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John Yochelson, Venessa Woods, and Charlene Murray

THE TALENT IMPERATIVE IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

2004 Annual Diversity Conference

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• What is BEST?

• What have we learned about program effectiveness in pre-k-12 and higher education?

• What is the action agenda for the corporate sector?

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BEST is a public-private partnership building

a stronger, more diverse U.S. workforce

in science, engineering and technology.

Mission

What is BEST?

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Background

• Launched September 2001

• $2M Seed funding from 7 federal agencies, led by the National Science Foundation

• Corporate and Foundation Sponsors:

Alcoa Foundation W.K.Kellogg FoundationAmerican Institutes for Research Lockheed MartinBill and Melinda Gates Foundation Lounsbery FoundationCH2M Hill QUALCOMMHewlett Packard MicrosoftWilliam and Flora Hewlett Foundation PfizerIntel Foundation TXU

What is BEST?

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Strategy

What is BEST?

• Convene the nation’s most respected practitioners and researchers to identify effective practices in pre-K-12, higher education, and the workplace for women, under-represented minorities, and persons with disabilities.

• Disseminate findings and work with stakeholders to drive systemwide change.

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The United States faces a Talent Imperative in science and engineering.

What have we learned?

Lesson # 1

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• Innovation accounts for 50 percent of long-term U.S. economic growth.

• Human capital is our most precious innovation asset.

• A world-class science and engineering workforce is indispensable.

What have we learned?

Why the Talent Imperative Matters

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• The U.S. S&E workforce draws on a narrow and declining segment of our population.

• U.S. student interest in many technical disciplines is far off peak levels of the 1980s.

• The international component of the U.S. technical workforce has increased steeply.

• The United States is not keeping pace with the growth of international S&E capacity.

What have we learned?

A Perfect Storm in the Making

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There are pockets of excellence in developing

talent of all groups…

but they are mostly isolated and not part of

system-wide solutions.

What have we learned?

Lesson # 2

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Lesson # 3

Solutions Require Multiple Changes:

Stronger pre-k-12 foundational skills Increased degree productionGreater career attractivenessTighter system-wide connectivityAdditional resources

What have we learned?

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Lesson # 4

Solutions Require Leadership of

Employers from All Sectors

Adopt best practices within organizationsReach beyond organizational boundariesInvest in the educational supply chain

What have we learned?

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Lesson # 5

Solutions require effective programs

…and program effectiveness should

rest on evidence.

What have we learned?

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Pre-K-12 Findings

and Recommendations

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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BEST’s Pre-K-12 Methodology:

• Step 1 – Design an Approach

• Step 2 – Create a National Sample

• Step 3 – Apply Criteria to Rate Programs

• Step 4 – Distill Design Principles

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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EFFECTIVE PRE-K-12 PROGRAMS WITH RESEARCH EVIDENCE

Probable• Direct Instruction Mathematics

• Project SEED (Special Elementary Education for the Disadvantaged )

Notable• AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination )

• Algebra Project

• FAST (Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching )

• Gateway to Higher Education

• Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams)

• Puente

• Yup’ik Mathematics

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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Pre-K-12 Design Principles

• Defined outcomes

• Persistence

• Personalization

• Challenging content

• Engaged adults

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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Pre-K-12 Design Principles

Defined Outcomes

1) How well defined are the outcomes of the science, mathematics or pre-engineering program?

2) Are these outcomes fully understood by students, teachers, parents, school boards and other educational decision makers?

3) What evidence indicates the desired outcomes are being reached?

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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Pre-K-12 Design Principles

Persistence

1) How long has the program lasted?

2) Has the program shown the capacity to scale up in different settings?

3) Has the program proved sustainable in changing conditions? Why and how?

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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Pre-K-12 Design Principles

Personalization

1) How is one-on-one contact between students and teachers organized; e.g., mentors, tutors, etc.

2) How are teachers, tutors and mentors selected and trained?

3) What indicators provide evidence that significant personalization has been achieved and has been effective?

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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Pre-K-12 Design Principles

Challenging Content

1) Does content match state standards and assessments as well as national standards?

2) Is mastery of content a high expectation for all students and is this well communicated to students and parents?

3) How much pertinent training do program instructors have and what level of credential is required?

