr. Sarbanes. Right. That is a terrific part of your
program, and my time is up, but I just did want to make the
point that it is equally important that the schools where these
career changers are placed are themselves prepared and ready to
accommodate and are willing participants in this kind of a
partnership or else it won't work from that standpoint either,
and I yield back my time.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Mr. Sarbanes.
Next, the Chair recognizes Mr. Tonko of New York for five
minutes.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Dr. Beeth, we often focus on the importance of STEM teacher
recruitment and preparation, but we also know that STEM teacher
retention can be a huge problem. So many of our STEM teachers
leave the teaching field, I am told, in the first five years,
often citing a lack of professional support and resources.
Recognizing that the act! program is fairly young, have you
made any efforts to track the teachers that participate in the
program and use that tracking to see, you know, where they end
up and whether or not they persist to serve as STEM teachers?
Dr. Beeth. The first person who completed the program is in
his fourth year of teaching, so we are still a fairly young
kind of program to have any sort of longitudinal data, but I
had indicated in the previous testimony that all of the people
who have completed the program are teaching or substitute
teaching and seeking jobs. They are all interested in still
being in the teaching field.
Mr. Tonko. Ms. Willner, I heard your exchange with
Representative Sarbanes. Can you develop for me a little more
the interest or the thinking of IBM when it decided to join the
Change the Equation Network, and what value you see in
partnering with the Federal Government on STEM education?
Ms. Willner. Great. Thank you, Congressman. For us, this is
actually a business decision, and I think my colleague from
Abbott would say the same thing, that we know that the future
of IBM is absolutely connected to having a strong economy, and
that means we need, you know, we need to have a citizenry that
is well prepared and we particularly need engineers,
scientists, mathematicians who are going to, you know, keep us
moving forward in the 21st century who are going to be great
IBM employees, who are going to be great employees for our
customers, and in every way are going to contribute to that
economy. So for us, it is a financial imperative and a long-
term investment.
We also see--it is very interesting, when we announced
Transition to Teaching, I think I mentioned that we have had a
little more than 120 participants at IBM. But our CEO received
literally thousands of emails when we announced it, not because
everybody wanted to become a teacher tomorrow but because they
said, ``I love working for a company that wants to do this.''
That is a great thing for IBM to do to connect with our
schools. So I think that you see that there is a very shared
interest in this from our employees and so that is part of it
as well. Our employees love to volunteer. They love being part
of Change the Equation and learning best practices. They want
to make a difference. For an employee at IBM going to a career
day and talking about being an engineer, the best thing they
could do. They love that, and they love that we support them
and make it easy.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you.
Can you also cite for me--and this question I would toss
out to the entire panel. It seems as though elementary settings
are important if not for a number of reasons, prime amongst
them, many adults fear science and math, so I think sometimes
that is just an--it is sort of a taught dynamic so that when
you are really young in the elementary settings, somehow you
pick up on this message that you have to fear science and math.
Can you cite for me any success stories or great models that
are utilized in the elementary setting? It seems when we get to
the middle and high school years, we may address the problem
then, but if we start in the elementary setting and get them
into science and math, then we can have hope that they will
continue to grow through the education spiral. So, any
elementary formats or programs that you would want to cite that
are really a good working tool?
Dr. Jones. Well, currently, Abbott Family Science is
focused on the elementary population, and the way that that
works is that we know that there is data to support that
parents' involvement in their children's scientific
understanding and engagement is critical, and that is what is
it based on, and what the Abbott volunteers and scientists just
truly do is, we serve as facilitators. But again, we are able
to take scientific principles, scientific concepts and truly
apply them to what we do as a company as far as our innovation,
our discovery, and so I think that parents and children are
able to make that link and leap, and actually we have some
metrics that we are gathering that have shown that the
engagement that occurs between parent and children as a family
afterwards increases from like 39 percent to 84 percent. So
they are going away from this and realizing that oh, wait, I
can engage with my family on a regular basis with science.
