Building Networks in the K-12 STEM Teaching Workforce

The Smithsonian Science Education Center in collaboration with Howard University received a Planning Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) and Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) (Grant Award #2040784) for the project titled, Building Networks in the K-12 STEM Teaching Workforce. In this planning grant, the Smithsonian Science Education Center and Howard University had three tasks with the goal of promoting the K-12 STEM teaching workforce diversity.

1. We conducted a survey to better understand what roles Institutions of Higher Education (specifically Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities) may play in organizational change management and strategic planning to diversify the K-12 STEM teaching workforce.

2. We hosted a 2-day virtual STEM Education Summit Alumni Workshop that included past participants of the Smithsonian’s STEM Education Summit. At the Alumni Workshop, K-12 teachers, school/district/state administrators, university faculty members and educators from non-profit organizations shared reflections of their implementation of logic models, and discussed challenges, strategies and shared vision to diversify the K-12 STEM teaching workforce.

3. The shared learning at the Alumni Workshop and some of the findings from the survey is outlined in this publication called “The Sourcebook”.

This Sourcebook provides some practical, research-based ideas to help teams develop a logic model and implement it in an activity system by introducing the perspective of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. We hope this Sourcebook supports schools and districts that seek guidance about broadening participation by moving forward systems change in their own regions.