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Women falling behind in STEM bachelor’s degrees

A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse looks at degrees in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math) and finds that the share of STEM bachelor’s degrees going to women ticked down over the past decade. The biggest decline was in computer science, where women received 23 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2004 and just 18 percent in 2014.

Engineering Adventures Releases New After School Unit: “Sky’s the Limit”

Engineering is Elementary (EiE)’s newest after school learning unit called “Sky’s the Limit.” This hands-on unit, targeted for grades 3-5, focuses on the field of aeronautical engineering and includes 8 lessons that are 45-minutes each. The free program also includes an educator guide, engineering journal, and online resources that support both the educators as well as the students. Download the unit for free to provide students with an interactive lesson on engineering.

Colocation America: STEM Innovation Grant

Apply now for Colocation America’s STEM Innovation Grant, which provides funding to nonprofit charitable organizations in order to foster youth engagement in STEM learning, especially for underrepresented groups in the field such as females and minority students. Selected programs will be awarded up to $7500 to support purchasing materials, staff stipends, field trips, and resources. The deadline to apply is March 27, 2015. 

Future City Competition

Future City asks middle-school students to imagine, design, and build cities of the future. After four months of designing a virtual city (using SimCity), researching, designing, and writing up their solution to a city-wide issue and building a scale model of their city, teams will present their vision to a panel of judges. After the competition is over, student participants are not only prepared to be citizens of today’s complex and technical world, they are poised to become the drivers of tomorrow.

Innovation talk: What’s behind the lack of women in science and tech?

It is a constant struggle to bring more women into the Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and to keep them there, and not just at secondary level. And even when women do engage with these subjects there is a higher attrition rate for women leaving careers coming via Stem than for men.

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U.S. students improving – slowly – in math and science, but still lagging internationally

Scientists and the general public have markedly different views on any number of topics, from evolution to climate change to genetically modified foods. But one thing both groups agree on is that science and math education in the U.S. leaves much to be desired.

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White House Announces Tuition-Free Community College & Tech Training

Last Friday, President Obama unveiled a proposal to offer tuition-free community college to responsible students across America, called "America's College Promise," at Pellissippi Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee. Obama's proposal would make two years of community college free for students. He argues that the effort would provide students with workforce skills and a free start in obtaining a bachelor's degree.

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