Mr. Tonko. Does anyone else have--Dr. Beeth.
Dr. Beeth. I do. This is a school-based program, but in
1992 there was a teacher who worked for a summer in a plant
pathology lab, a fifth grade teacher who really didn't want to
know about plant pathology but wanted to know how scientists
tell their stories. And so he went back to his classroom and
started a program called I Wonder. In 1992, they published the
first journal I Wonder, the journal for elementary school
scientists. It is still in publication today and it now has
expanded to incorporate a number of different schools. Many of
the articles that the students write in this journal have more
to do with engineering than they do with basic science, but it
seems appropriate, and also with the common core standards that
are coming it might be a nice model. The teachers write an
afterword in this journal every year as to what they learned
about teaching their students this science. I have a proposal
in right now to go back and now take a retrospective look at
the children who went through this program and see how it
impacted the number of science courses they took and what kinds
of careers that they might be engaged in.
Mr. Tonko. Wonderful.
Mr. Morrella. Is there time for one more? Your question
actually comes back to something that Congressman Bartlett also
said earlier specific to elementary school levels. We work with
a foundation based in Omaha, Nebraska, called the Create
Foundation, and they do a junior-level robotics after-school
program for schools in the Omaha area, and what I would, to
answer your question, I would say that at the elementary school
level, it is about interest and demand, not about what they
actually need to learn in science and technology and
engineering. You need to get the kids excited about it, and it
is a culture thing, and an observation I will share from my
experience teaching is, I think people lose sight of the fact
that as kids grow up, especially in elementary school, and I
feel guilty right now just thinking about my kids, parents
always show up to cheer for them at a soccer game, a baseball
game, you know, basketball, a walkathon, whatever it may be.
Students never get cheered, they never get celebrated for
getting the right answer, right? Their parents, the people they
are trying to impress, never get to see them do well in school.
Parents aren't there in the classroom. They don't see them get
100 percent on a spelling test and get to clap for them, but
they will clap for them when they hit a ball with a bat.
What these programs can do in elementary school, if you can
do these hands-on programs as they treat robotics and other
programs--it is not just about robotics--to the kids, it is a
sport. To the kids, it is an opportunity. Their parents get to
come to these competitions that happen on Saturdays, just like
sports, and when they see their parents applauding them and the
pride on the parents' faces, don't lose sight of the impact
that makes on an 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-year-old child. That is what
to them tells them, hey, this is something worth doing when I
get to middle school, when I get to high school, that now they
are not afraid of science classes and computer classes and
technology classes. They are actually taught those are cool,
those are important, and it makes a difference.
So anything that can be done to help elementary schools get
kids involved in science programs that parents can actually
support and come and witness I would say is going to make a
huge difference.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Mr. Tonko.
I am going to do something a little bit different here, and
I mentioned it to some of you before the hearing began, and I
don't want you to feel obligated to take advantage of this
opportunity but if you feel that it would be beneficial for the
record, insightful as we deliberate public policy issues
related to your comments, then feel free, if there are any
comments by a Congressman or questions that might have been
directed to one of your other colleagues that you felt you had
some insight that you would like to share but because it wasn't
directed at you, you were not able to, or any comments made by
your fellow witnesses that you would like to add to at this
point, please feel free to add that insight at this time. Dr.
Beeth, do you have anything else? And again, I understand it is
a broad question. Normally if I would focus it, people would
immediately jump on it, but this is a broad question, and don't
feel obligated, but if you have anything you would like to add,
please do so at this time.
Dr. Beeth. Well, just briefly, with what I see amongst a
lot of the discussion here today is the need to get STEM
professionals more involved in all the different types of
levels, whether it is being mentors in classroom, being
credentialed, providing robotics competitions and so on, and it
makes me think that something in the preparation of those STEM
individuals or in their professional training needs to help
them think about working in the K-12 world.
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Dr. Beeth.
