Counselors Get STEM View of Shuttle Launch

May 21st, 2010 by Rich Feller

Connecting NASA with Academic, Career and School Counselors Education Forum held May 12-14 at the Shuttle Launch 132, brought 55 school, career and academic counselors together to complete a Kennedy Space Center tour, a full day of panel presentations and discussions about helping those seeking and promoting STEM, and a VIP viewing of the STS 132 launch. Counselors, counselor educators, educational leaders from NCDA, ASCA, NACE joined representatives from organizations shaping STEM development to strategize how to promote interest and talent development in STEM career options. The brain child of Dr. Joyce Winterton, former NASA Education Head and NASA consultant Rich Feller of Colorado State University,leaders were identified to offer NASA insights about (1) the Counseling Process at Each Developmental Stage and the Implications for STEM Education and (2) How Do Students Intellectually Engage in STEM? The Forum Agenda follows:

9:10 a.m. Panel 1 What is the Counseling Process at Each Developmental Stage and the Implications for
STEM Education? Moderated by Rich Feller, Professor, Colorado State University (IPA NASA
Consultant)

Level	Panelist	Topic
Elementary	Sherry Lussier, School Counselor/Assistant Principal, Orleans Elem School, Orleans, VT sherryluss@yahoo.com	The counseling process and promising practices which complement STEM goals at the elementary level
Junior HS/Middle Sch	Melinda M. Gibbons, Assistant Professor Counselor Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling University of Tennessee mgibbon2@utk.edu	The career planning needs of middle school students with implications for STEM
High School	Kwok-Sze (Richard) Wong Executive Director American School Counselor Association Alexandria, VA richard@schoolcounselor.org www.schoolcounselor.org	The ASCA model and how it supports STEM education
College	Mary Ontiveros Associate Vice President for Enrollment and Access Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 890524 mary.ontiveros@colostate.edu	The college and major selection, and advising needs during the high school to college transition, and best practices with implications for STEM
Diversity Issues	Sylvia C. Nassar-McMillan Associate Professor of Counselor Education Department of Curriculum and Instruction North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC Sylvia_nassarmc@ncsu.edu	Relationships among career guidance materials and processes, diversity, and the counselor’s advocacy role

10:40 a.m. Panel 2: How Do Students Intellectually Engage in STEM?
Moderated by Gregg Buckingham, NASA Deputy Administrator for Integration (Acting)

Content Area	Panelist	Topic
Elem Schools	Mary Kay Sommers Past President National Assoc of Elem School Principals Principal, Shepardson Elem School Fort Collins, CO 80525 msommers@psdschools.org	The elementary school experience and developing STEM aspirations and talent
Math	Paul Kennedy Professor, Mathematics Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO kennedy@math.colostate.edu	Developing Math aspirations and talent for STEM Success
Engineering	Liz Parry Director, RAMP-UP College of Engineering North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC eaparry@ncsu.edu	Moving beyond “if you’re good in math and science, you should consider engineering”
Technology and Engineering Education	Kendall N. Starkweather Executive Director International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Reston, VA kns@iteea.org http://www.iteea.org	Engaging students in technology and engineering education to increase STEM aspirations
Media and Entertainment	Brian Dyak President/CEO Exec. Producer PRISM Awards Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. Reston, VA bdyak@eiconline.org http://www.eiconline.org	Entertainment’s role in portraying and promoting STEM fields to youth

12:00 Luncheon & Speaker
STS-132 Mission Overview- NASA Astronaut Richard Arnold

1:30 p.m. STEM Centric Career Resource Roundtables – Participants will experience three roundtables of 12 minutes each. Each of six tables will be hosted by a presenter sharing a resource related to drawing students to careers in STEM.