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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Pre-K-12 Design Principles

Engaged Adults

1) Do all adults engaged in the program buy into it and believe in the capacity of all students to succeed?

2) What is the consistency of staff involved in the program over time?

3) Is parental support sought and encouraged? Is the level of support measured?

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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Effective pre-K-12 programs

targeting under-represented groups

must be more closely aligned to

system-wide reform.

Lesson # 6

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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System-wide Reform

Premise: Lift all boats to better prepare

students from underrepresented groups

Leverage Points:• Teachers• Curriculum• Standards• School and Class Size• Technology

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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Targeted Programs

Premise: The pre-K-12 system

cannot meet the challenge alone

Leverage Points:• Individual Students• Mentoring• Parents• Role Models

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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BEST’s Recommendations

• Deepen the knowledge base

• Tighten the link between research, policy and practice

• Use design principles of best practice to align targeted and system–wide approaches

What have we learned?

Pre-K-12

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ETHS Mission Statement:

Embracing its Diversity, ETHS dedicates itself to Educating all students to their fullest potential.

School Goals:

•Align assessment, instruction, and curriculum with the K-12 Standards in every department.•Examine and improve student support structures to ensure that students at all performance levels are able to meet high academic standards.•Build personalized connections as a means to address The needs of all students, in particular the disengaged

Students.

Evanston Township High School

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AVID is designed to increase school wide learning and performance. The mission of AVID is to ensure that all students, and most especially the least served students in the academic middle capable of completing a college path:

•Will succeed in a rigorous curriculum,•Will enter mainstream activities of the school,

•Will increase their enrollment in four-year colleges,

And

•Will become educated and responsible participants and leaders in a democratic society.

THE AVID PROGRAM(Advancement Via Individual Determination)

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AVID programs are defined by Eleven Essentials for implementation. Each essential must be implemented over a set timeline to ensure the programs existence at any given site for AVID Certification.

•Each AVID site must state a description of the program’s Current condition

•Each AVID site must state Action Steps to develop or sustain all eleven Program Essentials

AVID Essentials

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Program Essentials

•Meet student selection criteria

•Ensure voluntary participation by students and staff

•Provide AVID elective within regular school day

•Enroll students in rigorous course of study

Scheduling

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•Engage students in relevant writing and reading curriculum

•Use inquiry as a basis for instruction

•Use Collaboration as a basis for instruction

Curriculum

Program Essentials

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Support

•Facilitate student access to rigorous curriculum with tutors

•Monitor program implementation and student progress through the AVID data system

•Identify site/district’s resources for program costs and AVID staff development

•Ensure that an active interdisciplinary site team collaborates on issues of student access to rigorous courses

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The Student

What do AVID students Do?

W

I

C

R

Writing•Pre-write; draft•Respond; revise•Edit; final draft•Class and textbook Cornell note taking•Learning logs & journals

Collaboration•Group projects•Study groups •Jigsaw Activities•Read-arounds•Response /Edit/ Revision groups•Collaborative activities

Inquiry•Skilled questioning•Socratic Seminars•Quick writes / Discussion•Critical thinking •Activities •Writing questions•Open-minded activities

Reading•SQ3R•KWL•Reciprocal teaching•Think alouds

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Students with AVID Benefit From:

•Structured Collaborative Inquiry Sessions

•A re-defined Academic Peer Group

•Explicit teaching of the hidden Curriculum

•Time to study materials more deeply

•Accountability

The Student

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Students w/ AVID Benefit From:

Emphasis on:

•Study skills •Organization •Goal setting•Time management

All connected to academics

The Student

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BEST: Design Principles

•Defined Outcomes: Math and Science path ways

•Persistence: Core Methodologies

•Personalization: Building the Elective Team

The Connection:

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•Personalization: Building the Elective Team

•Challenging Content: “ WICR”

•Engaged Adults: The Site Team & Parent Advisory Board

The Connection:

BEST: Design Principles

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A Corporate Action Agenda

• Support Effective Programs

• Balance targeted and system-wide investments

• Capitalize on Partnerships

• Focus on Leverage points

What have we learned?

Higher Education

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What is next for BEST

• Community Engagement

• Partnership with DOD

• Scaling best practices

What have we learned?

Higher Education