IPaT Thursday Think Tank: K12 STEM: How Georgia Tech's Outreach Programs Can Impact Our Next Generation of STEM Professionals
Moderators:
Lizanne DeStefano, Director, Center for Education Integrating Science, Math, and Computer (CEISMC)
Sean Mulvanity, Curriculum Lead, STEM@GTRI
The need for science, technology, education, and math (STEM) education is more evident than ever. According to Code.org, there are 500,000 computer science job openings in the U.S., more than 10 times the number of students who graduated with computer science degrees in 2017. According to the Education Commission of the States, between 2017 and 2027 STEM jobs will grow 13-percent, while all other jobs will grow 9-percent. The U.S. unemployment rate for STEM workers is 2.2-percent, while for all other works is 5.5-percent. However, the Business-Higher Education Forum reports, in 2011, that only 44-percent of 12th graders are proficient in math. And of those, 61-percent are not interested in pursuing careers in STEM. That leaves 17-percent of 12th graders who are both proficient and interested in STEM.
The gap is widening between the call and need for STEM professionals and the number of students going into STEM fields. What is the role that an institute like Georgia Tech can play in decreasing that gap? Lizanne DeStefano, Director of the Center for Education Integrating Science, Math, and Computer (CEISMC) and Sean Mulvanity, Curriculum Lead for STEM@GTRI, will provide overviews of the state of STEM education, give examples of a sample of successful STEM outreach programs and partnerships, and discuss how Georgia Tech can partner with our state and local school systems to address the growing needs for teacher preparation and student education.
Please join us on Thursday, February 28th to participate in this important discussion and learn about the collaboration between STEM@GTRI, CEISMC, and IPaT and the opportunities we have to impact K12 STEM pursuits.
