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Although designed for informal educational structures and non-formal providers, the AeroEducate initiative offers youth in a variety of settings an initial exposure to the world of aviation and aeronautics. Real-world and context-based experiences spark learners' interests and may help them discover a personal and/or professional passion for the field. K-12 STEM Educators can easily implement one or more of the AeroEducate activities in their classroom teaching or after-school clubs. Each AeroEducate activity is strategically aligned with multiple standards for successful integration into formal educational settings. Through AeroEducate, the Experimental Aeronautics Association (EAA) provides quality resources for facilitators to build awareness and increase exposure and opportunities for youth. The collaboration between EAA, NC State, and the National Institute of Aerospace demonstrates how higher education and industry partners can and should work together to address STEM workforce needs.

Recent developments in initiatives, standards, and legislative agendas have led to increases in the number of STEM educators, in particular elementary STEM educators. This study investigates and reports the characteristics and credentials of this group and explores the features and characteristics of the student population within their classrooms. These criteria were analyzed over nearly a decade in efforts to identify progressions and changes in response to national demands. Data for this study was gathered from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) School and Staffing Survey Teacher Questionnaire (SASS TQ) and documents a significant increase in the number of fulltime elementary STEM educators, depicting the current profile of these educators as largely female, mid-career, and fully certified with a bachelor's degree from a traditional teacher preparation program. Trends support that this group is becoming more diversified with more seeking graduate degrees and more earning certification via alternative programming.

Real world, mathematics-based educational activities provide context for learning and break down barriers to learning in mathematics and science. SpaceMath@NASA (hereafter SpaceMath) provides teachers with real-world math activities in a space context in support of standards, by using current NASA discoveries as a starting point for motivating students to develop and use mathematics skills. The reach and efficacy of SpaceMath in supporting NASA's STEM mission was examined through an analysis of the resources and website data, a survey of a subset of listserv members, data from workshop attendees - new users of SpaceMath, and a comparison group study. SpaceMath has been used by millions of educators who consistently report that SpaceMath aligns with what they teach, that they can immediately apply what they have learned in workshops, and are able to use it in their classes. Educators report that students enjoy the application problems and topics, are productively engaged, and ask questions that demonstrate curiosity and interest. Use of SpaceMath to teach science concepts and apply math skills provides a context that enhances student understanding.

NASA eClips™, developed by the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) in partnership with NASA, provides educators with standards-based educational resources that seek to increase student science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy through the lens of NASA. Over the past four years a new project within NASA eClips™, NASA Spotlite, has been rigorously tested exploring the impacts of students developing and using short videos to understand and address science misconceptions. Foundational partnerships with schools plus online hosting by commercial partner Nearpod enabled the team to broaden its audience. A comparison of three years of NASA Spotlite lesson research supports the findings that student engagement with the lessons significantly impacted their understanding of commonly misunderstood science concepts. In a quasi-experimental study with over 100 students, some overall positive significant changes in student content knowledge were recorded, while major student achievement differences based on lesson delivery format were confirmed. Positive changes in student science literacy resulted through both instructional modes, though less for those experiencing the more traditional lesson delivery via interactive PDFs than those for whom the delivery was via Nearpod. This work illustrates the importance of fidelity of lesson implementation and how choices in the use of instructional technology may impact lesson delivery.

National and state-based science and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives expect educators to incorporate inquiry- and design-based practices into their STEM-centric lesson planning. While this is a new expectation and may be a challenge for all, it is an even more prohibitive barrier for elementary teachers who often find STEM outside of their comfort zones. Graduate coursework sensitive and attentive to elementary teachers' needs is essential to prepare teachers for these instructional demands. The Elementary STEM Instructional Leadership (ESIL) graduate program at McDaniel College, a small, liberal arts school in Maryland, developed such a program in conjunction with Carroll County Public Schools and the National Institute of Aerospace. The pilot cohort of elementary teachers for the ESIL program was the audience for this quantitative study. Lesson plans developed by this cohort were assessed to gauge the teachers' proficiencies in planning STEM-centric lessons. A proportion of agreement consensus and test of hypothetical value provided results that suggest that the sample population demonstrated proficient planning abilities for targeted standards. Findings from this research not only add to the field's knowledge of elements in the promotion of graduate coursework that leads to elementary in-service teachers' proficiency in planning STEM-centric lessons, but also have broader implications for teacher education at large. The McDaniel College ESIL model could frame flexible K-12 teacher education as it promotes analytical thinking and self-reflection.

Real world, mathematics-based educational activities provide context for learning and break down barriers to learning in mathematics and science. SpaceMath@NASA (hereafter SpaceMath) provides teachers with real-world math activities in a space context in support of standards, by using current NASA discoveries as a starting point for motivating students to develop and use mathematics skills. The reach and efficacy of SpaceMath in supporting NASA's STEM mission was examined through an analysis of the resources and website data, a survey of a subset of listserv members, data from workshop attendees - new users of SpaceMath, and a comparison group study. SpaceMath has been used by millions of educators who consistently report that SpaceMath aligns with what they teach, that they can immediately apply what they have learned in workshops, and are able to use it in their classes. Educators report that students enjoy the application problems and topics, are productively engaged, and ask questions that demonstrate curiosity and interest. Use of SpaceMath to teach science concepts and apply math skills provides a context that enhances student understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]