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It’s fair to say that Bryant Baker’s relationship with math has evolved.  In high school and college, he resisted advanced math classes and found himself turned off by teachers with an old school mentality. In short, he didn’t like math. Today, he’s teaching it (along with science) to sixth graders at Bernard Middle School and […]

Outcomes of a two-year STEM learning pilot the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis (ISP) completed in partnership with St. Louis Public Schools and The Little Bit Foundation are encouraging.  The pilot, made possible with generous support of the Bayer Fund, reached 194 SLPS educators and 2,000+ students. This unique collaboration […]

When approached with the opportunity to watch videos of herself guiding a classroom of eighth graders through a science lesson, Jennifer Steimel was less than enthusiastic.

“This is going to be fun!” When fifth graders walk into a classroom set up for the next science lesson with that level of enthusiasm, something very right is happening, and it’s not magic.  Their teacher, Sarah Carter, knows engaging science learning – the messy kind, with hands-on lessons and authentic, sometimes unpredictable inquiry that […]

Educational leaders throughout the St. Louis region are invited to boost STEM learning for K-8 students in their schools and districts by encouraging teachers to participate in STEM TQ, an immersive professional learning experience designed to enhance teaching and learning about science, technology, engineering and math. Applications to participate in the 2023-2024 STEM TQ Cohort […]

Andrew C. Butler, chair and associate professor in the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences, and collaborator Gary Ritter, dean and professor in the School of Education at Saint Louis University, won a $3.5 million award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation (JSMF) to support a joint postdoctoral training program.

Photo: Co-authors Briana Trager, a former STEM coordinator from the Mehlville School District (left) and ISP Associate Director Rachel Ruggirello An ISP-led collaboration with three St. Louis area school districts aimed at improving math outcomes for all students is featured in Success Stories from Catalyzing Change, a new book published by the National Council of […]

Brittany Stephens was on the lookout for an old-fashioned rotary phone over the summer.  No stranger to kindergarteners or the classroom, Stephens is confident that having the clunky relic on hand will help kindergarten students in her classroom grasp the concepts of then and now.  “Being encouraged to think creatively and find the tools I […]

In a new policy piece, biology faculty advocate for new classroom approaches to fix the national exodus of students from STEM fields. All across the United States, half of the college students who plan to major in STEM switch fields. And Black and Latinx students leave STEM at a higher rate than their white peers. […]

Science teacher Jaime Schneider has earned a reputation for herself. Students come to her class expecting something phenomenal, and she’s happy to deliver. Where else in the building can a seventh grader get a chance to set methane bubbles on fire or generate mystic-looking fog with dry ice and a bucket? “I always start with […]