“We’ve got a lot of bragging rights,” a jubilant Zack Hurley said. The senior from Calhoun High School in Hardin, Illinois, was part of a quartet that went the distance at the final flight of the Boeing Engineering Design Challenge, held May 3 in the Washington University Field House. Their glider, dubbed No Pain, No […]
In the big picture, Jennifer Besowshek is a Twitter newbie. She only joined the social media network in November 2016. But in that short amount of time this second-grade teacher at Prairie View Elementary School in the Wentzville School District has become an active user and one of her favorite subjects is mySci – the […]
The science is clear: girls think boys are better at science. That’s wrong, of course. Still, subtle and not-so-subtle messages from parents, teachers and the media lead girls to doubt their abilities. The result: enormous gender gaps in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. “By the time they reach middle school, many girls […]
Lactose tolerance is a sign that human evolution is still at work, says Briana Pobiner, a paleoanthropologist with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. She was the keynote speaker at Darwin Day, hosted February 11, by Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership. Nearly 50 St. Louis area educators attended the event.Pobiner, an educator […]
Pattonville School District elementary students – at every grade level and of every ability – have made statistically significant gains in science after completing the innovative mySci curriculum developed by the Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Washington University in St. Louis. The data confirm what ISP Executive Director Victoria May has observed for years in […]
Last weekend, Washington University hosted the 7th annual St. Louis Area Brain Bee (SLABB) in Rebstock Hall on the Danforth Campus. The Brain Bee is an international neuroscience competition for students in grades 9-12. This year, 55 students from 44 high schools around the St. Louis region participated in the SLABB. The event featured hands-on […]
This past summer nearly 160 educators from 13 school districts and two charter schools kicked off a yearlong professional development program called STEM Teacher Quality Initiative (STEM TQ). Launched in 2011, STEM TQ has graduated some 500 teachers. The regional community effort aims to develop exemplary teachers who can provide quality learning in STEM, so […]
“It’s OK to be smart, and it’s actually really cool,” Jeanne Norris says. The curriculum coordinator with the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University is sitting at a table typing away on her laptop adorned with a sticker that says, “Be The Nerd.” “I consider myself a standards wonk,” she says. “Nothing makes me […]
Gobble, gobble! We’ve put together a feast of Thanksgiving activities and crafts for your classroom. Thanksgiving scienceCollaborative, hands-on activities.[see pin here]Thanksgiving STEM challengesChallenges follow the path of Pilgrims settling in America.[see pin here]Thirsty ThanksgivingAmount of water used to produce Thanksgiving foods.[see pin here]Thanksgiving for older kidsTips for Thanksgiving learning in the upper grades.[see pin here]Letters from the […]
The best way to develop STEM-capable students is to develop STEM-capable teachers. Instilling awareness of science, technology, engineering and math education needs to happen in elementary school – when it matters most. The Monsanto Fund has awarded the Institute for School Partnership (ISP) at Washington University a $200,000 grant to support the STEM Teacher Quality […]