Publications

Included here is a selection of publications and information created by the Learning Resource Center (LRC) in collaboration with all of the ITEST Projects about successes, challenges, promising practices and lessons learned. Educators, policy-makers and researchers concerned with expanding the interests and skills of students and teachers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) will find our resources useful. You can sort the publications by any of the fields below.

Please note, this is an AND sort, if you select more than one item to sort by, you will get results for only those resources that meet BOTH criteria.

  • Accessibility: Creating Inclusive Learning Environments

    This IdeaBrief was intended to produce a concise, but information-rich reference that reveals what inclusive programs can look like and provides some practical tips for getting there. In this 3-page document, you'll find: 1) Q&A with Mary Lester, Executive Director of the Alliance for Technology Access, 2) Tips... 'Where do I start?' with regard to Program Design, Technology, and Recruitment. 3) Resources, including organizations, research, and other materials.

  • Active Learning in the Information Age: Integrating IT Skill Development into STEM Curricula

    InfoBrief: ITEST project staff and ITEST LRC team members contributed to thoughtful discussion around how specific technologies can be harnessed to enhance academic learning and creative expression.

  • Analysis of middle and high school student learning of science, mathematics and engineering concepts through a Lego underwater robotics design challenge.

    Presentation at 2009 American Society of Engineering Education: The Build IT project is a university-school collaboration to increase precollege student interest and achievement in engineering, science, mathematics, and information technology through a novel underwater robotics project that utilizes LEGO Mindstorms kits, the NXT programmable brick, and related equipment. The project is being implemented in 36 socio-economically and academically diverse schools for students in Grades 7-12.

  • Archive of Feb 2006 ITest Summit

    Video and audio of presentations and reflections on the work of the ITest program from the 2006 Annual Summit. This event – at which ITEST project teams share lessons learned and findings with the national STEM community to inform policy and practice - occurs each year at the end of the annual ITEST principal investigators meeting in Washington, D.C.

  • Building A Framework for Researching Teacher Change in ITEST Projects

    This review looks to literature on teacher change in science and technology education. We address the following question: How do science and technology teacher professional development programs define and describe changes in teaching beliefs and practices that lead to the effective implementation of sophisticated science and technology into formal classroom teaching?

  • Connecting Informal STEM Experiences to Career Choices: Identifying the Pathway

    The focus of this literature review is out-of-school time activities in informal environments, a “vastly understudied” set of experiences (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development 1992), and the role these experiences can have in shaping the direction of youth to pursue STEM careers.

  • Design-based Research: A Framework for Designing and Sustaining Novel Teaching and Learning Experiences in K-12 Engineering Education

    Presentation by Beverly Parsons and Tirupalavanam Ganesh at the AYS "Building Experience, Building Bridges" conference in October, 2009.

  • Designing Projects for Sustainability

    Presentation by Len Annetta and Bill DeLuca at the Fall 2009 conference "Building Experience, Building Bridges" Conference.

  • Engaging Girls and Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: The Future Workforce

    This report on a webcast hosted by the ITEST Learning Resource Center identifies resources and key success strategies for engaging girls in STEM, offered by an expert panel of speakers from the ITEST community, private sector and research and policy fields.

  • Equity in On-line Professional Development

    InfoBrief: A Guide to E-Learning that Works for Everyone This publication addresses the concept that equity in education refers not only to equal access or equal treatment, but to education that addresses the differing needs of different populations and that produces equitable outcomes, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, and class.

  • Insights and Innovations in STEM Learning

    A new publication series that will share lessons learned from the work of the Learning Resource Center.

  • International Journal of Gender Science and Technology

    GST focuses on gender issues in and of science and technology, including engineering, construction and the built environment, and aims to explore the intersections of policy, practice and research.

  • ITEST Newsletter Issue 1, Fall 2005

    This newsletter is designed to share the exciting work of teachers and students participating in ITEST (Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) projects across the United States. Participating educators and young people work hand in hand with scientists and engineers on extended research projects that carry them beyond the classroom, using technology to explore topics ranging from biotechnology to environmental resource management. In this issue, we spotlight the work of five ITEST projects, highlight upcoming presentations and publications, and link to valuable resources in the field.

  • ITEST Newsletter Issue 2, Spring 2006

    Learn about the many educators and young people who are using cutting-edge technology to support science learning.

  • ITEST Newsletter, Issue 3 / Fall 2006

    Learn more about the ways that ITEST projects use hands-on activities with educators and youth to promote scientific inquiry. The ITEST LRC Newsletter, Issue 3/Fall 2006 includes this feature story plus success stories from three ITEST projects, resources, and LRC news and events.

  • ITEST Presentations at SITE Conference

    ITEST projects presentations and panels at the 2009 SITE conference.

  • ITEST Program Snapshot

    A two-page overview of the importance of the ITest program, project locations, participants and project content.

  • Lessons Learned in Summer Programs

    The LRC asked four ITEST projects a series of questions about technology use and teaching methods in summer program activities in order to capture insights that can inform program design and practices in other ITEST projects and beyond.

  • Marketing Your Program

    Marketing is an essential part of the work of ITEST projects, and affects recruitment, partnerships, sustainability, etc. To support the efforts of fellow ITEST staff, the Eyes in the Sky project presented experiences and ideas about marketing.

