PK-12 STEM Resources

  • My PBLWorks from Buck Institute: To help schools and districts visualize high-quality PBL in the classroom, the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) has videos showcasing PBL projects from K–12 schools nationwide, including several STEM-themed projects. The projects employ BIE’s research-based Gold Standard PBL model, which emphasizes student learning goals and the incorporation of Essential Project Design Elements (a challenging problem, sustained inquiry, reflection, critique and revision, student voice and choice, and a public product). Teachers can view videos of successful PBL projects that feature teacher interviews and actual classroom footage and highlight projects from a range of grade levels, settings, and subject areas, including STEM.
  • National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP): The NGCP brings together organizations throughout the United States that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The goals of NGCP are maximize access to shared resources within projects, and with public and private sector organizations and institutions interested in expanding girls’ participation in STEM, strengthen capacity of existing and evolving projects by sharing exemplary practice research and program models, outcomes, and products, and use the leverage of a network and the collaboration of individual girl-serving STEM programs to create the tipping point for gender equity in STEM.
  • National Science Foundation (NSF) Resources for STEM Education: NSF research and development projects have produced a rich array of principles, materials,and practitioner insights that are helpful guides to improved preparation and professional development of STEM teachers. The following examples illustrate the range of ideas and products available from that work.
  • Spark101: Students learn how real challenges are addressed in business, government, nonprofits, and academic institutions. Professionals from our employer partners guide them to develop solutions and understand the careers. Spark 101 is a program of the 114th Partnership, a national non-profit organization that ensures productive partnerships between educators and employers that connect classwork to professional pathways so that all students graduate from school prepared for college and career.
  • Stairway to STEM: Stairway to STEM is an online resource for autistic students, their parents, and post-secondary STEM instructors. Our mission is to help autistic students realize their capacity for success as they transition to college environments and beyond. We support student confidence, resiliency, and self-advocacy. The goal of the project is to produce tools and events designed to build awareness of academic and employer-based STEM programs among autistic individuals as well as promote existing evidence-based practices to an expanded community of educational institutions, autistic students, and their families and employers.
  • STEAM at Work 4 Kids: A collection of profiles of professionals in STEAM fields. Each one includes background and links to videos and resources that are related to the person’s field. This is regularly updated.
  • STEMWorks at WestEd: STEMworks is a searchable online honor roll of high-quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs. STEMworks helps companies, states, and individuals make smart investments in their communities by evaluating and cataloging programs that meet rigorous and results-driven design principles.