Science and Mathematics/STEM

Two math educators at the University of Washington College of Education co-authored the most read blog post of 2016 on the Teaching Channel’s Tchers’ Voice blog.

Is there a way that smartphones can decrease achievement gaps in math classes?

Sam Woodard, co-founder and CEO of the app MathChat, believes that they can. After graduating from the University of Washington College of Education with a Masters in Teaching in 2013, Woodard went on to teach in various K-12 settings, including Cleveland High School in Seattle.

The latest edition of Research That Matters, "The Power of Partnership," explores how the UW College of Education is working with schools, educators and communities to make learning come alive for all students. The following story about a College partnership with Neighborhouse House to provide hands-on STEM learning opportunities to low-income, immigrant and refugee youth also appears in the online version of the magazine.

The latest edition of Research That Matters, "The Power of Partnership," explores how the UW College of Education is working with schools, educators and communities to make learning come alive for all students. The following story about a College partnership supporting communities of educators that spread new knowledge and best practices through entire districts also appears in the online version of the magazine.

It’s a special day at Highline District’s ACE/Global High School.

The latest edition of Research That Matters, "The Power of Partnership," explores how the UW College of Education is working with schools, educators and communities to make learning come alive for all students. The following story about a College partnership with Native communities to bring culturally relevant STEAM programming to youth also appears in the online version of the magazine.

Outside of Maple Elementary School in south Seattle, three teachers examine a tree near the school garden, eyes peeled for signs of what creatures are taking up residence in the arbor.

“Something’s been digging down here at the base of the tree,” says one teacher, bending down for a closer look.

“I see pods,” says one of her partners, taking out a magnifying glass for a closer look.

“There’s a spider web right in front of me!” exclaims another to her teammates.

"Run, fat rabbits! Run, run, run! That fox wants to eat you, one by one! Dinnertime!"

Children lean forward on the floor of Bothell Library, enthralled as children's librarian Mie-Mie Wu brings to life Sue Williams' tale of a hungry fox on the prowl.

After singing a counting song and listening to Wu read Eve Merriam's "12 Ways to Get to 11," the children are joined on the floor by their parents. Together, children and parents cut out pictures of rabbits and then group them in different ways to add up to 11.

Four University of Washington College of Education projects focused on expanding access to great STEM teaching and learning were featured during this year's NSF Video Showcase "STEM for All."

The open and free event features three-minute video presentations from more than 150 projects aimed at improving STEM education that are funded by the National Science Foundation. The public was invited to view the videos, join the discussion online with presenters, and vote for the most effective presentations May 17-23.

A new partnership between the University of Washington College of Education's Institute for Science + Math Education, UW Bothell’s OpenSTEM Research collaborative, Pacific Science Center, Red Eagle Soaring and The Seattle Public Library has received a $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a three-year project called Backpacks for Science Learning.

Learning science, especially under the rigorous new Next Generation Science Standards, comes with complex linguistic demands for students.

For English language learners (ELLs) and their teachers, those demands can present a barrier to engaging in complex forms of scientific sense-making and decrease students’ future opportunities in STEM disciplines.