The Next Steps 2013 Location, drumroll please.... we're bring Next Steps to Charleston, SC! 

Those that don't want to wait until 2013, take a look at this year's Institute in DENVER, CO! We'll have great opportunities to learn from each other, network, and maybe unpack some of this national dialogue into bite size pieces for our districts and communities. 

Pictures from NSI 2011 can be found here

 

 

 

Thank You to everyone that joined us this year in Indianapolis, what a turnout! In addition to the Networking Forum, Next Steps participated in a strategic planning meeting. More about our vision and strategy coming soon. 

This year's sponsors of the Netwroking Forum, 2B Solutions and the Hands-On Science Partnership, were a wonderful addition to the conversation. We are excited to have had an opportunity to partner with entities that are passionate and committed to getting learning into the hands of students. 

 

 

Thursday
May032012

Great Infographic on STEM Shortage

Take a look at the latest visual representation of the need for STEM workforce from the folks over at Engineering Degree. (We'd post the whole graphic here, as it is WELL worth the view, but it is rather long...)

 

Friday
Mar162012

Well, that was exciting...

Next Steps program, institute and partners were highlighted this morning on Education Talk Radio when host Larry Jacobs interviewed Emily Vercoe about the power of hands-on and minds-on learning, and the tools required to cultuvate young learners, i.e. high quality professional development! To hear the interview head to, 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/edutalk/2012/03/16/environmental-education-with-earthforceorg 

Wednesday
Feb222012

Good News from Alabama!

As a colleague stated, here you have it. Inquiry Works! This press release highlights the statistically significant gains in student achievement made by students participating in the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative. This study equates the gains made by students to 28 Extra Days in School. Congratulations to the state, for their commitment to this great program! Check out the details here

Do you have a success story you'd like to share with us? We love to share the good work of the Next Steps community. Let us hightlight your programs, processes, and stories. 

Tuesday
Feb072012

ASMC Steps into the New Year with A New Name

As we at ASMC have moved into a new organization and partnered with Earth Force, we realize that the work we do has also evolved. We do, and will always, serve science materials centers, but we also serve others. We want to have a name that represents our philosophy and allows us to continue providing high quality programming to a growing audience. So, we are now calling ourselves Next Steps, Powered by Earth Force! You will notice a few changes to the website, the look and feel is familiar and designed to support the resources we've always offered but we also hope to reflect our new movement as well. 

To learn more about Earth Force, please click on their logo, or visit www.earthforce.org.

Thursday
Nov032011

Tell us your story

Kids are naturally curious and love to explore, it happens in classrooms all across the country. As educators, we can all recount a story, or student, that has come alive when they learn through inquiry and hands-on. In addition to getting this opportunity into the hands of children, we also need to get better at telling our story. So, I invite you to tell your story to us. Share it with us and help us catalogue stories from across the country about the power of inquiry and hands on learning, and what it means to your students. We owe students an opportunity to learn in an environment that promotes inquiry, excitement, and the joy of discovery.