Mrs. Sutton.
Mrs. Sutton. Yes. I just wanted to take one minute to make
you aware that our school is also fielding a couple
CyberPatriot teams, which is working in cybersecurity, and one
of the reasons I am really excited about this is where the
robotics or some of the other hands-on projects you can see
what is happening because it is very physical. Sometimes when
you are working in information technology, there is not a lot
to look at. You know, it is just sitting there. But with the
CyberPatriot competition, they have goals, they have
challenges, they have--they are competing against other schools
and they are being monitored and scored, and we have an SDIC
mentor that is working with my cybersecurity class and we do
actually have, I think it is 12 students that are actively part
of these teams and are preparing, and to me, it is a real
matter of national security that these kids get excited, and a
lot of these kids didn't even know that there were jobs where
they could, you know, basically get paid to hack. You know,
they can be penetration testers, they can evaluate systems, and
when they get to see that they can have this much fun and get
paid for it, they are very excited about it. So I teach a class
and they are all juniors and seniors, and I have a couple that
now are looking for ways to further their education so they can
do this for a living, and that makes me feel like we are
accomplishing something.
Chairman Brooks. I sure hope they are being taught to hack
the right things.
Mrs. Sutton. Ethnically, yes. Yes, ethically.
Chairman Brooks. Just as an aside, I think it was Mr.
Morrella who commented on this, at Grissom High School in
Huntsville, we have a lot of academic teams. It might be math,
it might be science, it might be debate, any number of things,
and believe it or not, we actually have applause from the
parents at some of the contests that are involved with that.
Mrs. Sutton. Yeah, and we actually have tryouts, and not
everybody makes it. I mean, it is high status to make some of
our teams.
Chairman Brooks. It is a remarkable school.
Ms. Willner, anything else you would like to add?
Ms. Willner. Just two quick points. And first of all, at
IBM we do have an ethnical hacking unit, so send them over.
I just--I want to say two last things. One is to say that
this is partnership. You know, professionals from private
industry bring an enormous amount but they do need the
training, the continued training in classroom practices. We
need the schools of education to get involved. We need their
training as they are becoming STEM professionals to get
involved. We need the schools' involvement, the State and the
federal departments of education. So this really is a
partnership. It is nothing that--the private sector can't fix
this, but we can certainly bring something very important to
the table and we have to do it with a sense of humility working
with all of these partners.
And the last thing I would just share with you is something
that the principal where our first Transition to Teaching
graduate landed said to me afterwards. ``You know, what is so
wonderful about having Jennifer at this school is that the
minute she walks into the classroom and she tells these young
people that she was an executive at IBM, they don't know what
that really means but they have heard of IBM and they know she
had this great job and now she chose them. And that changes
their lives from there going forward and we just want to keep
doing more of that.''
Chairman Brooks. Thank you, Ms. Willner.
Mr. Morrella, anything to add?
Mr. Morrella. Yeah. I had mentioned earlier that whole
spectrum, and I guess what I want to also talk about is, it is
great if these industry professionals can go into teaching full
time. If they retire and they want to do that, we need more
STEM-related qualified teachers. But I think it is really
important to also recognize that huge potential of the bridge
of the people who don't need to go into teaching full time but
can volunteer and can do it part time. It could be two hours a
week, it could be two hours a month. And here is why I think
that is really important. There is a really big difference
between being a mentor and a teacher, and when you are a
teacher, just like anybody who has kids knows, once you get to
middle school and high school, they start to tune you out just
like they tune their parents out, right? They think you have to
be there, you are part of the system.
When a mentor comes in, not being a teacher actually helps
them get listened to, and I mean that. It is important. Once
that mentor takes on the title of a teacher, it is not as
powerful to the students because when you are a mentor, you
come into the classroom and they don't think you have to be
there, and they look at your career and your profession and
your title, and to them, that shows them, hey, that is a real
position, that is a real avenue that you can pursue. So it is a
really powerful tool and it helps the teachers, so when mentors
come into the classroom and work with a teacher, it actually
reinforces what the teacher has been telling the students. It
is actually a tool for the teacher to be able to say hey, look,
I am not just telling you this, it actually does get applied in
real life, there are careers, there are people who do this
stuff.
