Summer Center for Climate, Energy, and Environmental Decision Making (SUCCEED)

Science, Technology, and Math (STEM) fields are responsible for more than half of our sustained economic expansion, and over the past 25 years the science and engineering workforce has remained at over 5% of all U.S. jobs. However, America lags behind other nations when it comes to STEM education; globally, American students rank 23th in math and 31st in science. While our youngest students show an interest in STEM subjects, roughly 40% of college students planning to major in STEM switch to other subjects. Women and minorities, 50% and 43% of school-age children, are disproportionally underrepresented in STEM fields (25% and 15%, respectively). Studies show that improved teacher curriculum combined with annual student-centered learning summer programs can promote and sustain student interest in STEM fields. Many STEM fields appear superficially simple, and yet can be truly complex and controversial topics. Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making focuses on two such STEM fields: climate and energy. In 2011, we created SUCCEED: the Summer Center for Climate, Energy, and Environmental Decision Making. SUCCEED consisted of two pilot programs: a 2-day workshop for K-12 teacher professional development and a free 5-day summer school targeted at an age gap in the university's outreach, students entering 10th grade. In addition to teaching lessons climate, energy, and environment, the program aimed to highlight different STEM careers so students could better understand the breadth of choices available. SUCCEED, repeated in 2012, was wildly successful. A pre/post test demonstrated a significant increase in understanding of STEM topics. Furthermore, SUCCEED raised excitement for STEM; teachers were enthusiastic about accurate student-centered learning plans and students wanted to know more. To grow these efforts, an additional component has been added to the SUCCEED 2013 effort: online publicly available curricula. Using the curricula form 2011-2013 as base material, we have been developing online publically available Pennsylvania lesson plans meeting Next Generation Science Standards or Common Core Math Standards. The teacher curricula database will greatly increase our ability to correct misconceptions and fill gaps in lessons taught to thousands of students. This talk will share more about the SUCCEED program and the teacher curricula database efforts.