  • New Skills, New Experiences; The Future of Learning, Highlights of the ITEST 2005 Symposium

    The Summit Symposium event brought together ITEST project staff and invited external thought leaders. This publication summarizes key points of the panelists for the session on "The Importance of IT & STEM Learning: Behind the ITEST Agenda," and documents dimensions of the ITEST projects' work and impact on learning & careers.

  • Preparing Tomorrow’s STEM Workforce through Exploration, Equity & Engagement: Five Years of Innovative Technology Experiences for Students & Teachers

    The ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) program, now in its sixth year of funding through the National Science Foundation (NSF), is pleased to present Preparing Tomorrow’s STEM Workforce through Exploration, Equity, & Engagement. A product of the ITEST Learning Resource Center (LRC), this series of six articles highlights key themes and lessons learned in the first five years of ITEST. During these years, the LRC—funded by NSF to serve as a central point of coordination and communication across all funded projects—had a unique vantage point from which to observe the pioneering efforts of the projects. In each of the series’ articles, ITEST LRC Principal Investigators (PIs) or key staff members reflect on the program’s progress and outcomes as viewed through the lens of six central themes:
    • “ITEST and Workforce Development,” authored by ITEST LRC PI Joyce Malyn-Smith
    • “Equity and Diversity,” authored by ITEST LRC co-PI Sarita Nair-Pillai
    • “Informal Learning,” authored by ITEST LRC co-PI Tony Streit and Wendy Rivenburgh
    • “ITEST Teacher Professional Development: Distinctive Implementation of Best Practices,” authored by ITEST team member Caroline Parker, with Cathlyn Stylinski, Carla McAuliffe, Marjorie Darrah, Preeti Gupta, and Bercem Akbayin
    • “ITEST Evaluation: It’s About Building Capacity,” authored by ITEST team member Leslie Goodyear
    • “The ITEST Community of Practice: Lessons and Implications,” authored by ITEST Project Director Siobhan Bredin, with Ardice Hartry

    As described in this last article “The ITEST Community of Practice: Lessons and Implications,” one of the greatest strengths of the ITEST program has been the burgeoning and vibrant ITEST community. This community includes the LRC, NSF program officers, PIs and staff of funded projects, and other key stakeholders. As this community expands, the knowledge sharing, collaboration, and synthesis of ideas also grows. The LRC has witnessed kernels of ideas begun in “working groups” become collaborative research projects; we have shepherded the ability of emeritus PIs to mentor new PIs; and we have created unique opportunities for researchers to collaborate and learn from each other.

    In the spirit of this collaboration, the LRC is introducing Preparing Tomorrow’s STEM Workforce through Exploration, Equity, & Engagement as a primarily electronic, Web-based “2.0 version” that is attached below. On June 8th, we will enable online dialog and invite ITEST PIs, program staff, and others in the ITEST community of practice to comment on the series. We hope that encouraging ITEST stakeholders to share their thoughts will provide us with an even richer array of project examples, research-based strategies, and other program-related content. Stakeholders’ contributions will strengthen the articles and make the series a collaborative “lessons learned” that reflects the voices and experiences of all members of the community.

  • Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Participants through Community Partnerships and Other Strategies

    In this IdeaBrief, Principal Investigators from three youth-based ITEST projects discuss how community partnerships strengthen their efforts to recruit and retain diverse participants.

  • Round-Up: Learning And Applying STEM & IT Skills In Real-World Contexts

    A publication that compiles resources created and/or collected by the ITEST LRC team.

  • Sixth Annual ITEST/NSF Summit Agenda

    View the Overview and a glance and detailed agenda for the Sixth Annual ITEST/NSF summit.

  • Summer Programs Tips & Tricks

    This IdeaBrief shares tips and tricks from four different ITEST projects around planning and implementing summer programs. This 3-page document summarizes the Web publication on this topic produced by the LRC last fall.

  • Ten years of youth programs at the american museum of natural history: An independent perspective and lessons learned

    Inverness Research
    Authors: Becky Carroll, with assistance from Anita Smith, Barbara Heenan, Heather Mitchell, Mark St. John

    This report includes:

    • A discussion of the theory of action and the rationale that underlies the AMNH youth programs
    • A description of three of the programs that have been offered and the evolution in program design that has taken place over the years
    • A description of the core common features of the programs

    Click the attachment below to read more.

  • The Fun Works

    The Fun Works is a digital library of STEM career development information designed BY middle school students FOR middle school students. It provides easily accessible on-line career development resources and offer interactive services to help diverse populations of middle school students investigate STEM careers in a stimulating on-line environment.

  • The ITEST learning resource center’s online evaluation database: Examples from the collection

    International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 3(1), 51-65
    Leslie Goodyear & Bethany Carlson
    Education Development Center

    The National Science Foundation-funded ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC has developed an online database of instruments for ITEST project level evaluators and researchers to use as they develop measures for their projects. This article details the purpose and development of that database and highlights three instruments from it that represent the kind of evaluation tools archived there. Click the attachment to view the entire article.

  • The Role of Affect in OST's Support of Student Interest in STEM Careers

    Presentation by Gerald Knezek and Rhonda Christensen at the Fall 2009 "Building Experience, Building Bridges" Conference.

  • Tri-IT Newsletter - Volume 1, Number 1

    This summer marked the kickoff of the Tri-Regional Information Technology (Tri-IT) program! Tri-IT or t3 is a fun after-school program for high school girls to learn the latest and greatest technology out there! The program began in June 2009 with 1-week summer camps for girls who had just finished 9th grade. Click the attachment below to read the full newsletter.