The Do-I-Yourself Guide o STEM Communiy Engagemen How o Build Susainable Educaion Innovaion in Your Communiy Firs Ediion 2012 This guide was creaed by NC STEM Communiy Collaboraive wih he N.C. Deparmen of Public Insrucion and Norh Carolina s Career & College: Ready, Se, Go! iniiaive. Auhors: Akua Carraway Karl Recanus Mark Ezzell Layou & Design: NGC Communicaions Released for use for Norh Carolina communiies and beyond hrough a Creaive Commons License. Permissions beyond he scope of his license may be available a hps://www.ncsem.org/news-and-evens/accepable-use-policy.hml.
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION... 2 Wha o Expec?...2 Why STEM Educaion?...2 Why STEM Communiy Engagemen?...2 Who Should Use This Guide?...4 How o Use This Guide?...4 Wha is he Engineering Design Process and how does i inform his work?...5 Communiy Engagemen: Building Buzz & Message...6 Module 1: Communiy Engagemen... 7 Wha o expec in his module?...7 Timeline...7 Inroducion o Communiy Engagemen...7 Progress Indicaors...8 Phases of Communiy Engagemen...9 Building a STEM Leadership Team...9 Assessing Communiy Readiness...12 STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer...13 SWOT Analysis/Asse Mapping...15 Communiy Engagemen: Finding Hidden Asses - Posiive Deviance...17 In Pracice: Communiy Engagemen...18 CASE STUDY: Go STEM? Goes Viral in Lenoir Couny, N.C....18 CASE STUDY: STEM Video Challenge in Davie Couny N.C....19 Module 2: Communiy Visioning... 20 Wha o expec in his module?...20 Timeline...20 Wha is Communiy Visioning?...20 A Quesion of Resources...22 Progress Indicaors...23 Phases of Communiy Visioning...24 Developing a Vision Saemen...24 In Pracice: Forune 500 Vision Saemen Samples...25 In Pracice: STEM Communiy Vision Saemen Samples...26 Planning a Communiy Kick-Off...27 1
Communiy Kick-Off...28 In Pracice: Communiy Visioning...29 Communiy Engagemen Focus: Your Blog...29 Module 3: Innovaion Design... 30 Wha o expec in his module?...30 Timeline...30 Inroducion o Innovaion Design...30 Progress Indicaors...34 Phases of Innovaion Design...35 Developing a Educaion Innovaion Design Plan...35 Communiy Charee Process...37 Criical Design Review...38 Commimen o Innovaion...40 Communiy Engagemen Focus: Small Evens, Big Impac...42 In Pracice: Innovaion Design...43 Teacher s don have o leave o learn : STEM Cell Infusion Davie Couny, N.C....43 Lenoir Couny STEM Hub: Lenoir Couny, N.C....43 Module 4: Business Planning and Implemenaion... 44 Wha o expec in his module?...44 Timeline...44 Inroducion o Business Planning and Implemenaion...44 Progress Indicaors...45 Phases of Business Planning and Implemenaion...46 Developing Your Business and Implemenaion Plan...46 Funding Your Plan...48 Launching Your Innovaion...50 In Pracice: Business Planning and Implemenaion...51 Measuring Success: Collaboraive Scorecard...54 References... 56 Acknowledgemens... 56 Appendix... 57 Glossary of Terms... 58 2
INTRODUCTION Wha o Expec? This Do-I-Yourself Guide o STEM Communiy Engagemen will provide schools, disrics, and local communiy organizaions wih self-guided ools o engage a broad communiy of sakeholders in susainable educaion innovaion. This guide and relaed ools are informed by numerous researched sources and successful implemenaions in Norh Carolina communiies - some of which are highlighed in his resource. These communiies successfully implemened and improved upon NC STEM Communiy Collaboraive s Communiy Visioning & Design Process since 2008 o he evoluion of he STEM Communiy Engagemen Process you see here mapped ou for you oday. Why STEM Educaion? STEM is he foundaion for: Producing criical hinkers, innovaors and problem-solvers Connecing classroom lessons o real-world problems Encouraging inquiry and collaboraive learning College and career readiness Fosering cross-secor parnerships ha provide informal learning opporuniies Why STEM Communiy Engagemen? Science, Technology, Engineering and Mahemaics (STEM) skills are criical o Norh Carolina s presen and fuure prosperiy. Across he Unied Saes, growh in radiional STEM elds are expeced o be he fases-growing employmen secors. Georgeown Universiy s Cener for Workforce and Educaion has oulined ha he Unied Saes educaion sysems are no producing enough STEM-capable sudens o keep up wih radiional STEM-capable secors or oher secors across he economy ha demand similar skills. Norh Carolina re ecs hese broader U.S. rends. Even for sudens no pursuing STEM-relaed careers, responsible ciizenship oday requires a foundaion of solid STEM educaion; be i engaging in healh care, undersanding environmenal sewardship, undersanding curren geopoliics, or explaining global opporuniies and crises. Unforunaely, our communiies are unable o mee he needs of such high-ech jobs due o our sudens lacking hese skills. Mainaining our scieni c and echnological leadership is essenial o our economy, our naional securiy, and our fuure. Change begins in our communiies. STEM Communiy Engagemen is based on he Communiy Visioning and Design Process (CVP) developed by NC STEM and is a viable soluion o bridging he gap beween our educaion pipeline and he needs of oday s workforce. 3
Through his engagemen process, a STEM Communiy brings ogeher local communiy leaders o develop a longrange plan o improve STEM educaion in heir local schools. This sep-by-sep guide is a proven mehod for engaging all secors of he communiy in visualizing, planning, and building groundbreaking educaion e ors ha mirror he area s economic needs. This process will help push innovaion furher faser by invesing in local communiies and linking hem wih he bes resources in Norh Carolina and beyond. The STEM Communiy Engagemen process develops a long-range plan o improve STEM educaion by bringing ogeher a diverse group of communiy members o plan, design, and creae innovaive changes in how we each and learn. Naional research, educaion bes pracices, engineering design processes, and oher communiy engagemen proocols have informed he developmen of he phases, aciviies and milesones of he process. All sakeholders in hese e ors are uni ed by 5 Design Principles o drive he work: Equiable: Make STEM lieracy and economic opporuniy aainable for ALL sudens. Scalable & Susainable: Drive educaional innovaion and economic alignmen in a coordinaed and mehodical way. Innovaive: Give communiies he ools needed for ransformaive changes o STEM educaion. STEM-Focused: Empower and suppor a culure ha nurures and suppors innovaive STEM professionals, and brings businesses, schools, nonpro s, and oher communiy insiuions ogeher o prepare sudens and communiies for 21s cenury jobs. Collaboraive: Develop a saewide nework for STEM excellence hrough local, sae, and naional neworks and evidence-based research. 4
