Outcome 6.2: STEM Literacy

Promote STEM literacy through strategic partnerships with formal and informal organizations.

Other Information:

In the same way a complex mission takes millions of ideas, thousands of workers, and hundreds of companies working toward specific objectives to be successful, it will take the same type of effort to improve STEM literacy. The complexity of meeting formal and informal education needs and requirements demands a highly collaborative approach. Through strategic partnerships, we leverage the resources and expertise of our partners, scale our own investments to reach new audiences, and expand established networks. It is the magnitude of this effort and the need for fresh and constantly renewing sources of innovative solutions and non-traditional approaches that make strategic partnerships the key to supporting STEM education. Tapping into our partners' creativity and innovation will help disseminate our products and services in a broader and more systematic manner to reach new users more effectively than what we can do alone. Partnerships for formal education, particularly with higher education institutions and aerospace companies, focus on engineering and research efforts under the supervision of practicing professionals. These partners are able to provide independent research projects for undergraduate and graduate students and multiply many times over what we can host at our own facilities. Hands-on experiences are unparalleled in their ability to develop a student's advanced STEM skills and prepare them for a career. Partnerships with elementary and secondary schools help to meet the needs of students and educators in a resource-scarce environment. We work with local, state, and Federal organizations to ensure that our services and products provide information and opportunities that are appropriate, meet established needs, and support ongoing STEM initiatives. Our teacher training experiences meet continuing education standards, allowing teachers to gain necessary professional development credits. Students involved in NASA activities, including rocket launches and other competitions, benefit from local partnerships that provide technical support and, even more importantly, career role models. NASA has only nine Centers and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,3 but every community in the Nation has a library, museum, science center, or other informal education venue that can help to share our story. Space exploration, robotics, and advanced technologies provide compelling storylines for television, Web, print, and film. Through partnerships with organizations that develop content that is appealing to students and the general public, careers in STEM can be portrayed as compelling and rich in diversity. Each year, we release announcements of opportunity, requests for entrepreneurial offers, and other solicitations that encourage partners to collaborate with us. Through funded cooperative agreements or unfunded collaborations, we seek organizations with parallel goals and complementary skills to help us inspire, engage and educate the public, and attract students into STEM studies and careers.

Stakeholder(s):

• Higher Education Institutions


• Aerospace Companies


• Local Organizations


• State Organizations


• Federal Organizations


• Libraries


• Museums


• Science Centers

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

Content