So it is really powerful and, you know, I think back to
mentors and really impressive people I have met over the years
and observing students interacting with; a Woody Flowers from
MIT, who really is the father of educational competitive
robotics as it exists today; Dave Lavery from NASA; the three
engineers that we met at NASA Ames; Mark Leon, Steve
Kyramarios, Bob Holmes, the students getting to work with them
was incredible because they looked at them kind of in awe as--
we keep talking about the sports culture. They were the sports
stars. They were the rock stars and they were giving their time
to come into the classroom, and the kids wanted to soak up
whatever those mentors were offering like a sponge, and I think
it is valuable that we recognize even part time makes a huge
difference because they are role models.
Chairman Brooks. Dr. Jones, any insight you wish to share?
Dr. Jones. I just would like, I think, on the behalf of
Abbott, that we just as a company acknowledge the challenge
that faces us as a Nation regarding needing STEM education and
STEM-educated individuals, and so what we have committed to do
as a company is to leverage off of our strength, which is
science, and creating the programs that we discussed today in
my testimony and using them to support our communities so that
we will, in the next 5, 10, 20 years, have more young people
with strong education in science, technology, education and
math.
Chairman Brooks. Well, thank you, Dr. Beeth, Mrs. Sutton,
Ms. Willner, Mr. Morrella, and Dr. Jones, for the insight that
you have shared with us today concerning STEM. It is now up to
Congress to take that insight and implement sound public
policy.
Having said that, the Members of the Subcommittee may have
additional questions for the witnesses, and we will ask you to
respond to those in writing should any be forthcoming. The
record will remain open for two weeks for additional comments
from Members, and the witnesses are excused and this hearing is
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:30 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
Appendix
----------
Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Responses by Dr. Michael Beeth, Professor,
Department of Curriculum and Instruction,
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Questions Submitted by Subcommittee Chairman Mo Brooks
Q1. In your testimony, you noted that the act! program is unique in
that it recognizes academic preparation and life experience. It seems
like it would be essential for a certification program to recognize
these factors for those looking to transition from industry to the
classroom. Why is this unique to the act! program? Why aren't more
certification or alternative certification programs recognizing this?
How would you recommend other programs consider recognizing these
factors?
A1. The act! program is based on meeting statutory requirements for a
teaching license rather than meeting degree, major, and minor
requirements established by the university. We have authorization from
the State to award credit for prior learning if that learning meets a
statutory requirement. The act! program is an alternative path to
teacher licensure in that our students can meet state requirements by
either taking a credit-bearing class or presenting us with evidence
that they have the equivalent knowledge through their life experience.
This is unique to the act! program in that most teacher licensure
programs require their students to complete a set list of credit-
bearing courses that will results in a major or minor for a university
degree and a recommendation for teacher licensure.
In many cases, an act! student can meet a statutory requirement in
less time and at less cost than enrolling in a university course.
Awarding credit for prior learning allows us to formally recognize the
entire prior learning an individual brings with them at the time they
enter the act! program. Thus we can reduce the number of additional
courses, time, and tuition cost for an individual to complete this
alternative licensure program. In effect, we maximize the starting
point at the time of admission and then fill in the remaining statutory
requirements with university-based course work.
Colleges and universities are in the business of selling their
degrees first. Many colleges and universities embed their teacher
licensure in an undergraduate or graduate degree programs. Students
only receive a teaching licensure after they meet all requirements for
a degree. On the other hand, act! uses the authority to recommend
individuals for teaching licenses granted by the State of Wisconsin to
prepare individuals who have documented knowledge and experiences that
are equivalent to what traditional undergraduates receive.