Over he pas hree years, he STEM Communiy Engagemen process has helped ve communiies hroughou he sae wih posiive oucomes including susained local engagemen, muliple small and large educaion innovaions, increase nework behavior, policy change, and cross-secor invesmens. Who Should Use This Guide? Simply pu, YOU anyone wih a desire o impac heir local communiy and economy hrough educaion innovaion. This guide is inended o unie schools, disrics, communiies, and ohers focusing on communiy engagemen for creaing 21s cenury educaion for all kids. This guide was designed for eams o implemen. However, wheher you are a single individual or a group, you ll nd he ools, process, and suppor o creae STEM innovaion in your communiy. How o Use This Guide? There are wo ways o use his Guide: (1) self-direced - he guide gives you everyhing you need o do-i-yourself or (2) faciliaed - working wih an engaged, bu imparial faciliaor. Based on prior work in Norh Carolina communiies, we recommend a faciliaed process for deep engagemen, which includes on-he-ground delivery of argeed area experise and/or STEM conen. This guide is made up of four modules: Communiy Engagemen, Communiy Visioning, Innovaion Design and Business Planning, and Implemenaion. Each module includes deailed documenaion of he phases and milesones and embedded links of sample presenaions, workshees and oher useful maerials. Despie sequenial forma of his guide, each module has he poenial o serve as an independen resource as he needs and objecive(s) for each communiy likely will be di eren. The following icons will be useful as you use his ool highlighing valuable de niions, ips and links o maerials: GRAPHIC PLACEHOLDER Highlighs vial STEM aribues in he ex Provides supplemenal ips and informaion Progress Indicaors o gauge growh during he process 5
Wha is he Engineering Design Process & how does i inform his work? The Engineering Design Process is a cyclical mehod by which new, soluion-oriened developmens are creaed. Some version of he process is used by companies like Apple and IDEO o creae new echnology, or engineering rms o design bridges or compuer chips, or even sudens compeing in roboics compeiions. For he purposes of his guide, we will uilize he process provided by N.C. Sae Universiy College of Engineering. This ve-sep process consisenly helps us o ask quesions, plan, do, re ne, and ask again. Take noe, his is somehing you will do in every module. The Engineering Design Process builds criical- hinking skills o form new ideas o creae innovaive soluions - ask quesions, plan, do, re ne and ask again. ASK IMPROVE Improve Wha can make i beer? Module 1: Communiy Engagemen Ask wha is he Problem? Wha are he consrains? IMAGINE Module 2: Visioning Brainsorm ideas Choose he bes one CREATE PLAN Module 4: Implemenaion Follow he plan Tes i ou! Module 3: EIDP Draw a diagram Consider maerials Engineering Design Process A Series of Seps ha Leads o he Developmen of a New Produc or Sysem susainabiliy of your communiy innovaion. Afer you improve your design once, you migh 6
Communiy Engagemen Never Sops Each module will have a secion dedicaed o furher engaging your communiy in he process; because heir ownership breeds your innovaion s susainabiliy. I s criical o build a buzz in your communiy abou your exciing work. I s criical o idenify he core message(s) ha will open your communiy s hears and minds. I s no criical o ell people everyhing because you don know everyhing. I s no criical o ell hem where you re going because you don know ye. I s criical o le hem know hey have a say in where your communiy is going. 7
MODULE 1: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Wha o expec in his module? In his module your communiy will: Deermine readiness of a communiy o engage in he STEM Communiy Engagemen Process Undersand he funcion and composiion of a STEM Collaboraive Leadership Team Recognize he immediae and long-erm bene s of developing cross-secor communiy engagemen Acquire knowledge of he resources available o engage your communiy o impac STEM and economics Timeline STEM Leadership Team STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer Communiy Assessmen SWOT Analysis/ Asse Map Inroducion o Communiy Engagemen Communiies play a unique and vial role in he developmen of equiable and susainable innovaion. Engaging a communiy and is members in is own fuure provides ferile ground for new ideas, and he opporuniy for broad ownership of he ideas and plans ha are adoped. Key communiy sakeholders do no always serve as public o cials, business ians or even communiy leaders. By idenifying a diverse sampling o suppor and engage in he design process, a communiy is more likely o have a pah of more impacful and susainable innovaions. While his guide is self-paced, remember ha you are building a broad coaliion of suppor o susain your ongoing e ors. Communiy Engagemen, he rs phase of he STEM Communiy Engagemen Process, can be compleed over a six-monh period wih posiive resuls. The ve sages of Communiy Engagemen include: Communiy Research, Leers of Suppor, STEM Leadership Team Developmen, Communiy Orienaion, and SWOT Analysis. This prescripive series of aciviies and asks are inended o assess he readiness of he communiy, esablish he STEM leadership eam for he iniiaive, and engage communiy leaders and members in he process. Broad, diverse communiy engagemen increases your abiliy o in uence sae policy, connec wih valuable experise, and access resources and asses o move STEM educaion and economic developmen furher, faser. Prior o he onse of his process i is vial ha you idenify a faciliaor, wheher i is a leader wihin he communiy or an independen hird pary. This leader or organizaion will guide he engagemen, design and implemenaion of your innovaion. In his module you will nd he Communiy Engagemen phase in an ouline forma including he purpose, ools, maerials, and acion iems. 8
