Strengthening STEM Education Through New Models of Collaboration May 30, 2008 Christopher Roe Business-Higher Education

1. Strengthening STEM Education Through New Models of Collaboration May 30, 2008 Christopher Roe Business-Higher Education Forum

2. Business-Higher Education Forum Who we are: Fortune 500 CEOs/senior executives, college and university presidents, and foundation leaders What we do: Work to strengthen education to enhance U.S. competitiveness

3. Current Initiatives • STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Initiative Co-Chairs: Warren Baker, President, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo William Swanson, CEO, Raytheon • The College Readiness Initiative (CRI): An Agenda for Educational Success Co-Chairs: Herbert Allison, CEO, TIAA-CREF David Skorton, President, Cornell

4. BHEF’s Theory of Action • Changing public attitudes must be a priority • Viewing issues in the context of state and local education pipelines is key • Policy and programmatic solutions must be strategically and systemically aligned across P-12 and higher education • Improvement will be driven by development of shared vision, mutual understanding and accountability among all stakeholders

5. The College Readiness Initiative (CRI) The CRI employs five interrelated components: • Engagement of corporate CEOs • Convenings to build and share knowledge about these issues in a philanthropy community of practice • A Web-based Resource Center • Advocacy and action on the ground • A public awareness campaign

6. BHEF’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Initiative • Calls for doubling the number of U.S. students earning STEM degrees by 2015 • Six Priorities: • Raise student achievement and interest in STEM careers • Attract more students women and minorities into STEM • Align/strengthen linkages across P-16 educational system • Improve the recruitment, retention and renewal of K-12 mathematics and science teachers • Advance federal and state STEM policies that allow U.S. to compete globally • Stimulate a national dialogue while encouraging local, grass-roots initiatives and action

7. The STEM Education Modeling Project • Background • Launched by Bill Swanson, Raytheon, and Co-Chair of BHEF STEM Initiative • Goal • Assist policymakers, educators, and researchers in understanding the complex nature of the U.S. education system • Help identify potential solutions that could help strengthen U.S. STEM outcomes • Approach • Create a dynamic systems engineering-based model of the P-16 STEM education system and beyond • Develop a community of researchers/model users to test and validate the model • After further development, transition the model to open source use

8. STEM Teaching Select Career Teaching Career Secondary Retire College Elementary STEM STEM STEM STEM Industry Interested Interested Interested Industry Career Retire Gain or Lose Gain or Lose Gain or Lose non-STEM STEM Interest STEM Interest STEM Interest Career Retire College Elementary Secondary STEM STEM STEM Un-Interested Un-Interested Un-Interested Many factors affect the flow Simplified Representation of the Student Flow Model • Based on System Dynamics methods created by J. Forrester Model helps us think about what happens when factors change

9. Student Population 29% (of 3.6M) Math Proficient Students 17% (of 3.6M) Math Proficient 23% (of enrolled) Declare STEM Interested 6% (of 3.6M) get Degree in STEM Source Population data: U.S. National Center for Education Statistics, Digest Education Statistics, 2002. Source Proficiency data: Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Tables 121 and 122 for 4 and 8th grades. Comparison of Student Populations Relatively small numbers of students make it through the system and obtain a STEM bachelor’s degree

10. Initial Areas of Model Development • Effects of Teacher Salary • Impact of Class Size Changes • Different STEM Student Populations • Men and Women • Advantaged and Disadvantaged • STEM Persistence in College • Development of State Versions of the Model

11. Overview of the Model Not STEM Interested College STEM Teachers Born Retire Time STEM Interested STEM Industry

12. Influence Diagram Illustrating the Dynamic Hypothesis • Positive Feedback Loops provide the means for dramatic changes

13. STEM College Attrition • 40% of STEM interested students are lost between high school and college (Seymour and Hewitt, 1997) • 35% of STEM interested students are lost after the first year (Seymour andHewitt, 1997)

14. Social Support Networks and Academic Performance • Background • Research has shown that Centralized Social Networks are strongly correlated with higher GPAs in learning communities* • Hypothesis • “Centralized” Social Networks form slowly in STEM university communities due to living arrangements, teaching style, and lack of classroom interaction • Solutions Tested: Bridge and Cohort Programs • Improve network centralization and reduce development time • Provide students the resources required for success • Have relatively low cost of implementation *The Social Networks of College Students in Learning Communities Gale Stuart, UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, 2007

15. Social Dynamics of Cohort and Bridge Programs Cohort Program • Student social and academic support structure improves GPA • Enhances student academic and career planning and preparedness through mentoring, tutoring, and seminar programs • Higher student quality will encourage more universities to implement Cohort Programs Summer Bridge Program • Reduces STEM attrition in college-bound STEM interested high school graduates • Improves academic preparation prior to the start of freshman year • Begins building the social and academic student support structure earlier and faster • Lower attrition attracts more STEM applicants thus encouraging more universities to implement Bridge Programs

16. 105% Improvement 60% Improvement Simulation Results Scenario 1 assumes instantaneous implementation of all solutions at 100% effectiveness Scenario 2 assumes a multi-year ramped implementation

17. Potential Outcomes of Modeling Activity • Provides a rational, organized and comprehensive approach to viewing and understanding the complex, multi-level nature of the U.S. and STEM education pipeline • Coalesces a unique community around a common and integrated platform for research, analysis, dialogue and action • Spurs the aggregation/integration of existing research and data • Identifies major gaps in existing research/informs the development of a coherent research agenda • Provides a robust tool to simulate and assess the impact of STEM-policy and programmatic interventions through time • Provides useful information that can be helpful in prioritizing among STEM-education interventions for implementation

18. Vision for the Future • A virtual community of experts, researchers, policy makers and educators organized using the principles of systems engineering around a common model that provides a means of comparing and assessing ideas to find the best practices and most effective means of improving student competencies and national competitiveness.

19. Major Challenges • Funding and capacity building • Developing/creating a model user community • Creating a “cultural shift” in practice among researchers and policy makers to open collaboration and open source use • Will require training and new ways of discovery and sharing information

20. Building a STEM Modeling Community The STEM Modeling Network (SMN) • Model Developers • Educational researchers and practitioners across K-12 and higher ed, data organizations • multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary teams (e.g., economists, sociologists, anthropologists, behavorial psychologists, etc.) • System dynamics modeling experts • Model Users • Researchers • Policy makers (state and federal legislatures, governors, etc.) • State education offices, higher ed coordinating boards, school districts • Federal agencies (Dept. of Education, NSF, DOE, DOD, etc.)

21. Next Steps in Advancing the STEM Modeling Activity • Build capacity to launch, coordinate and sustain activities • Implement a process for coordinated and integrated research and modeling • Develop the STEM Modeling Network and train the potential user community • Validate and refine existing prototype model • Develop modeling research agenda • Further model development and link to other similar emerging modeling efforts • Transition the model to open source use

22. 1 Community downloads official versions of model files from web site 2 Developers make improvements and submit change requests to Administrator 3 Community and CCB evaluate and comment on change requests 4 Change Control Board approves or rejects change requests 5 Administrator commits approved change to official version history A Model bugs are discovered, reported, and commented upon B Community uses Forums for interactive discussion C Reference material is stored in document library Open Source Process Flow Model User/Developer Community 1 2 B A C 3 Model Files Baseline / History Bug Report Description Comments Forums Documentation Library Change Request Description Validation Comments GForge 3 5 4 Change Control Board Administrator

23. Strengthening STEM Education Through New Models of Collaboration Christopher Roe Business-Higher Education Forum chris.roe@bhef.com