Encouraging other institutions to adopt missions similar to act!
would be difficult. I would think that in some of the most high-need
regions this might be easier, especially if a local business or
industry were involved and if the teacher preparation coursework were
embedded in the local schools. I think act! has been successful because
it is responding to a regional need.
Q2. What are the challenges with recruiting students from local
employers? How vested are the employers in helping their employees
achieve success in making a career transition? Do they share with you
the value they see in your program, and if so, what do they say?
A2. We have not done a survey of the past employers of our students.
In general, area employers are warm to the fact that act! exists as an
option for their employees, but they do not actively encouraging
employees to consider careers as teachers. Based on anecdotal evidence
only, employers of prospective employees may be mentioning the act!
program as an option for their spouse or significant other during
recruitment. When we have approached employers/human resource
departments and work force development offices about our program, the
most immediate question is: ``Are there any jobs in teaching right
now?'' There does seem to be a misconception among the newest contacts
we make with business and industry that degreed individuals should be
able to step right into a teaching position with no training at all.
Q3. What drove you to create and coordinate a program such as act!?
How do you think it has impacted your surrounding schools and the
students' successes? What advice would you offer other schools of
education looking to establish alternative certification programs? What
advice would you give to career switchers looking to transition to
teaching?
A3. I enjoy working with non-traditional students in teacher
education. The act! program was an opportunity to continue this
interest and to assist in the design and implementation of an
alternative pathway that brings the expertise of STEM professionals
into teaching. From the outset, act! received a lot of support from
Chancellor Richard Wells and the deans of our campus partners, and at
least tacit support from the business and industry in our region.
We are still a young program with no solid evidence about our
impacts on schools--our first program completer is in his fourth year
of teaching, and two of our program completers were hired in the same
school stating in August 2011. We are very interested to know more
about how teachers who completed the act! program are impacting their
students' learning, what they are choosing for their own professional
development needs, and the kinds of leadership they are providing in
their school. At this time, we just do not have a large enough sample
of program completers to answer your question.
My advice to schools of education thinking about starting an
alternative program is to carefully survey the community about the
number and kinds of degreed individuals who are interested in becoming
teachers; then design a program that allows you to tap into those pools
of individuals. Although Chinese teachers are in high demand in
Wisconsin, it is unlikely we would have had a pool of individuals in
our region with degrees in Chinese who could enter that program.
My advice to non-traditional adults wishing to become teachers--
first, visit several schools to see what a day in the life of a student
is like and to talk with some teachers who teach the subjects you are
interested in teaching. Take the time to be sure you know what schools
today are like, what kids today are like, and to get a sense of the
depth and breadth of the curriculum you might teach. Second, find a
licensure program that recognizes and awards credit for everything you
know, and finally, request information about programs that uncouple
teacher licensure from earning an additional degree from your State
Department of Education.
Responses by Mrs. Christine Sutton, Secondary Math Teacher,
Virgil I. Grissom High School,
Huntsville City Schools, Alabama
Questions Submitted by Subcommittee Chairman Mo Brooks and Subcommittee
Members
Q1. Mathematics is a difficult subject for many students. Throughout
your classroom experience, what have you found to be the greatest
challenges facing students studying math and other STEM subjects, and
why do you believe these challenges exist? What more can we do to
prepare and inspire students to study these subjects and pursue STEM
careers?
A1. One of the greatest challenges that I face as a mathematics
teacher is creating an environment which enables and encourages
students to practice new skills to gain mastery. To be successful in
math, and many other STEM subjects, students need to develop problem-
solving strategies, apply these strategies to a number of different
types of problems, and experience success to build confidence.
Many of the students that I teach become easily frustrated and stop
working unless someone encourages them to continue. They are not able
to come in for extra help before or after school because they ride a
bus and cannot arrange alternate transportation. Finally, my students
are involved in activities after school which limit the time they have
available for independent work outside of school, and their parents are
often unable to help them with their homework. Because they struggle in
these classes, they don't enjoy them and are less likely to make them a
priority or consider pursuing careers which require further study in
these areas.