Use his module o guide your communiy engagemen aciviies. Each phase of communiy engagemen (STEM Leadership Team, Communiy Assessmen, STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer and SWOT Analysis/Asse Map) includes he goal, objecives, maerials, and acion iems you will need. Remember engaging your communiy in he decisions for he fuure is vial o susainable change and success. You will coninue o do his hrough all modules of his process. Progress Indicaors Module Phase Sof : Qualiaive Progress Indicaors Hard : Quaniaive Communiy Engagemen Building a STEM Leadership Team Core Oucome Build a STEM Leadership Team of cross-secor leaders ha will guide he communiy hrough he vision, design and implemenaion of an educaion innovaion. Assessing Communiy Readiness Core Oucome Assess he readiness of a communiy snapsho of aribues and resources ha poenially add value or presen a challenge during engagemen. STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer Core Oucome Inform communiy leaders seleced o serve on he STEM Leadership Team of he purpose and funcion of he engagemen process. SWOT Analysis/ Asse Mapping Core Oucome Idenify communiy asses and deermine poenial barriers o success. q Faciliaors of he STEM Leadership Team have been ideni ed and have he abiliy o lead a cross-secor group hrough he engagemen process q Communiy leaders ideni ed o serve on he STEM Leadership Team have he capaciy o ful ll all oulined roles/responsibiliies q Concree communicaions plan is esablished o manage inernal and exernal communicaion pahways q Clear evidence of an economic imperaive and/ or cluser of innovaion ha highlighs insances he communiy has mapped is needs o innovaive soluions q Daa poins generaed from inerview responses esablish a baseline for a communiy s capaciy o engage in his process q Leadership Team is knowledgeable abou STEM Engagemen process and ools q Esablish Leadership Team norms; sandards by which eam members agree o operae - meeing schedules, rules of engagemen, ec. q Asse map ha oulines local resources highlighing asses from all secors wihin he communiy q Targeed sraegies o pursue opporuniies aligned wih srenghs of communiy q Sraegic plan o overcome weaknesses o pursue opporuniies q Targeed sraegies o build on srenghs ha reduce poenial roadblocks q Sraegic plan o preven weaknesses from hindering progress q A leas 15 design eam members wih represenaives from all appropriae secors q A minimum, a quorum presen a all meeings and evens q A minimum, bi-weekly communicaion o send updaes, follow-up on acion iems, or seup fuure meeings/evens q Evidence of a leas one economic imperaive in communiy/region q Evidence of a leas one innovaion cluser wih in communiy/region q Inerview one represenaive from each secor o gauge readiness of communiy from a varied number of perspecives q A minimum, a quorum of he STEM Leadership Team presen a STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer q A minimum, one represenaive from each secor presen a STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer responsible for communicaing wih general communiy populaion q Invenory of a leas 10 exising asses and poenial opporuniies from he perspecive of each secor q Invenory of a leas ve exising weaknesses and poenial hreas from he perspecive of each secor 9
Phases of Communiy Engagemen Building a STEM Leadership Team Where Are You Now? STEM Leadership Team STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer Communiy Assessmen SWOT Analysis/ Asse Map Goal: To build a STEM Leadership Team of cross-secor leaders ha will guide he communiy hrough he phases of he STEM Communiy Engagemen Process. Overview: Your communiy s STEM Leadership Team is responsible for guiding he communiy hrough he STEM Communiy Engagemen Process. To ensure widespread represenaion of communiy needs, i is imperaive he leadership eam be diverse represening he following secors: Direc Business, Economic Developmen Business, Communiy College, K-12 public school sysem or local educaion agency, Insiuion(s) of Higher Educaion, Communiy Organizaion(s), Governmen/Policy, and oher eniies ideni ed as criical communiy parners ( healh care, corporae, chamber, media, ec.). To ensure breadh and reach of your e ors in he communiy, idenify leading decision makers in educaion, policy, and business o serve on STEM Leadership Team. Ideally, he STEM Leadership Team will have a collecive abiliy o: Communicae he ineress of he communiy hey represen In uence he opinion of he communiy a-large Mainain seady and prominen leadership hroughou he enirey of he process Envision communiy growh hrough innovaion Bring sa ng o he endeavor (abiliy o sa e ecively) Acively paricipae in idenifying echnical approaches and problem soluions Idenify echnical assisance needs and communicae hose needs for suppor alignmen Design and coordinae all meeings, deermine objecives, prepare agendas, and con rm aendees 10
Maerials/Tools: STEM Leadership Team Composiion graphic STEM Leadership Team Informaion Workshee Roles & Responsibiliies of Leadership Team When developing STEM Leadership Team for muli-communiy engagemen, idenify leaders from each communiy in K-12, governmen/policy, direc business, and regional leaders in oher secors. This will resul in a larger leadership eam han displayed in his graphic. 11
Acion Iems Faciliaor Leadership Team Communiy a-large Acion Iem 9 Idenify individuals/cross-secor groups in he communiy o serve as a seering commiee for STEM Communiy Engagemen 9 Pu ogeher a cross-secor STEM Leadership Team ha aligns wih Leadership Team composiion recommendaions 9 Conac Leadership Team members, provide hem wih reference maerials and invie hem o paricipae in an informaion session 9 Lead informaion session(s) wih communiy leaders o communicae funcion and composiion of a STEM Leadership Team Discuss and assign assumed roles and responsibiliies of hose on STEM Leadership Team Record deails (conac informaion, secor deails and assumed role) of leadership and disribue wihin eam Assess gaps in experise and coninue o idenify, engage, and secure oher leaders in he communiy for STEM Leadership Team (may be necessary hroughou engagemen as a variey of needs arise) 12
