S Spaeth's List: Afterschool STEM Resources

The Society of Women Engineers develops opportunities to engage girls in Engineering so that they can aspire to non traditional careers.Compare with WOW (Woodside One Wheelers).

Research on curriculum support for improvement of STEM learning:
"This report describes findings from a study of middle school science curriculum materials.
In the study, middle school science teachers who used curriculum materials that presented opportunities for students to engage in science practices improved their students' performance on next generation science assessments. The study took place in a large urban district and was conducted by researchers at SRI international, University of Colorado Boulder, and Michigan State University with support from a grant by the National Science Foundation."

"Advances in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have long been central to our Nation's ability to manufacture better and smarter products, improve health care, develop cleaner and more efficient domestic energy sources, preserve the environment, safeguard national security, and grow the economy. For the United States to maintain its preeminent position in the world it will be essential that the Nation continues to lead in STEM, but evidence indicates that current educational pathways are not leading to a sufficiently large and well-trained STEM workforce to achieve this goal. Nor is the U.S. education system cultivating a culture of STEM necessary for a STEM-literate public. Thus it is essential that the United States enhance U.S. students' engagement in STEM disciplines and inspire and equip many more students to excel in STEM."

This research reports on the results of two studies which found that mathematically talented students who had had greater exposure to accelerated, enriched, and individualized STEM learning opportunities achieved more significant STEM accomplishments later in life than their matched counterparts. Notable accomplishments were designated as achieving STEM careers, STEM PhDs, STEM tenure, STEM publications, and STEM patents. The researchers found this relationship to hold true even when controlling for high levels of motivation. Furthermore, the research found that experiences that were more individualized (such as participating in STEM contests or working on inventions, as opposed to attending Advanced Placement (AP) courses) had a greater correlation with notable STEM accomplishments. An important implication from these findings for ISE educators is the need to ensure that students have access to a wide spectrum of enriching and accelerated learning opportunities, and, in particular, that opportunities include those that are individualized.

Focus on Integration activities with recognition of opportunities and challenges.

STEM learning ecosystems harness unique contributions of educators, policymakers, families, and others in symbiosis toward a comprehensive vision of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for all children. This paper describes the attributes and strategies of 15 leading ecosystem efforts throughout the country with the hope that others may use their lessons to deepen rich STEM learning for many more of America's children.
By: Kathleen Traphagen & Saskia Traill

Stem is everywhere including WOW: circus arts and sciences.

Advocacy for enhancing programs:
"Afterschool programs are increasingly recognized as playing a valuable role in improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. However, the expectations for how such programs support young people’s STEM engagement and learning are varied. The Defining Youth Outcomes for STEM Learning in Afterschool study aimed to identify what STEM learning outcomes these program leaders and supporters believe that afterschool programs could contribute to, what the indicators of progress toward such outcomes might be, and what types of evidence could be collected by afterschool programs, without regard to whether or not appropriate data collection tools currently exist."

The National Academy of Engineering supports this site to enhance opportunities for girls and women in engineering fields.

Know your funders: a guide to STEM funding for After School

Information page about 4H support for Special Interest Clubs.

Change the Equation Design Principles:
CTEq’s Design Principles for Effective STEM Philan- thropy draw on research and the collective experi- ence of leaders in corporate philanthropy. They aim to define a framework for corporate engagement that has the best chance of addressing the profound

Change the Equation's program evaluation and referral service.