Roundtable # and Resource	Presenter	Description
1. NASA Web Resources	Rob Cannon Coop, NASA Kennedy Space Center Education Office Robert.cannon-1@nasa.gov	Rob is a staff member at the Kennedy Space Center Education Office and will review NASA resources related to student competitions, State Space Grants, Internship Programs (Solar)- the future application site for internships, Speakers Bureau where educators can request NASA Engineers and Scientists, KETI and CORE a clearinghouse to order materials.
2.The Real Game	Phil Jarvis Vice President, Global Partnerships National Life/Work Center Memramcook, N.B. psjarvis@lifework.c a www.lifework.ca	Phil is author of Choices, co-author of the Blueprint for Life/Work Designs, lead author of Real Game digital editions. Phil will introduce www.realgameonline.ca the first of the new generation of digital programs in The Real Game Series. New online components make delivering the program easy and more engaging for facilitators, and enable students to access online components like Wish List, After Work, Slice of Life, Reality Check, Realizing My Dreams, and more anytime, anywhere. Now parents can help their children at home with budgeting, priority-setting, and so on. Also, new Character Education, Environmental Educational and Essential Workplace Skills components have been added, with 50% more role profiles. This program is a “must see” for educators wishing to help their students imagine the future they want to live, understand the importance of success in school, and become more intentional and purposeful in achieving their dreams and STEM options.
3. Navigation 101	Doug Manning, Executive Director of Special Projects, Envictus Corporation Chantilly, VA dmanning@Envictus.com http://www.envictus.com	Doug is Executive Director of Special Projects at Envictus and will review The Navigation101 Program developed to treat Readiness Topics™ such as career planning, college admissions, financial aid and other post-secondary planning areas as a discipline of study for all students. By establishing a comprehensive and rigorous discipline of study for College and Career Readiness™ the program is able to create measurable and sustainable gains in what experts refer to as “School Improvement Metrics,” such as: Jumps in graduation rates, increases in gateway course enrollments (Advanced Placement, Gifted and Talented, etc), and decreased remediation rates.
4. STEM Career Development Institute	Jackie Peila-Shuster Counselor Education Faculty Colorado State University Fort Collins CO jpshu@rams.colostate.edu	Jackie teaches courses in counseling and career development within Colorado State University’s CACREP approved Career Counseling program. Jackie will review the STEM Career Development Institute, a weeklong immersion program which places M.Ed counseling students into area businesses to tour facilities, observe work functions, and discuss business trends, employment practices, and training needs. Students conduct “visit audits” to assess workplace change and implications for providing career assistance to students.
5. NSF’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program.	Joyce Malyn-Smith PI ITEST Learning Resource Center Newton, MA jmalynsmith@edc.org http://itestlrc.edc.org	Joyce is Co-Director of EDC’s Strategic Investment Group in STEM and Principal Investigator for the NSF ITEST Learning Resource Center. Joyce will introduce The Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program funded to: 1) produce findings that build knowledge about approaches, models and interventions that are most likely to increase the nation’s capacity and innovation in the STEM workforce of the future; 2) develop, implement, study and evaluate strategies that encourage youth to develop interest in and to be prepared for STEM careers; and 3) equip teachers with resources to ensure their students consider choosing and are prepared to enter the STEM workforce. The ITEST Resource Center builds capacity among ITEST project teams to design, evaluate and refine their project work to achieve project goals, aggregates and shares lessons learned and resources from ITEST projects across the U.S. to improve policy and practice in STEM education and workforce development.
6. The Futures Channel	Johnjoe Farragher, President & CEO Defined Learning Deerfield, IL johnjoe_farragher@definedlearning.com http://stem.definedlearning.com http://www.thefutureschannel.com	Johnjoe is the President and Founder of Defined Learning, a Chicago-based educational media company. Johnjoe will introduce the company’s flagship service called “Defined STEM”. Defined STEM is a multi media resource designed to: 1) provide educators with a contextual learning tool that connects STEM classroom content and real-world applications 2) increase the quality of STEM instruction by providing teachers professional development and dynamic, up to date resources 3) integrate career based STEM content STEM into the curriculum 4) promote STEM career awareness and exploration 5) foster critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and communication skills among our nation’s students so they are well-prepared to enter the STEM workforce.