ASEE K12 Division Newsletter
February 18, 2015
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Dear ASEE K12 and Precollege Engineering Division Members,
ASEE is pleased to announce a registration discount opportunity for the 2015 Annual Conference in Seattle, June 14-17. ASEE has heard from some members that our recent registration fee increase may make it difficult for them to attend the annual conference. In response, ASEE is offering a $100 subsidy to a limited number of members who can indicate a compelling need for a lower rate. Priority will be given to academic staff and junior faculty. If you are in need of assistance to attend the conference, please fill out the attached form and return it to conferences@asee.org by 11:59 pm by Sunday, March 15. The PIC Chairs will decide to whom discounts are offered. All discount applicants will notified of the status of their applications. I hope that many members of our division will apply, especially any K12 teachers who wish to attend the entire conference and find the one day registration discount price useless!
While there is a wealth of research-based knowledge in STEM education, there is currently no easily accessible, user-friendly resource for practitioners that bridges formal and informal (i.e., out-of-school) settings. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the Association for Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) received an NSF Grant (Award No. 1420262) to develop, pilot and evaluate a new resource that seeks to better connect practitioners in these settings with each other, and the rapidly growing research and knowledge base about STEM learning. The proposed new resource will highlight successful curricula and programs that are based on STEM education research across formal and informal, out-of-school STEM education communities. In collaboration with the NSTA and ASTC, David Heil & Associates, Inc. (DHA) is conducting a front-end study to gain insight regarding the potential for such a resource. As part of this study, we are administering a survey to gather data and feedback. We would like to invite you to participate in this survey. Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary. However, your feedback is very important for the development and implementation of the proposed resource and we value your input. The survey should take approximately 15 minutes. You have the right to discontinue the survey at any time without penalty or explanation. Your name and contact information remain strictly confidential and will never be linked to any of your responses in reports.
Survey web link <http://www.mmsend53.com/link.cfm?r=101788509&sid=65364262&m=8822043&u=NSTA&j=25499290&s=http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NSTA_ASTC_EAGER_National_Survey>
Please feel free to contact the evaluator, Kelly Riedinger, at kriedinger@davidheil.com <mailto:kriedinger@davidheil.com> or (503) 245-2102 with any questions or concerns you have regarding the survey.
Did you know that there are TWO Sunday Workshops available during the ASEE Conference that are sponsored by our division? We hope you will register for one or both and encourage colleagues to do so also. Both are intended for K12 teacher/administrator participants as well as university faculty/staff.
· U233A·SUNDAY WORKSHOP: TeachEngineering Digital Library – Hundreds of Free, Searchable, NGSS-aligned Hands-on Engineering Lessons for K-12 <http://www.asee.org/public/conferences/56/registration/view_session?session_id=5215>
· U433·SUNDAY WORKSHOP: How Does Your Professional Development Measure Up? Applying the New Standards for Professional Development for K-12 Teachers of Engineering <http://www.asee.org/public/conferences/56/registration/view_session?session_id=5249>
According to our bylaws, the following positions will be involved in this year’s election:
- Chair Elect (a two year term; election held in odd number years)
- Program Chair Elect (one year term, goes directly into Program Chair)
- K-12 Representative Pk-5 (1 year term)
- K-12 Representative 6-12 ( 1 year term)
- K-12 Representative Other (1 year term)
- Member at Large (two positions rotate off this year; elected for 2 year term)
The nominating period will open very soon. I’ll be in touch soon with more specifics about these positions and their responsibilities. In the meantime, please consider what you might like to run for or whom you might nominate for a position.
As part of the ASEE Year of Action (YoA) on Diversity, this winter issue of the Diversity Committee’s newsletter summarizes progress thus far and plans into the future. Page 1 is an update on YoA activities. Page 2 illustrates some partnering organization and additional information on SafeZone workshops. Spotlights on diversity and Best of the Best Resources are featured on page 3 as well as an invite to contact any member of the diversity committee with ideas/suggestions/other. General questions and comments can also be submitted to diversity@asee.org. The newsletter can be found here: http://diversity.asee.org/documents/nl_winter_2015.pdf
I recently noticed that the National Science Teachers Association’s (NSTA) Annual Conference for 2016 will be held in my hometown of Nashville, TN. I want to encourage any of you doing K12 engineering in the classroom to submit proposals to this conference, linking your work to NGSS engineering. The conference will be held March 31-April 3, 2016. But as is normal for NSTA, the session proposals are due April 15 of this year! You can find more information here as well as a link to their proposal system: http://www.nsta.org/conferences/sessions.aspx. If your session is accepted, please let me know and we will assemble and publicize the lineup of ASEE-affiliated sessions.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly with information that should be shared with the division or if you have questions or concerns about division work. It’s easiest to reach me by email at stacy.klein-gardner@vanderbilt.edu.
With best regards,
Stacy
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Stacy S. Klein-Gardner, Ph.D.
Adjoint Associate Professor of the Practice of Biomedical Engineering
Adjoint Associate Professor of the Practice of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
Vanderbilt University
Chair, K12 and Precollege Engineering Division
American Society for Engineering Education