Call to Action: Incorporating Active STEM Learning Strategies into K-12 and Higher Education

OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY

On Wednesday, August 17, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced a nationwide call to action to meet the goals of STEM for All and improve STEM teaching and learning throughout the education system at all grade levels through the use of active learning strategies. Active learning strategies, in which students must engage, think, and solve problems, have been shown to increase retention of knowledge; develop higher-order skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation; and increase student retention in STEM fields. OSTP seeks commitments to implement active learning strategies in STEM fields. We are also interested in actions and efforts that will encourage others to do so, including: (1) incentives for PK-12 educators and faculty to implement active learning strategies, (2) investment in professional development opportunities for instructors at every level of education, and (3) training materials and resources for educators to promote the help them use active learning.

Instructions: Response to these questions is voluntary. Respondents need not reply to all questions listed. OSTP may post responses to these questions without change, online. OSTP therefore requests that no business proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information be submitted. Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response preparation, or for the use of any information contained in the response.

Please submit your ideas and commitments by September 23, 2016.

Primary Contact Name:

Organization:

Title:

Email:

Announcement Summary:

What new (i.e., not yet public) activities or actions is your organization undertaking to respond to the Call to Action to improve STEM teaching and learning through the use of active learning strategies? Responses should be limited to four sentences.

Categories:

Implement active learning strategies in a STEM classroom.

Support educators who implement active learning strategies.

Invest in professional development opportunities for instructors at every level of education.

Develop training materials and resources for educators to promote the use of active learning.

If applicable, please indicate which of the key themes above you or your organization's actions will support. You may select more than one option