“Advancing the STEM Agenda,” a conference sponsored by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) that will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics in education, will take place June 3-4 at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Mich.
A number of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville faculty and staff members will take part in the program. A paper titled “Creating a Foundation for Engineering Education in Five K-12 Rural School Districts” will be presented by faculty members:
- Dr. Gary Mayer, assistant professor of computer science
- Dr. Allison Fahsl, associate professor of special education and communications disorders, and chair of that department
- Dr. Stephen Marlette, associate professor of curriculum and instruction through the School of Education and affiliate with the SIUE Center for STEM Research, Education and Outreach
- Georgia Bracey, research associate from the STEM Center.
Other SIUE presenters will include Adam Weyhaupt, associate professor and chair of the SIUE Department of Mathematics and Statistics, on his paper with local collaborators titled, “Intel Math Connections: A Three-Year Study of the Impact of a Math-Based Program on Elementary Teachers.”
Bracey, Marlette, SIUE graduate student Molly Brooks and SIUE STEM Center Director Sharon Lockewill present their paper titled, “Teachers ‘n Training: Building Formal STEM Teaching Efficacy through Informal Science Teaching Experience.” The Teachers ‘n Training (TNT) program was made possible thanks to funding from The Boeing Co.
The two-day event will feature keynote speakers, including:
- Paul D. Plotkowki, the founding dean of the Seymour and Ester Padnos College of Engineering and Computing at Grand Valley State
- Reginald McGregor, manager of Engineering Employee Development R&T Strategy at Rolls-Royce Corporation in Indianapolis
- Carrie Houtman, regulatory services leader for Michigan and Minnesota at The Dow Chemical Company
- Glenn Walters, deputy cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Higher Education Department.
The event will highlight promising practices that increase high school students’ interest in STEM disciplines and prepare them to pursue STEM majors in college, as well as improve recruitment and retention efforts, and provide mentorship opportunities to bring more scientists and engineers into the workforce. Some of the papers featured at the conference were partially funded by the National Science Foundation. SIUE Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe, who has expressed her unwavering commitment to STEM initiatives, is a member of the conference planning committee.