Assessing Communiy Readiness Where Are You Now? STEM Leadership Team STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer Communiy Assessmen SWOT Analysis/ Asse Map Goal: To deermine readiness of a communiy o engage in he STEM Communiy Engagemen Process. Overview: Ensuring ha he subsanial changes o your communiy Communiy assessmen is vial when are susainable, here has o be a level of readiness. The ools engaging muliple communiies in provided herein will guide you in he process of assessing your his process. Idenifying key characerisics communiy s readiness and idenifying gaps in preparaion. is criical o impacing insiuional change and developmen. Characerisics of a communiy ready o engage in his process include an exising or emerging economic imperaive, diverse populaions, leadership engaged in bridging educaion o he economy, and some hisory of insiuional innovaion and geographic diversiy. Maerials/Tools: NC STEM Readiness Assessmen Tool Acion Iems Faciliaor 9 9 Leadership Team Communiy a-large 9 Acion Iem Idenify individuals/cross-secor groups in he communiy o paricipae in Communiy Assessmen aciviies Survey/inerview communiy sakeholders using he Readiness Assessmen Tool Collec and analyze communiy daa; providing insigh ino he rused communicaors, gaekeepers, and ohers who migh be considered for deeper involvemen 9 Receive and record leers of suppor as submied by communiy Collec and submi leers of cross-secor suppor for he STEM collaboraive from leadership, organizaions, and ciizens 13
STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer Where Are You Now? STEM Leadership Team STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer Communiy Assessmen SWOT Analysis/ Asse Map Goal: To share he purpose of he STEM Communiy Engagemen process wih he communiy leaders seleced o serve on he STEM Leadership Team. Overview: A he conclusion, session paricipans will: Undersand he STEM Communiy Engagemen Process and is capaciy o acivae innovaion wihin a STEM Communiy Undersand he funcion/composiion of a STEM Leadership Team Recognize he immediae and long-erm bene s of developing deep and diverse cross-secor communiy engagemen Prepare o paricipae in STEM Communiy Engagemen Process Maerials/Tools STEM Communiy Engagemen Arrow Timeline of Evens Agenda and Objecives Primer Slide Deck 14
Acion Iems Faciliaor Leadership Team Communiy a-large Acion Iem Receive and record leers of suppor as submied by communiy Conference call wih communiy leaders o convey purpose of even and recommendaions of inviees 9 Selec and con rm locaion of Primer 9 Send inviaions o inviees 9 Prepare conen o be delivered; slide deck wih noes and narraive 9 Prepare agenda and objecives 9 Send inviaions o inviees Record RSVPs and develop a lis of con rmed aendees 9 Con rm logisics 9 Send reminder email o aendees o con rm locaion, aach agenda, objecives and maerials 9 Faciliae STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer 9 Hold a Primer Even 9 Record meeing minues and archive for laer reference 9 Disribue all noes and highlighs of key decisions o all paricipans Esablish nex meeing dae and locaion 15
SWOT Analysis/Asse Mapping Where Are You Now? STEM Leadership Team STEM Communiy Engagemen Primer Communiy Assessmen SWOT Analysis/ Asse Map Goal: To deermine communiy asses and idenify poenial barriers o success. Overview: Innovaion and compeiive sraegy begin wih he assessmen of he communiy s inernal capabiliies and exernal environmen. This process is known as SWOT (Srenghs, Weaknesses, Opporuniies and Threas). A SWOT analysis can o er helpful perspecives a any sage of he STEM e or. The goal is o produce an acion plan o suppor wha works, change wha doesn, seize opporuniies, and minimize he hreas your STEM e or. You migh use SWOT o: Idenify communiy asses and challenges regarding he STEM e or Help a new group (such as he STEM Leadership Team)o focus on developing heir mission and sraegies Explore possibiliies for new STEM e ors as soluions o exising problems Make decisions abou he bes pah for your STEM iniiaive; idenifying your opporuniies for success in conex of hreas o success may help clarify direcions and choices Deermine where change is possible. SWOT may help ake an invenory of your srenghs and weaknesses and reveal prioriies as well as possibiliies for advancing STEM in your communiy Adjus and re ne plans mid-course; a new opporuniy for STEM innovaion may open wider avenues, while a new hrea may close a pah ha once exised O er a simple way of communicaing abou your STEM iniiaive and an e ecive sraegy for organizing informaion you ve gahered from surveys or evens, such as a STEM Communiy Kick-O Even 16
Maerials/Tools SWOT Analysis Templae Acion Iems Faciliaor Leadership Team Communiy a-large Acion Iem 9 Inroduce SWOT Analysis emplae o collec daa Schedule a leadership meeing o complee SWOT Analysis, secure logisics, agenda, and maerials 9 Provide echnical assisance during daa collecion 9 & ^ Kd D Compile daa ino a comprehensive SWOT Analysis Analyze, record, and share oucomes of he SWOT Analysis; barriers o success and opporuniies wihin he communiy Develop a sraegic plan o remove barriers o success and use opporuniies wihin he communiy 17
Communiy Engagemen: Finding Hidden Asses - Posiive Deviance Communiy Engagemen is vial o he discovery of he unapped alens, experise, and resources ha exis wihin your communiy. This process of revealing and opimizing exising soluions or sraegies wihin your communiy and posiively impacing behavior and social change is de ned as Posiive Deviance. Researchers have observed his behavior in povery sricken communiies in Vienam where a subgroup of he communiy was able o nd a soluion o childhood malnuriion despie facing similar challenges and lack of resources of heir peers. I has been concluded from he applicaion of Posiive Devian mehodology ha he focus on pracice raher han knowledge has proven o be a key elemen in bringing abou lasing behavioral change across he range of issues. The lesson o learn here is ha posiively devian behavior in your communiy can be an invaluable resource while sraegically designing soluions o impac educaion and he economy. As you progress hrough his process, seek ou insances of Posiive Deviance and make e ors o replicae, duplicae, and scale hem for broader communiy improvemen. For more informaion on posiive deviance, read The Vienam Sory Posiive Deviance. 18
