STEMworks

STEM Innovator

Impact

STEM Innovator® educators have provided over 62,782 secondary students with the opportunity to engage in the innovation, invention and entrepreneurship process by leveraging partnerships with local and national mentors. A large, multi-year longitudinal research study indicates significant growth in 21st Century Skills (Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication), Innovation and Entrepreneurial Skills and Mindsets (Resilience, Adaptability, Leadership, Teamwork, Grit, Decision Making), and NGSS Science and Engineering Practices. Significant growth persists when data is disaggregated by gender, racial classification, and school demographics. The STEM Innovator® platform assists in closing the achievement gap traditionally found in STEM education. The result is a more diverse pool of students who demonstrate and self-identify as having college and career competencies necessary to persist in STEM education and career fields.

  • Target Audience
    • All Students
    • Teachers/Educational Leaders
    • Females
    • Low Socio-Economic Status
    • Hispanic/Latino
    • Black/African American
    • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
    • American Indian/Alaskan Native
    • English Language Learner
  • Program Type
    • Curriculum/Instructional Materials
    • Teacher Development/Training
    • Hands-on/Project-Based
    • Work Readiness/Employment
    • College Readiness
  • Location
    • Nationwide
  • Grade Level
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    • 11
    • 12

Contact

Dr. Leslie Flynn
Clinical Asst. Professor of STEM Innovation, The University of Iowa

Email ProgramLaunch Website

Accomplished Program has been evaluated and meets the Design Principles for quality.

  • Need Accomplished
  • Evaluation Accomplished
  • Sustainability Developing
  • Replication & Scalability Accomplished
  • Partnerships Accomplished
  • Capacity Accomplished
  • Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
  • STEM Practices Accomplished
  • Inspiration Accomplished
  • Under-Represented Groups Developing

See full results

STEM Innovator® is the best professional development decision I have made.  Our school wanted to create a unique learning model tailored to our community assets.  Our team designed, piloted and pivoted our learning model – within a year!  We continue to evolve as we get feedback from our students and community partners, and as we network and learn from other schools engaged in STEM Innovator®. It is important to me, and also to our administrators and community partners, that STEM Innovator® is research-driven.  I want to know the work students are engaged in is helping them become future ready.

Rick Reinking

Director of Strategic Partnerships/ K-12 STEAM, USPTO NSTI Teacher Ambassador, Spirit Lake, IA Community School District

Design Principles

The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy. Programs must be Accomplished (accomplished) across all Design Principles, or be Developing (developing) in a maximum of three areas.

Overarching Principles

  • Need Accomplished

    Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.

  • Evaluation Accomplished

    Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.

  • Sustainability Developing

    Ensure work is sustainable.

  • Replication & Scalability Accomplished

    Demonstrate replicability and scalability.

  • Partnerships Accomplished

    Create high impact partnerships.

  • Capacity Accomplished

    Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.

STEM Principles

  • Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished

    Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience.

  • STEM Practices Accomplished

    Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.

  • Inspiration Accomplished

    Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.

  • Under-Represented Groups Developing

    Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.

Program Overview

STEM Innovator® professional development empowers educators to design a unique innovation model for their school and district. Educators transform classrooms into incubator spaces where student teams solve real-world problems alongside industry mentors. Students demonstrate future-ready competencies through prototype development while employing the practices of science, engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship. The process prepares students with the skills and mindset to persist in STEM education, pursue STEM careers, and become innovators of the future. Teachers emerge from STEM Innovator® with the capacity to implement the same tools, knowledge, and management strategies used in STEM industry, start-up, college, and university settings. These include Lean Start-up, Design Thinking, Agile, Canvasing, SCRUM, STEM practices, Maker, rapid prototyping, data-driven decision making and collaborative teaming. These innovation strategies provide students opportunities to experience and demonstrate adaptability, failing, resilience, effective communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity- all skills critical for careers of the future, and become the innovators of the future. Educators join an innovative network of professionals who share strategies across schools and leverage local, state and national business and industry partners. During the online and face-to-face professional development educators earn up to 5 graduate credits and qualify for a $975 stipend. Upon completion of STEM Innovator® certification, educators may offer college credit to high school students who submit a STEM Innovator® Portfolio demonstrating industry and college STEM innovation competencies.

Funders and Partners

United States Patent & Trademark Office; STEMconnector; STEMIE Coalition; The Henry Ford Foundation; Lemelson Foundation; The DLR Group; Unity Point Healthcare; State of Iowa Economic Development Funds; Iowa Governor’s STEM Council; Iowa Bio