I believe that students need to be exposed to a variety of STEM
career options and given opportunities to find out if they have an
interest or aptitude in these fields. Students are required to take
fine arts electives to help them uncover gifts and passions. Similarly,
students should be given opportunities to apply their math and science
skills to solve relevant problems and create projects which allow them
to experience different STEM professions on a small scale.
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is one example of a project-based
curriculum, which is currently being used by more than 4,000 schools.
PLTW courses emphasize innovation and real world problem solving to
engage students on multiple levels and have been shown to significantly
increase interest and abilities in STEM-related programs at the college
level.
Grissom High School hosts the Huntsville City School System's
Academy of Applied Math and Science. The Academy currently offers five
PLTW courses (Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of
Engineering, Digital Electronics, Principles of Biomedical Sciences,
and Human Body Systems) and plans to offer three additional courses
next year (Civil Engineering and Architecture, Aerospace Engineering,
Biotechnical Engineering). Programs like PLTW can prepare and inspire
students to study these subjects and pursue STEM careers.
Q2. In your testimony, you noted the difficulty you had finding a
certification program that acknowledged your previous course work. How
important was this to your decision to make the transition to teaching?
Why do you think more programs don't recognize factors like work
experience? Was Johns Hopkins teacher education program unique in other
ways, and what aspects of the program did you find most useful in your
transition? Did you find that many of your classmates were able to
benefit from these things as well?
A2. When I made the decision to become an education professional, I
learned that it was essential that I attend a teacher education program
that was able to certify that I was highly qualified to teach
mathematics. I would not have left industry to become a teacher if
Johns Hopkins had not recognized my previous course work and experience
and admitted me to their master's degree program. I believe more
universities don't recognize factors like work experience because it is
more difficult to assess knowledge than to follow a checklist of
prerequisite courses. A passing score on the Praxis II level of
examinations is an alternate way that teacher candidates can
demonstrate their content knowledge.
The Johns Hopkins program was also unique because it offered a
part-time program which allowed me to begin my teacher education at
night while I continued to work, enabling me to confirm that I had an
understanding of the demands of a teaching career before I left
industry. Also, many of the instructors for this program were active
full-time educators and administrators from the Montgomery County,
Maryland, School District who helped prepare career changers to succeed
in a multi-lingual, inclusive classroom. Most of my fellow students in
the program were other professionals transitioning to education (an
architect, lawyers, engineers) who selected Johns Hopkins for similar
reasons.
Q3. It is my understanding that a significant factor in making the
transition from industry to the classroom is the financial burden, from
financing the certification programs and classes to the potentially
significant pay cut that comes from teaching. What recommendations do
you have for those looking to make a similar transition while
attempting to mitigate the financial burdens?
A3. Anyone considering making the transition from a STEM profession to
teaching will probably experience a pay cut, and if they believe that
the rewards they receive from working with students will be more
valuable than money, then this won't be an impediment. However, the
institution that they select for their certification program may be
able to help them find grants or other tuition assistance. Johns
Hopkins University encouraged me to apply for the State of Maryland's
Christa McAuliffe Scholarship, since I was seeking certification in a
critical shortage area, to receive tuition assistance in exchange for
teaching three years in a Maryland public school. Other states may
offer similar programs.
Responses by Ms. Robin Willner, Vice President,
Global Community Initiatives, Corporate Citizenship
and Corporate Affairs, IBM Corporation
Questions Submitted by Chairman Mo Brooks and Subcommitte Members
Q1. As an organization, does IBM believe its role to create a
``smarter education,'' as you testified, is to fulfill the company's
need for skilled employees in the future? How would you explain to
other companies the importance of programs such as IBM's Transition to
Teaching so they too can help create a ``smarter education''? What are
the incentives of this type of industry work?