In Pracice: Communiy Engagemen The following highlighs a successful engagemen sraegy in a Norh Carolina STEM Communiy CASE STUDY: campaign goes viral in Lenoir Couny, N.C. STEM Eas in Lenoir Couny was developed by a group of ciizens ineresed in developing STEM resources in Easern Norh Carolina. Lenoir Couny is home o approximaely 60,000 residens, and Lenoir Couny Public Schools serves approximaely 10,000 sudens. The couny demographics are similar o many Easern Norh Carolina communiies wih signi can povery and educaional and economic challenges. STEM Eas worked wih NC STEM on plans o leverage heir exising local asses especially hose cenered around Spiri Aerosysems and Global TransPark o increase he real-world experience of eachers in several local school disrics including Jones, Craven, Wayne, and Lenoir counies. They also coninue o develop innovaive learning ools, such as a regional STEM hub, ha can serve Easern Norh Carolina sudens and eachers. The erm STEM quickly became a household name in his communiy in a few shor monhs. The success of his communiy engagemen belongs o he Go STEM? campaign a muli-plaform markeing sraegy ha e ecively engaged all communiy sakeholders in STEM e ors. The Leadership Team designed a logo o imprin on yard signs, bumper sickers, and pins. They ook advanage of local media oules such as newspapers, blogs and he school disric websie. The phrase Go STEM? made appearances a local fairs, meeings, and evens i essenially became a viral phenomenon hroughou Lenoir Couny, evenually moving ino oher areas of he sae. As a resul of hese e ors, STEM Eas has involved more han 800 people and numerous naional, sae, and local organizaions commied o making sysemaic changes in STEM educaion and fosering economic growh around STEM jobs. In addiion, he group has received housands of dollars from privae funders including a $350,000 gran hrough Spiri Aerosysems and The Golden LEAF Foundaion. 19
CASE STUDY: STEM Video Challenge in Davie Couny N.C. Wih approximaely 40,000 residens, Davie Couny is locaed in he Piedmon Triad economic developmen region of Norh Carolina. The couny akes pride in is scenic seing while sill having access o indusrial hubs. I was chosen by NC STEM because of signi can evidence in innovaion, local parnerships, and a desire o prepare sudens for educaion and economic demands of he fuure, speci cally in he biomedical elds. The Leadership Team in Davie Couny furher engaged heir communiy by developing a STEM blog ha serves as a poral for all STEM-relaed evens, updaes, and news. Managed by a eam ideni ed by he leadership, he conen is updaed on a regular basis re ecing he ever-changing and evolving work in he communiy. One of he more successful uses of he blog was he launch of a couny-wide video cones geared oward sudens and eachers. The following blog pos explained he challenge: Why STEM is Cool! Do you hink STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mah) is cool? Do you wan o share your passion for STEM wih ohers? Here is your chance o inspire housands of people o be more curious, and o care abou STEM he way you do: creae a shor video ha explores he quesion Why STEM is Cool? We were seeking videos ha are creaive, surprising, and conagious in erms of spreading your enhusiasm abou STEM o ohers. Videos migh explore a STEM concep, show us he wonders of naure, give us a glimpse ino he fuure, show us wha scieni c discovery has done for us in he pas or will do for us in he fuure, inroduce us o a grea scienis or engineer, ell us why you hink STEM is so cool or simply show us why we should care abou STEM in Davie Couny. Enries Due: December 12h 2010. In a monh, hey received 45 enries from sudens ranging from elemenary o high school. Due o he qualiy of he submissions, judges were unable o idenify jus one op conesan and decided o give prizes o a winning video in four caegories (elemenary, middle school, high school, and eacher). Each winner received an ipod. Need more informaion on creaing your blog? Visi he Davie STEM Blog a www.daviecounystem.com. 20
MODULE 2: COMMUNITY VISIONING Wha o expec in his module? / x ^d D x E x / x h ^d D W Timeline Developing a Vision Saemen Communiy Kick-O Planning a Communiy Kick-O Wha is Communiy Visioning? Communiy Visioning is a process hrough which a communiy s voice is heard, documened, and used o jump sar acion. Your communiy s vision should clearly capure your realisic aspiraions while aligning wih he core values and principles of he communiy. I is essenially he answer o: Wha aspiraions do you have for he world in which you operae and have in uence over? Why is i imporan? Developing a vision saemen lays he foundaion ha will ulimaely guide he design and implemenaion of your innovaion, an essenial process ha clearly de nes he purpose and core values ha ciizens of he communiy are commied o. Esablishing his vision early impacs communiy buy-in and accounabiliy, which direcly correlaes o he susainabiliy of his iniiaive. Building a srong foundaion hrough he developmen of your vision saemen direcly impacs your abiliy o move your STEM e ors furher, faser. 21
A few quesions o consider while visioning include: Wha would you like educaion o look like in your communiy 10 years from now? How will your communiy prepare is children for college, work and life now and in he fuure? Wha new ways of hinking will be required for your communiy o achieve his vision? Wha can you do now o begin his shif in mind-se? Who should we engage now o faciliae his oucome? Wha is your heory of acion (such as posiive deviance, communiy neworks)? How will you engage in he ongoing process of idenifying communiy connecors? How will you engage your communiy in he design process relaed o your educaion innovaion? Where are your communiy srenghs and leverage poins? Are hey agreed upon? Wha ypes of needs will your communiy s vision require? Wha are some poenial sources o provide for hose needs? Who can help you obain he resources? Wha obsacles do you anicipae? Wha daa do you need now o make informed decisions abou he fuure? VISION Ideology - wha we sand for & why we exis Envisioned Fuure - wha we aspire o become, achieve, creae 22
A Quesion of Resources During a beer ime for our economy, he adage If you build i, hey will come described he suppor of valuable communiy e ors, especially hose ha impaced educaion. However, amids challenging budge de cis and cus, mos communiies increasingly are concerned wih how o suppor opporuniies o educae sudens and impac he local economy. So how do you secure resources for Communiy Engagemen in a challenging environmen? Our answer is innovaion, parnerships and engagemen, all which require a more proacive sraegy han ever before. There are wo choices: 1. Wai unil resources presen hemselves and mee he requiremens ha come wih hose resources, or 2. Decide wha you are willing o commi o now and and for how long. We sugges No. 2 as he logical sep. Remember, commiing o design somehing worhwhile for your communiy is no he same as commiing o build i, buy i, or make i a realiy. By commiing now o design somehing wih broad communiy suppor keeps an achievable goal in mind while also keeping doors open o fuure resource parners. Available resources can ake on