November Expert Panel: Developing K-12 STEM Career Pathways for the Future of Work

Overview Blog Playlist Expert Panel Discussion Resources Synthesis Brief

Recorded: Nov 15, 2021 at 3:00 PM EST

Description: This month’s theme explores STEM career Pathways and ways to prepare youth for the future of work. The theme’s playlist, webinar and follow- on discussion explores strategies that can be used to build students’ skills and dispositions in key areas including interdisciplinary teamwork, design and systems thinking, lifelong learning, and real-world problem solving. The career pathway system provides a framework to develop K–12 experiences to ensure that all youth have equitable access to pursue careers in STEM fields.

MODERATOR AND PANELIST BIOS

Moderator:

Dr. Joyce Malyn-Smith, Senior Advisor, is a national expert on STEM career and workforce development with a deep knowledge of how learners develop skills in formal and informal settings to prepare for productive and rewarding work life. She has a special interest in the innovation economy and how technology and informal learning can spark creativity and cultivate and sustain interest in STEM careers. She received a BS from Universidad Interamericana in Puerto Rico, an MEd from Boston State Teacher’s College, and an EdD in Bilingual Education Leadership and Career Education from Boston University, where she was a U.S. Department of Education Fellow.
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Panelists:

Dr. Jon Boxerman is a Research Associate at WestEd’s Science & Engineering Program. Dr. Boxerman has over 15 years of experience planning and carrying out mixed methods research across a variety of educational settings. He has a background in Earth sciences and the learning sciences. He has worked extensively on formative and summative evaluations of technology use in K-12 classrooms. For several years, he has been working in Hawai‘i and the larger North Pacific where it has been necessary to become familiar with distinct cultural features and protocols of these cultures, knowledge that is essential for valid and reliable research. Tapping local wisdom and seeking the approval of communities in their established standards of practice is a required step toward providing equitable opportunities for students to achieve academic and social success. His contributions to science have centered on the development, research, and evaluation of how to support teachers in their capacity to develop strategies that orchestrate and tailor culturally relevant instruction. Understanding how research strategies and pedagogical practices work differently in multicultural contexts will better inform the field about the strengths and competencies that people develop in their own communities, including cognitive and conceptual resources that serve as bridges to broader competence in the larger society.
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Dr. Jackie DeLisi is a Senior Research Scientist at Education Development Center. She is an expert in STEM education research and evaluation, advances knowledge of how to improve STEM learning outcomes in formal and informal settings. She has extensive experience in qualitative research, survey design, and middle school science instruction. She specializes in developing instruments to measure school, teacher, and student outcomes, and to describe the implementation of STEM programs. DeLisi leads the evaluation of the NASA-funded collaboration with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and the evaluation of Boston College’s Seeding the Future project. And, she is collaborating with the Boston Plan for Excellence to examine the implementation and outcomes of STEM pathways in an inclusive STEM-focused high school.
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Dr. Jaymee Nanasi Davis holds an EdD from the University of Southern California and has a Masters in Social Work. Along with her educational background, she brings 16-years of experience serving Native Hawaiian youth and families. As Program Coordinator of several University of Hawaii Maui College (UHMC) grant projects, Dr. Davis promotes the use of student-driven, place-based, and culturally relevant approaches within programs and schools. Specifically, Dr. Davis works with teachers, program directors, community organizations, and STEM industry partners in developing and utilizing STEM Problem-based Learning curriculum to advance Native Hawaiian students and other underrepresented and underserved students in STEM trajectories.
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Dr. Helen Zhang is a senior research associate at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College. She holds a Ph.D. in science education from University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Zhang works with teachers, after school educators, community organizations, and STEM industry partners to develop and utilize emerging technologies to engage students in STEM and CS education. Recently she has been working on two NSF-funded ITEST projects that focus on developing artificial intelligence literacy among middle school students from groups underrepresented in STEM/CS education.
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