A1. Transition to Teaching and the other IBM initiatives are designed
as long-term investments. While we work directly at the university
level on immediate recruitment needs, we understand that the long-term
health and growth of IBM depends on a robust pipeline of young people
who have the STEM skills necessary to be productive citizens as well as
successful employees at IBM as well as our customers, business
partners, and suppliers. The value proposition for other companies is
that we can improve the pipeline for employees, raise the general level
of STEM ability and economic vitality of our communities. All of this
will improve the economic outlook for participating companies while
polishing their brand and image.
Q2. What is the time commitment associated with IBM's various mentor
programs? Please also expand on how your mentors serve not only
students, but teachers as well.
A2. IBM's MentorPlace program is an online initiative focused solely
on students. IBM adopts a class and each student has his or her own
mentor. The online activities are designed in coordination with the
teacher to support the classroom curriculum. Students meet their mentor
in person at a kickoff event and then at an end-of-year celebration.
Throughout the year, the IBMers commit to at least one online exchange
each week, requiring about a half-hour of their time. We also have many
IBMers who volunteer to coach teams for computer, technology, and
academic competitions.
Q3. In your testimony, you acknowledge that the dent IBM is making
with the Transition to Teaching program is small, although very
important. You further acknowledge that if other large companies would
invest in similar programs, the impact would be much larger. IBM
participates in a number of industry coalitions. Is your Transition to
Teaching program easily replicable, and does IBM actively promote it to
industry colleagues? Are any of them adopting it or have a similar
program in place?
A3. We regularly share information on our education programs through
our industry alliances, e.g., Business RoundTable, U.S. Chamber,
Software Industry Association, Change The Equation, etc. Intel is one
company that has initiated a similar program. We believe that over the
next several years, we should be able to identify another 10 companies
prepared to initiate similar programs.
Responses by Mr. Jason Morrella, President,
Robotics Education and Competition Foundation
Questions Submitted by Subcommittee Chairman Mo Brooks and Subcommittee
Members
Q1. Mathematics is a difficult subject for many students. Throughout
your classroom experience, what have you found to be the greatest
challenges facing students studying math and other STEM subjects, and
why do you believe these challenges exist? Beyond our discussion today,
what more can we do to prepare and inspire students to study these
subjects and perhaps pursue STEM careers?
A1. In my experience, I have noticed that the difficulty many students
have with math is that the more complicated it gets, the less they find
it relevant to their daily lives. If they don't feel it is relevant and
can in some way be of value to them in daily use, then they don't have
the incentive to put in the time or effort to truly learn and
understand the particular concepts. That is where hands-on project-
based programs and activities such as robotics come into play as great
educational tools. Designing, creating, and building physical things
that actually work give students the ability to see how the math
formulas and concepts they are being taught actually work in real life.
These activities help them see why the math behind gear ratios is
important, why the understanding the center of gravity is valuable to
understand, and why various concepts in geometry, trigonometry, and
calculus are important. When students see that knowing and
understanding these math concepts can help them produce better results
and higher-performing finished products, they have a new reason to
focus on the lessons and gain that knowledge. Seeing how these concepts
actually come into play all around them in their daily lives shows the
students that what they are learning is relevant, important, and
something they can learn and understand.
Q2. You testify that the ``working relationship between the teacher
and industry professional is critical.'' This certainly makes a lot of
sense. How often does the mentor serve as a mentor to the teacher as
well as to the student?
A2. The time commitment for mentors in the various programs we work
with varies. I have found that the most successful programs are those
that are flexible enough that mentors can volunteer with whatever time
they have available. Some volunteer for just a few hours or days, some
show up weekly for months, some even participate year-round. The
important thing is for mentors to contribute what they can and to be
present/accessible to students--even if just for a short amount of
time. If mentors feel too overwhelmed by time commitment expectations,
it creates a more stressful atmosphere and lesser experience for the
mentor and students. Typically, if mentors get involved in smaller and
more manageable ways to begin with, they will gradually find more and
more time to give as they see the results of their involvement and
interaction with the students.