many di eren forms like re-allocaion of exising funds, new funding, or innovaive parnerships, jus o name a few. We will address resourcing your educaion innovaion laer, bu recommend you keep his a he forefron of your mind hroughou his guide. Progress Indicaors Module Communiy Visioning Phase Develop a Visioning Saemen Core Oucome: Vision Saemen ha capures he communiy's vision for he fuure of STEM educaion and economic developmen in heir communiy Planning a Communiy Kick-o Core Oucome: Plan a Communiy Kick-o Even ailored o he needs of your communiy and successfully capuring he communiy voice for he fuure Communiy Kick-o Core Oucome: Provide an opporuniy for he communiy-alarge o learn abou he new iniiaive and share heir vision for he fuure Communiy Engagemen Focus: Your Blog Core Oucome: Furher engage he communiy-a-large by way of echnology websies, blogs, ec Sof : Qualiaive Indicaors q Leadership Team members undersand he visioning process and are ready o engage he communiy a-large q Communiy vision saemen ha is equiable, scalable & susainable, innovaive, sem-focused and collaboraive q Clear oulook on wha success looks like in en years? q Comprehensive Communiy Kick-o implemenaion plan oulines objecives, logisics, forma, ec q Knowledgeable Leadership Team prepared o engage he communiy a-large in he visioning process q Aendance of diverse communiy members ha are deeply engaged in he visioning process by openly share heir aspiraions for he fuure q Comprehensive analysis of he daa colleced a communiy kick-o even o capure he general communiy voice q Communiy Kick-o daa analyzed in a imely manner in order o impac he vision saemen q Revised vision saemen ha addresses key ndings from he Communiy Kick-o q Virual ools (websie, blog, wier, facebook, ec) ha share updaes and inform communiy of iniiaive q Managemen eam ideni ed o supervise and updae conen Hard : Quaniaive q One shared vision for he fuure of he communiy s children and economy q A minimum, hree communicaions o communiy-alarge regarding he communiy kick-o even save-he dae, inviaion, reminder(s) q One represenaive from each secor presen a he communiy kick-o even uniy members ha paricipaed in even q Increased web ra c increasing number of web his following analysis over a period of ime (day, week, monh) 23
Phases of Communiy Visioning Developing a Vision Saemen Where Are You Now? Developing a Vision Saemen Communiy Kick-O Planning a Communiy Kick-O Goal: To develop a vision saemen ha capures he fuure of STEM educaion and economic developmen in your communiy. Overview: Members of he STEM Leadership Team will creae a eam vision saemen for STEM educaion and economic developmen for heir communiy. This vision saemen will hen be communicaed o he public and veed. Noe he vision saemen is a exible documen ha is subjec o change as i is shared wih he larger communiy, parners, and addiional sakeholders. Maerials/Tools Visioning Tool Areas of Innovaion Sample Visioning Slide Deck Acion Iems Be creaive! Creae a agline or moo associaed wih your vision and use i as a vehicle o share he vision and focus of your e ors wih he communiy a-large. Faciliaor Leadership Team Communiy a-large Acion Iem Inroduce areas of innovaion as areas o focus e ors, educaion 9 innovaion and measuremen Schedule meeing o complee a visioning exercise: secure logisics, agenda and maerials 9 Faciliae visioning meeing o develop comprehensive vision saemen Creae eam vision saemen for STEM in your communiy Share vision wih communiy and receive communiy inpu 9 Finalize shared vision based on communiy feedback Share vision saemen wih communiy a-large 24
Where do you wan o be in 1, 3, and 10 years? Wha are your dreams and aspiraions for your children, communiy and economy? The vision saemen you develop should ouch on hese areas and fuel he engagemen of your communiy going forward. There are many ways o approach your visioning exercise, describing shor-erm inenions or declaring long-erm goals of grandeur. The choice is absoluely yours, bu one common hread is ha you capure he essence of where you wan o be in 1 year, 3 years, or even 10 years. In Pracice: Forune 500 Vision Saemen Samples The following are examples of vision saemens released by major U.S. companies: Amazon Our vision is o be earh's mos cusomer-cenric company; o build a place where people can come o nd and discover anyhing hey migh wan o buy online. Toys R Us Our vision is o pu joy in kids' hears and a smile on parens' faces. Nike To bring inspiraion and innovaion o every ahlee* in he world (* If you have a body, you are an ahlee) McDonald s McDonald's vision is o be he world's bes quick service resauran experience. Being he bes means providing ousanding qualiy, service, cleanliness, and value, so ha we make every cusomer in every resauran smile. Coca Cola Our vision guides every aspec of our business by describing wha we need o accomplish in order o coninue achieving susainable growh. People: Being a grea place o work where people are inspired o be he bes hey can be. Porfolio: Bringing o he world a porfolio of qualiy beverage brands ha anicipae and saisfy people s desires and needs. Parners: Nururing a winning nework of cusomers and suppliers, ogeher we creae muual, enduring value. Plane: Being a responsible ciizen ha makes a di erence by helping build and suppor susainable communiies. Pro : Maximizing long-erm reurn o shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibiliies. 25
In Pracice: STEM Communiy Vision Saemen Samples The following are vision saemens developed by Norh Carolina STEM Communiies: Cabarrus/Rowan Collaboraive To develop a prosperous and global communiy of innovaors, explorers and criical, adapable and creaive hinkers commied o lifelong learning. Davie To increase suden scores and pro ciency in STEM-relaed areas, graduae sudens who are more prepared o ener STEM employmen upon leaving high school, increase numbers of sudens pursuing pos-secondary STEM careers, insill passion for 21s Cenury STEM eaching and learning in our eachers and sudens, and ulimaely realize he more macro-environmenal bene s of a concenraion of STEM alen in Davie Couny. F. Bragg Region Foser regional economic developmen by engaging all segmens of he communiy: in creaing a culure ha values STEM-relaed knowledge, in preparing our sudens o be lifelong learners, and in educaing he regional workforce wih he 21 s cenury skills o successfully compee in a global economy. Design your Communiy Kick-o o mee he speci c needs of your communiy. Use he enclosed proocol as a guide bu make his even your own! To lead he sae in he producion of a STEM-educaed, globallycompeiive workforce, and o use STEM echnology o ransform regional academic insiuions o mee he demands of a 21 s cenury global economy. Lenoir Improve STEM educaion and economic opporuniy by o ering suden more experienial learning opporuniies. 26
