Jaime Escalante passed away on Tuesday, March 30, 2010.  He will be deeply missed.

In addition to being profiled in the film “Stand and Deliver,” the legendary educator had his own television program on PBS in the 1990s.  Scientists, astronauts, engineers and celebrities visited his classroom and talked with his students about how math is used every day in a wide variety of careers.  The series, “FUTURES with Jaime Escalante,” was one of the most popular PBS programs and was watched in thousands of classrooms every week.  Thank you Jaime for your legacy and your inspiration.

Here is a great video of Jaime from The Futures Channel, “Jaime on Being a Teacher.”

If you would like to share how Jaime inspired you, please feel free to contribute a comment below.

One of the main issues at the heart of the STEM education movement is improving the number of women scientists and engineers.  The American Associate of University Women (AAUW) recently published a research report, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,which indicates that although the number of women in STEM fields has improved, many of the same barriers that have hindered progress still remain such as stereotypes about STEM careers and gender-bias.

Although the number of male and female students studying math and science are relatively even, AAUW’s report points out that this balance breaks down at the college level where women are much less likely to pursue a major in a STEM field than their male counterparts.

So what steps can be made to ensure more women enter the STEM Pipeline?  AAUW makes a few recommendations:

- Actively recruit women into STEM majors.

- Send an inclusive message about who makes a good science or engineering student.

- Emphasize real-life applications in early STEM courses.

What practices and activities do you think could help encourage more women to pursue careers in STEM?

photo:  (The Futures Channel) Wildlife Biologist Jennifer Wilson at the Brazoria Wildlife Refuge near Houston, Texas.

Recently, our friends at James Madison University sent us this video featuring fourth-year Chemistry Major, Katy Zimmerman, sharing some of what she’s loved about her college experience at JMU.  We thought their 4-minute video was eminently watchable and truly captured Ms. Zimmerman’s enthusiasm. So we thought our audience might enjoy it too.