It's also important to note that mentors don't only help students,
they also help the teachers. Mentors give the teachers a real-life
example to show the students that real people in real professions use
the information being taught. Mentors help teachers show that
information being taught is relevant and that rewarding/interesting
careers are available to normal people who learn the subject material.
I have found that mentors have the most impact when they work next to
and with a full-time teacher; their efforts reinforce each other, they
each help show the students why the knowledge and guidance of the other
is important, and they can assist each other in asking leading
questions and giving students more one-on-one time.
Q3. What are the differences between mentoring in the classroom and
mentoring outside of the classroom? Have any of your mentors
transitioned into becoming full-time teachers after their experiences
mentoring?
A3. There are differences between mentoring in the classroom and
outside of the classroom. Mentoring in the classroom naturally takes on
a more traditional teacher/student framework, with mentors needing to
adapt a little more to the class schedule and structure. Mentoring
outside of the classroom can sometimes create a little more of a
clubhouse type atmosphere. I'd compare the contrast almost to the
difference between the working environments of a large, traditional,
50-year-old established company to a new, young start-up company.
My observation has been that the transition from mentoring to
teaching full time can be much more successful if industry mentors
first work side-by-side with an experienced teacher for a year or more
instead of jumping into teaching alone right away. This gives them a
runway to get up to speed, to learn the dynamics of working with youth
as opposed to co-workers in an industry setting. It gives the mentor
time to observe students, what they do and don't respond well to. It
gives the mentor time to observe experienced teachers and learn
techniques to communicate with the students. Working side-by-side with
a teacher gives the mentor the opportunity to gain a comfort level with
leading students in a classroom setting while also learning all the
little but important things that are different in a school environment
compared to a corporate environment (interacting with parents,
administrators, budget constraints, etc.).
My guidance to any mentor coming out of industry interested in
teaching full time would be to always volunteer or work with an
experienced teacher in a classroom for at least one full year first.
Jumping into teaching in a ``cold turkey'' manner is risky in that it
sets up the professional adult, and more importantly the students, for
potential negative experiences while that adult ``learns'' how to
teach. Whether it's in the classroom or out of the classroom, the
experience a mentor gains by first working side-by-side with
experienced teachers is invaluable to learn the ropes and gain the
comfort level needed to become a successful full-time teacher.
Responses by Dr. Jennifer Jones, Principal Clinical Scientist,
Abbott Vascular
Questions Submitted by Subcommittee Chairman Mo Brooks
Q1. What is the time commitment associated with the various Abbott
mentor programs? Please also expand on how Abbott mentors serve not
only students, but teachers as well.
A1. The time commitments for the Abbott Science Education programs
vary per program, but in general the commitment is as follows:
3-5 hours of training/professional development
5-10 hours of program delivery
Abbott volunteers typically attend training and meet to prepare for
the program delivery. They work closely with school administrators and
teachers to develop a program that suits the needs of the school and
region.
In addition, the mentorship provided for ongoing programs such as
the robotics and after-school programs requires a commitment from
scientists for a 2-3 month period. These scientists provide expert
guidance with science competition programs and after-school lab science
programs.
Whenever possible, teachers and school administrators participate
in the same training and professional development. There they learn to
deliver science inquiry experiences and techniques for engaging parents
as well as students. Teachers also have shared feedback that they often
take specific science modules from the program and apply them in a
classroom setting.
For elementary school teachers who often do not have significant
training in science, this is particularly important. They learn from
the Abbott Family Science program how to engage in ``process'' science
with their students--encouraging active exploration and discovery in
the classroom setting. For Operation Discovery, secondary school
teachers are provided with authentic lab experiments that they can use
to connect curriculum lessons on DNA, chemistry, and other scientific
topics.