Planning a Communiy Kick-O Where Are You Now? Developing a Vision Saemen Communiy Kick-O Planning your Communiy Kick-O Planning a Communiy Kick-O Goal: To plan a Communiy Kick-o even ailored o he needs of your communiy and successfully capuring he communiy voice for he fuure. Overview: Communiy Kick-o evens are imporan opporuniies for communiy members o have heir voices heard and for opinions o be expressed. Equally imporan, is he preparaion necessary o successfully plan and implemen an even of his magniude and reach. Known o ake a leas six weeks o plan, a Communiy Kick-o can ake on a variey of di eren forms o serve he needs of your communiy. You may decide o hos a large communiy-wide even a a local gahering place or hos smaller inimae sessions wih some culminaing even. Media, Media, Media! Invie your local elevision saions, radio, newspapers, any oule wih a plaform o share your vision wih he public. Communiy Kick-O Proocol Acion Iems Faciliaor Leadership Team Communiy a-large Acion Iem 9 Inroduce purpose, funcion of Communiy Kick-o o dommuniy leaders Idenify communiy parners ha will assis in visioning exercises Decide forma, dae and locaion ha will bes serve he communiy Develop agenda and secure speakers and special guess Use asse map/swot analysis o develop a lis of organizaions o reach ou o for inviaion Provide deails o media oules (blogs, neworking sies, local news and newspaper) 9 Con rm logisics (locaion, food, echnology, ec) 27
Communiy Kick-O Where Are You Now? Developing a Vision Saemen Communiy Kick-O Planning a Communiy Kick-O Goal: To provide an opporuniy for he communiy a-large o learn abou he new iniiaive and capure heir vision for he fuure. Overview: Communiy Kick-o evens are inended o achieve hree goals: Provide an overview and a more in-deph discussion of he projec. O er an opporuniy for voices o be heard. Collec demographic and socio-meric informaion abou paricipans. This daa will be used o move owards consensus and achieve progress in he communiy. Maerials Communiy Kick-O Proocol Acion Iems Faciliaor Leadership Team Communiy a-large Acion Iem Con rm logisics and prepare maerials for communiy kick-o 9 Communiy Kick-O even Record and archive communiy feedback from Communiy Kick-O even 9 Share up-o-dae decision and acions wih communiy a-large Faciliae meeing o gaher and analyze daa colleced from Communiy Kick-o even Documen decisions made ha map o he feedback from Communiy Kick-o 28
In Pracice: Communiy Visioning CASE STUDY: 400 people in a hundersorm Davie Couny, N.C. Davie Couny hosed one of he mos successful Communiy Kick-O evens in Norh Carolina. Despie less han ideal weaher, more han 400 communiy members raveled o a local church o learn more abou he STEM iniiaive and share heir vision for he fuure. The agenda feaured an inroducion by he presiden of The Mebane Foundaion and presenaions by a pioneer researcher in regeneraive medicine and he chief execuive o cer of Wake Fores Universiy Bapis Medical Cener. The STEM Leadership Team ook advanage of all media oules o promoe his even including heir STEM Blog, local news and newspapers, and he NC STEM websie. To see he inroducory message and video, visi his link. Communiy Engagemen Focus: Your Blog To furher engage your communiy in his process, consider creaing a websie or blog o coninue inpu and engagemen, show a pah o fuure, and share informaion. Currenly, here are many user-friendly plaforms o hos your blog such as Wordpress, Blogger, or Google Sies. Such an underaking is usually successful when a eam is ideni ed o manage and updae he sie on a regular basis. This sie also can serve as a daa capuring ool for projec milesones and successes. The following are examples of communiy based blogs and websies: Davie Couny STEM Cabarrus-Rowan STEM STEM Eas WCPSS STEM Schools Collaboraive 29
MODULE 3: INNOVATION DESIGN Wha o expec in his module? In his module your communiy will: Begin an engineering design process o develop an Educaion Innovaion Design Plan (EIDP) ha maps o he ve core design principles: equiable, scalable and susainable, innovaive, sem-focused and collaboraive. Develop a nework of individuals, asses and oher resources o he drive he design of a 21s cenury educaion innovaion. Engage more communiy sakeholders by building and sharing an innovaive design plan ha impacs STEM educaion and economics. Timeline Developing an Educaion Innovaion Design Plan Criical Design Review Communiy Charee Process Commimen o Innovaion Inroducion o Innovaion Design While earlier modules required more heoreical and visionary planning, Innovaion Design will be more srucured, hopefully leading o more focus, deails and direcion as you move owards making your vision a realiy. The proposed nex seps in he STEM Communiy Engagemen process will lead o he developmen of your Educaion Innovaion Design Plan (EIDP). Though each communiy is di eren, uilizing an engineered-based design process o guide your work will ensure your innovaion is replicable and scalable. The design process is a cyclical-problem solving sraegy ha builds Uilizing an engineer-based design process o guide your work will ensure your innovaion is replicable and scalable. criical hinking skills and guides he developmen of clear, reasoned, and purposeful soluions. The produc you will conceive, develop, and es will be your plan for susainable innovaion wihin your communiy. There are many versions of his process, bu for he purposes of his guide, we will uilize he approach provided by he N.C. Sae Universiy College of Engineering. This ve-sep process consisenly helps us o ask quesions, plan, do, re ne and ask again. 30
In his module you will map your design o he fundamenal design principles and engage your design eams and oher communiy represenaives in his nal design of your EIDP. The EIDP is a major milesone of he STEM Communiy Engagemen process and serves as he communiy s reference guide for ongoing design and implemenaion of each innovaion. ASK Module 1: Communiy Engagemen IMPROVE Improve Wha can make i beer? Ask wha is he Problem? Wha are he consrains? IMAGINE Module 2: Visioning Brainsorm ideas Choose he bes one CREATE PLAN Module 4: Implemenaion Follow he plan Tes i ou! Module 3: EIDP Draw a diagram Consider maerials Engineering Design Process A Series of Seps ha Leads o he Developmen of a New Produc or Sysem susainabiliy of your communiy innovaion. Afer you improve your design once, you migh 31
