Vince was in the nation’s capital last week, participating in a variety of events related to National Science Week, the USA Science & Engineering Festival, and the U.S. News STEM Solutions National Leadership Conference. On Wednesday, April 23, Vince and the PLTW team kicked off the STEM Solutions Conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. PLTW and the FabLab Foundation shared a booth, sponsored by Chevron, in which PLTW students from Ohio showcased concepts from the PLTW Principles of Engineering course.
On April 24, Vince appeared on the radio program Morning in America, hosted by former U.S. Secretary of Education Bill Bennett, and The Jim Bohannon Show later that evening (skip ahead to the 40-minute mark on the Jim Bohannon link to hear Vince’s segment). Both radio programs are listened to by millions every day across the U.S.
Also on April 24, Vince participated in an excellent panel on STEM program quality and scalability – “The Holy Grail: Scalability” – at the STEM Solutions Conference. Joined by co-panelists from Change the Equation, the National Math + Science Initiative, and the UTeach Institute, Vince spoke about PLTW’s growth and designation as a high-quality, nationally scalable program by Change the Equation. “Next school year, the number of PLTW programs in the United States will have doubled from three years ago,” Vince told the audience. “More than three dozen studies over the last three years show that PLTW works. Our students persist and outperform other students. We have the evidence, we have the infrastructure to scale, and we have the support to impact hundreds of thousands of students.”
Vince also spent time at the PLTW-led exhibits in both the Chevron STEM Zone and Lockheed Martin’s 56,000-square foot exhibit space. PLTW students and team members taught attendees about hydrogen fuel cell technology and helped them build and fly gliders from the PLTW Launch program.
This week, Vince is back in Indianapolis. On Saturday, May 3, he will speak to students in grades 6-12 at the Indiana Parent Teacher Association’s Annual Conference on the topic of “Building Your Tomorrow, Today!”
Stay up-to-date on Vince’s travels and the latest STEM, education, and workforce development news by following Vince on Twitter at @vincebertram.