America’s Workforce and National Security Future Depend on High-Quality STEM Teachers

I recently had the honor of moderating a webinar from NMSI called, “Building a STEM Future: the Critical Need for Workforce Readiness Today.” I spoke with representatives from several of NMSI’s partners – Emerson, TC Energy, and the Department of Defense – about the need for students to be prepared for the workforce and how we can best prepare them using STEM classes and activities. The conversation has left me feeling hopeful for a future where STEM is accessible and celebrated, with STEM industry leaders like NMSI’s partners at the forefront of the push for workforce preparation.

My reflection on the conversation will cover some of the important highlights, but I strongly encourage you to register and watch the playback of the webinar to get the full insights discussed by myself and my colleagues.
 

Setting Women Up for Success in STEM

One of the most important subjects in the discussion surrounding workforce readiness is how to ensure women are positioned for success in the STEM fields.
I brought this topic up with our partners during our webinar because it’s a core part of NMSI’s mission to ensure that students furthest from opportunity reach their highest potential. And recently, we have found that while women make up a much larger percentage of the student body at nearly all 4-year institutions, the number of women pursuing STEM-specific degrees is not actually increasing. We have also found that once girls enter high school, their interest in pursuing STEM drops, with only 9% of high school aged girls indicating an interest in pursuing a career in STEM. This is compared to 24% of high school aged boys indicating the same. The overwhelming response from our round-table discussion was that in order to positively impact young women and encourage them to pursue STEM, we need to first start reaching them in their STEM classrooms in high school, middle school, and even elementary school. Inspire and impact early, and see the results at the post-secondary level.
 
As I have reflected on the statements made during the webinar about this topic, I’ve been drawn to the results of long-term studies done surrounding NMSI’s impact on student pursuit of college degrees. Nationally, only 12% of women with high school diplomas pursue STEM degrees in college. This is 6% lower than the overall national average. However, for young women who are taught by NMSI-trained teachers, 27% of them will pursue STEM degrees.



While there is much work to be done to close the degree gender gap, NMSI has already decreased it for our students by a significant margin and continues to work every single day to ensure women see themselves in the STEM fields. A “STEM future” only exists if women have a seat at the table, but it’s not enough to squeeze in some extra chairs at the end and call it a day. So NMSI is building a bigger table.
 

Engaging Students in STEM Early

As we found during our discussion about supporting women in STEM, engaging students in STEM topics and classrooms as early as possible is a major key to the success of workforce readiness. Studies have shown that students who are exposed to quality hands-on STEM education at young ages are 5x more likely to achieve careers in STEM. The important thing to remember with this concept, though, is that it doesn’t work to just put a physical science book in front of a 4^th grader and say they’ve received a STEM education. Rather, their classes need to be engaging, they need to have opportunities to explore the concepts freely and learn how to ask questions, and they need to have teachers who have been given the resources and support they need to build an engaging learning environment. Louie Lopez of the Department of Defense referred to this as “career-connected learning.”
 
We know firsthand that classrooms are the first exposure most students receive to the world of STEM, but in many cases, their teachers are not given the support they need to make that classroom into a space that works for all students to explore their potential in STEM. Teachers can receive that support through NMSI’s Professional Development Services. Everything from our trainings to our 1:1 coaching sessions to our Teacher Support Villages are designed to uplift and encourage your educators, giving them the resources they need to help all of their students excel and reach their highest potential.

Career-connected learning can begin in the earliest stages of a child’s education, and the earlier we can impact these students through quality STEM education, the more their passion for STEM can grow right alongside them.


 

The Value of Vertical Alignment and a STEM Culture

One of the concepts we explored in our discussion was the building of a STEM culture within schools, districts, and even at the state and federal levels. Here at NMSI, we are helping education leaders redefine what STEM education looks like for their programs.

We are currently working with a state education agency to teach them how to build STEM leadership and a STEM culture, and one of the key points we are exploring with them is defining what “STEM culture” really is.
 
Through NMSI Professional Development Services, we don’t ask 6^th grade teachers to start teaching complex algebraic formulas. But we do ask them to consider what concepts their students will be approaching in upcoming school years and to start introducing that terminology so it’s not a foreign language to the student once they are reaching 7^th or 8^th grade, or even high school. Vertical alignment is a core part of building a STEM culture, and a valuable component in workforce readiness.

When students are exposed to a STEM culture, they are exposed to cross-departmental collaboration, excellent communication, high level problem solving, and a foundational respect for being a “lifelong learner,” all things which contribute to workforce readiness.
 

Who Holds the Responsibility for Workforce Readiness?

I brought this point up during our webinar because we can talk about the importance of workforce readiness and STEM culture, but it doesn’t do much good if no one actually takes on the responsibility necessary to create such a large-scale culture shift.

Corporations like TC Energy and Emerson, and federal government departments like the Department of Defense, play an important role in the responsibility for workforce readiness. Their passion for the work we’re doing at NMSI is allowing us to reach more and more communities and districts, helping us build a STEM culture as we go, one school at a time.
 
It’s important to STEM culture for students to see themselves represented in this world, and Rebecca McElhoes from TC Energy is passionate about building a STEM future through diverse representation. She encourages their workforce to volunteer with STEM education programs and see their value firsthand, while also exposing students to STEM professionals who look or think like they do.
 
We are so grateful for the meaningful partnerships we have built with companies that see the value in investing in early STEM education and share our vision to transform the face of STEM. Their support is invaluable to our mission and together, we are building a STEM future that will sustain our world for generations to come.


 

Closing Thoughts

We need to be able to depend on a STEM-powered future, and we need to build the culture for that now so the students we’re teaching today become the STEM industry leaders of tomorrow. The work we are doing here at NMSI is just one piece of that, but the continued support of the STEM industry is turning our vision into a reality. I am hopeful for the future we are building together and after this encouraging conversation, I am reinvigorated for the work laid out for us in the STEM education space.

I encourage you to register for the playback of our webinar, “Building a STEM Future: the Critical Need for Workforce Readiness Today” to hear the full conversation. And if you leave the playback feeling as charged as I am for the opportunity to build a STEM future, be sure to reach out to us to learn how you can bring NMSI to your community.