SMUD’s Post

With the frequency of college closings coming out so often, Unity Environmental University continues to buck the trends. I truly appreciate my board, faculty, staff, and many alums for working with me over the years to figure out what the new reality of education can be in this age of disruption. I am saddened for our collective loss as an industry; and as a microcosm of the issues plaguing higher education; I also want to acknowledge the pains of change and the crucible of transformation as can be heard from some of our alums in this article. It is time to focus and double down on transformation. I believe we are just the institution to become that exemplar providing access and affordability for the next generation of environmental leaders.

The right thing♥️

STEM & STE(A)M Designation is a monumental achievement. If you want to know more about the impact of Designation, explore our STEM/STE(A)M Designation Spotlight! The STEM/STE(A)M Designation Spotlight is Sycamore Elementary School. https://lnkd.in/eYcsmNaz #TNSTEM

See what sets Ellucian apart from its competitors. By focusing on student success, Ellucian empowers campuses to grow stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to meet the needs of today’s learners. Discover how a student-centric approach can transform your institution: Putting students first isn’t just a strategy—it’s the foundation of thriving institutions.

Creating a positive school climate is crucial to increasing enrollment of students of color in AP STEM courses Cleantech Open Northeast / NECEC is the oldest and largest cleantech startup accelerator program, with the mission to find, fund, and foster entrepreneurs with ideas to solve our greatest environmental and energy challenges these students are our future innovators. Students of color need to feel safe and have a sense of belonging, interact with adults with high expectations for them, and receive adequate information on accessing AP STEM opportunities. Additionally, culturally relevant and identity-affirming curricula can help students succeed. We hope to see more policies and practices that improve students' learning environment as the NECEC continues pushing for a just and equitable transition. A positive school climate includes positive relationships among and between staff and students, a safe environment where students feel they belong, and where they receive equitable support to meet high expectations. Unfortunately, students of color too often do not experience a positive school climate. This makes it difficult for them to succeed and access opportunities that can help them grow. Check out this inspiring video of high school students presenting their solutions to economic problems at Northeastern on CBS News: https://lnkd.in/erb7Ckj4. Let's continue to work towards creating a positive school climate for all students.

Maximize the impact of guest speakers coming to your programs by implementing tried and tested best practices. Center student interests and use ready-to-implement tools with STEM PUSH. https://ow.ly/9GHO50Slii8

"In traditional mathematics instruction, students are given steps to solve specific problem types and expected to learn how to solve these problems using only those steps. However, in data science education, it’s imperative that students move beyond “toy problems” that lack real data and that rely on predefined steps. Students need to tackle scenarios that reflect authentic challenges—and this means exposing students to datasets where they can genuinely practice the key components of data science."  Read "The Hidden Rigor of Data Science" by NC State Data Science Academy's Executive Director, Rachel Levy and DS4E's own Instructional Design Director, Mahmoud Harding in the latest edition of El Magazine and learn why, in an era dependent on data, all students will need to know how to work—and think—using data.

https://lnkd.in/d7ufa9CG Radical action is paving the way for more state school students to access Oxbridge. Equity in education is a step forward for a brighter, more inclusive future. 📚 #EducationReform #DiversityInEducation #Oxbridge"

This is an exciting pilot to be involved in! For too long, people have wondered why teaching STEM in schools has not increased the number of people choosing to pursue STEM careers. It is not enough to simply teach students about STEM during their school years. School students need explicit connection between their STEM learning at school and the STEM careers that use similar knowledge and skills, so that they can envisage themselves working in STEM careers in their future. The missing link is career-related learning. That is why the South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy (SACOME) STEM Digital Technologies Pilot, with embedded career-related learning about the Energy and Resources sector, is so exciting. Embedding learning about industry and careers within subjects allows students, from the primary years onwards, to better understand the range of careers that exist and be curious about the careers pathways that lead from their learning at school. There are wonderful people driving this collaboration. Passionate industry leaders and companies who believe in greater connection between schools and industry; great practical support through professional learning and ongoing help for teachers; fantastic school principals, pilot leads and teachers in Catholic Education South Australia schools who have been willing to give this pilot a go, for the benefit of their students. This is everything that I love about teaching – learning that is engaging, purposeful and future-focused. Pilot in action: https://lnkd.in/eyEvqRAf Rebecca Knol Paddy McEvoy Bec Fahey Dr Sandra Hewson Damian Smith Damien Judd Andrew Baker

Check out this recent release from our partners at KP Catalysts - Knowledge to Power Catalysts. “Too Essential to Fail: Why Our Big Bet on Public Education Needs a Bold National Response” is now available. https://lnkd.in/gZKUd6wd “Too Essential to Fail” makes the case that, taken together, parents, learners, community organizations, employers, academic researchers and educators – both teachers and administrators – know enough about what isn't working, what is working, and what is needed to make education meaningful and impactful for everyone. It is time to stop tinkering around the edges.