Tomorrow's Jobs Are in STEM

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Jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields will expand faster than non-STEM jobs, growing to more than 9 million by 2022.

A deep understanding of math provides a solid foundation for careers in all of the STEM fields. In addition to content knowledge, math is a means to develop skills such as logical thinking, creative problem-solving and persistence--skills that are increasingly valued by tech corporations.

Sources: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Partnership for 21st Century Learning

Tomorrow’s Challenges May Not Look Like Today’s

Will well-prepared workers be able to keep up in the race with AI tools?

We need to put students in the mindset to think creatively, persist through challenges, and develop social emotional skills that will be highly valued in the age of automation and AI. Creative and rigorous approaches to learning math help students develop these skills.

Top skills needed for future jobs: emotional intelligence, curiosity, creativity, adaptability, resilience and critical thinking.

Sources: Pew Research Center, Science Direct, The Opportunity Equation, YouCubed

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The Math Crisis in America

Less than half of students are proficient in Math

Source: Pew Research Center, Developmental Psychology

More than literacy skills or positive student behaviors, early math skills are the number one predictor of later academic success. If more students develop a solid foundation in math at an early age, experiencing the boost in skills and confidence needed to persist through more challenging problems, how many more students will we see graduating high school with proficiency in math?

Teachers Experience
Math Anxiety Too

More than one-third of elementary teachers admit they experience some kind of math anxiety. Teachers who don't understand math well tend to focus on teaching algorithms rather than underlying concepts.

Source: Math and Science Partnership

Research findings share best practices that teachers can apply to their classrooms. For example, students learn better when they figure things out on their own, as compared to being told what to do. With this knowledge, educators can craft learning experiences that allow students to struggle productively and self-generate solutions. At MIND, we’re empowering teachers to apply the latest research in neuroscience and education, increase math content knowledge, and engage with a community of educators around the country.

Source: MIND Research Blog

Opportunity and Experience Gaps Contribute to the Achievement Gap

The achievement gap is particularly high for students of Hispanic and African American ethnicities, who experience disproportionately more challenges including poverty and learning the English language. The lack of access to high-quality math content, instruction and experiences only widens the achievement gap.

Research shows that teaching math through visual representations improves student math performance significantly. Without language barriers, problems are accessible to all students, regardless of skill level or language background. With visual learning, all students are better equipped to tackle unfamiliar math problems, recognize patterns, and build conceptual understanding. Equitable access leads to equitable growth.

National Math Scores 2015

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, YouCubed

The Path to STEM Jobs Is Uneven

Women

At MIND, 70% of students impacted by our programs are from traditionally underserved populations. Two-thirds of our partner schools serve low-income students. Providing all students with deep conceptual math understanding gives more students the opportunity to pursue careers in STEM.

Minorities

Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Pew Research Center, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, United States Census Bureau