President Rosenberg to discuss STEM education in Washington D.C. meeting

WHAT: Florida International University President Mark B. Rosenberg will make a presentation on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, highlighting FIU’s successes in educating STEM graduates, particularly underrepresented minorities. Rosenberg, who will be discussing STEM from a higher education perspective, will be speaking during a meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). PCAST is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who directly advise the

President and the Executive Office of the President. PCAST is seeking recommendations on the federal government’s imminent strategic plan for STEM education from Rosenberg and other education leaders.

WHEN: Friday, November 30, 2012 at 10:45 a.m.

WHERE:  Lecture room at National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Avenue NW,  Washington, D.C.

WEBCAST: The meeting will be webcast at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast

BACKGROUND: FIU has more than $20 million in active STEM education-related grants and is the largest producer of STEM degrees for Hispanics and one of the top producers of STEM degrees for all minorities. FIU currently has 7,500 undergraduate students majoring in STEM fields.

The innovative ways FIU has approached STEM education include:

• In September, FIU opened the STEM Transformation Institute, which brings together faculty from FIU’s College of Arts & Sciences, College of Education, and College of Engineering and Computing to build a nationally recognized STEM education research group to develop effective instructional techniques for the classroom.
• Reforming introductory STEM courses at the undergraduate level through the College of Arts & Sciences, from traditional lecture style classes to more interactive sessions.
• Engaging with more than 2,000 students and their families every year and providing professional development in STEM education techniques to more than 120 K-12 teachers. By providing professional development for STEM teachers, FIU is estimated to impact more than 20,000 high school students.
• Opening the Mastery Math Lab, a key component of FIU’s five-year Title V project “Opening the Gateways,” a high-tech, high-touch approach to improving student performance.