This book helps teachers plan STEM initiatives. It features the inside stories of 24 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs that both connect with the Next Generation Science Standards and lead to successful student learning. It highlights programs for all age levels and in a variety of settings—traditional classrooms, charter and magnet schools, informal education programs, and after-school and summer activities. It is a valuable resource for teachers, school administrators, district science coordinators or anyone else charged with planning STEM programs.

Includes index.

1: STEM Starters: An Effective Model for Elementary Teachers and Students -- 2: Science in Our Backyard: How a School is Turning Its Grounds Into a Living Lab -- 3: Promoting STEM Practices for All Students -- 4: STEMRAYS: After-School STEM Research Clubs -- 5: STEM Education in the Middle School Classroom -- 6: Introducing STEM to Middle School Students: A World of Excitement and Inquiry -- 7: STEM Challenges and Academic Successes -- 8: Middle School Engineering Education -- 9: STEM Literacy through Science Journalism: Driving and Communicating Along the Information Highway -- 10: Urban STEM: Watch It Grow! -- 11: Ecology Disrupted: A Model Approach to STEM Education That Brings Ecology, Daily Life Impact, and Scientific Evidence Together in Secondary School Science Classrooms -- 12: Mission Biotech: Using Technology to Support Learner Engagement in STEM -- 13: Learning Genetics at the Nexus of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) -- 14: STEM Education in the Science Classroom: A Critical Examination of Mathematics Manifest in Science Teaching and Learning -- 15: Mixed-Reality Labs: Combining Sensors and Simulations to Improve STEM Education -- 16: Integrating Interdisciplinary STEM Approaches for Meaningful Student Learning -- 17: Building TECHspertise: Enhancing STEM Teaching and Learning With Technology -- 18: Rolly Pollies, Bubbles, and Wheelies: Inquiry STEM in the Early Childhood Classroom -- 19: A State STEM Initiative Takes Root, Blossoms -- 20: Like a Scientist: Using Problem-Based Learning to Connect Practice With Content in STEM Education -- 21: Integrating Technology and Engineering in a STEM Context -- 22: RIP~ing Through STEM -- 23: Developing STEM Site-Based Teacher and Administrator Leadership -- 24: Integrating Science and Engineering in the Elementary Classroom -- Endword: STEM Successes and Continuing Challenges.