As discussed in earlier modules, a cornersone of his work is he 5 Design Principles by which all sakeholders are uni ed. The design principles provide parameers for developmen of your innovaion and provide clariy on he goals of suden-cenered eaching and learning. Your innovaion design mus suppor he broad purpose of preparing your communiy s youh for college, career, and life. These principles should be a guide o your communiy as you design your innovaion: Equiable: Make STEM lieracy and economic opporuniy aainable for ALL Norh Carolina sudens. Scalable & Susainable: Drive educaional innovaion and economic alignmen in a coordinaed and mehodical way. Innovaive: Give communiies he ools needed for ransformaive changes o STEM educaion STEM-Focused: Empower and suppor a culure ha nurures and suppors innovaive STEM professionals, and brings businesses, schools, nonpro s, and oher communiy insiuions ogeher o prepare sudens and communiies for 21 s cenury jobs. Collaboraive: Develop a saewide nework for STEM excellence hrough local, sae and naional neworks and evidence-based research. The design should also be in alignmen wih vial areas of educaion innovaion ha he U.S. currenly sruggles wih; hese are known as areas of innovaion. These iner-relaed areas should no be considered in a vacuum. In order o prepare all sudens o be college and career ready and o maximize he impac of educaion innovaions wihin he STEM nework, communiies will focus on one of he following areas: 1. Empower educaors and communiies o build he STEM Pipeline 2. Common Core Sandards and innovaive assessmen for readiness of college and careers 3. STEM conen and 21 s cenury echnology 4. Experienial learning and projec/problem-based curriculum 5. Daa sysems and accounabiliy 6. Teaching and learning in designed environmens (innovaive schools/classrooms) Your innovaion should build on he srenghs of he region, adding value economically and improving accessibiliy of educaion for all sudens 32
Poenial Oucomes Undersanding and using hese design principles, each communiy will parner o direc a collaboraive process ha ensures communiy ownership and susainabiliy ha allows for he developmen of a framework for ruly innovaive, addiive oucomes. This will ensure a shared vision for STEM educaion conneced o a perpeual process, and each communiy oucome may appear unique and may be as varied as hese hypoheical oucomes: An innovaive school on he campus of a large high-end aerospace manufacuring faciliy, including experienial learning and regulaed inernship/co-op opporuniies as a par of rigorous STEM skill aainmen. An innovaive pah o he enire region aking innovaive STEM curriculum in a hybrid (online/onsie) environmen using cloud compuing and low cos ne books (hin clien devices) for cos-e ecive delivery for all sudens; building on he virual world experise in he region, for more rigorous, accessible STEM learning. A model for innovaing he 21 s cenury eacher, combining muliple conen, compuing, and subjec maer approaches o deeply evaluae impac on STEM approaches. A STEM Learn and Earn Program on a research-one higher educaion campus ha forges he pahway for higher educaion s campus and he high school o merge. These hypoheical oucomes are aainable and can be a lever for susainable educaion wih communiy suppor. 33
Progress Indicaors Module Innovaion Design Phase Leadership Design Sessions(s) Core Oucome: Guide and inform leadership eam hrough he engineering design process o design a educaion innovaion for heir communiy a pahway o ransform heir vision ino a realiy Develop an Educaion Innovaion Design Plan Core Oucome: Compile documens, ideas and sraegies o creae a Educaion Innovaion Design Plan (EIDP) Communiy Charree Process Core Oucome: Ve he Educaion Innovaion Design Plan (EIDP) wih he communiy-a-large Criical Design Review Core Oucome: Conduc a sress es of he EIDP o inform he nal sages of developmen and redesign Memorandum of Undersanding Core Oucome: Clarify commimens, goals and objecives of all parners in his process Communiy Engagemen Focus: Small Evens, Big Impac Core Oucome: Coninue o engage your communiy by faciliaing evens or meeings highlighing STEM and objecives of his engagemen process Sof : Qualiaive Progress Indicaors q Leadership Team is knowledgeable abou Areas of Innovaion and Design Principles can apply o innovaion design q Design saemen aligned wih he 5 Design Principles and vision for he communiy q Theory of Change ha aligns wih 5 Design Principles and re ecs he voice of all segmens of he communiy q Educaion Innovaion Design Plan (EIDP) ha oulines he design focus and srucure q EIDP aligned wih College Ready and Career Merics (Collaboraive Scorecard) q Communiy paricipans encouraged o problem solve by concenraing on speci c design problems and presen soluions q Translae communiy voices ino he nal Educaion Innovaion Design Plan q Diverse panel of expers convened o add value o sress es of design q Revised Educaion Innovaion Design Plan based on he recommendaions oulined in he Criical Design Review q Documen q Formal parnership agreemens wih invesors ha se expecaions of engagemen includes all forms of suppor direc, in-kind and oher resources q Fiscal agen ideni ed o manage nancial invesmens q Small evens o showcase progress of iniiaive and o furher engage members of he communiy in he process q Pahway for aendees o be engaged collec conacs a evens for fuure communicaions Hard : Quaniaive q A minimum, a quorum of he STEM Leadership Team presen all Leadership Design Sessions q A minimum, one represenaive from each secor presen a all Leadership Design Sessions responsible for communicaing wih general secor populaion q One shared design for he fuure of he communiy s children and economy q A minimum, ve communiy represenaives from each secor presen a Charee meeing responsible for communicaing wih general secor populaion q A minimum, ve rused parner presen a Criical Design Review responsible for communicaing wih general secor populaion q A minimum, one small communiy even each quarer o highligh STEM and furher engage communiy in he process q Increased web ra c following each even increasing number of web his in days/weeks following even 34