Georgia PRISM Leaders Address STEM Education in New Book

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) February 9, 2009 -- As Americans deal with and adjust to difficult economic times, urgent emphasis is being placed on preparing the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs to compete in a fiercely competitive global economy. Many top educators, business leaders and economic scholars suggest that proper STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education is the most important factor in the US achieving success in the marketplace here and abroad. Thomas Friedman warns in his book "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" that America is not producing enough young people in the STEM fields that are essential for entrepreneurship and innovation in the 21st century. To address this issue, Jan S. Kettlewell and Ronald J. Henry, principal investigators of Georgia's Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) (http://www.gaprism.org/), a comprehensive partnership funded by the National Science Foundation - along with other educational leaders - have written a new book, "Increasing the Competitive Edge in Math and Science."

"Increasing the Competitive Edge in Math and Science" encourages local, regional and statewide partnerships between K-12 schools and colleges and universities to be formed so that education reform efforts can be scaled. It then lays out the necessary steps for K-12 teachers, higher education faculty, administrators at all levels, and policy makers to work collaboratively to prepare American youth for meaningful participation in the twenty-first century science and technologically-based economy. It also provides tips and instruction for building student interest in STEM, improving the quality of STEM teaching and creating learning communities among educators and experts.

"From the perspective of the business community, the book's most important contribution is to articulate the actions that K-16 leaders and state policymakers must take so that efforts by individual teachers, schools, faculty, or higher education institutions can make a lasting difference on preparation of our youth for meaningful participation in the twenty-first century knowledge-based economy," said Susan Traiman, Director of Public Policy for the Business Roundtable (http://www.businessroundtable.org/).

"The issue of inadequate STEM education is a serious one. It becomes even more serious when considering the current economic climate. We created this book to provide practical suggestions for what K-12 teachers, higher education faculty and administrators can do to address the problem and prepare American youth for the future," said Jan Kettlewell, outgoing University System of Georgia (http://www.usg.edu/) Vice Chancellor for P-16 Initiatives and PRISM Principal Investigator.

Contributors to the book include PRISM leadership team members Dava C. Coleman, Rosalind Barnes Fowler, Ronald J. Henry, Sabrina A. Hessinger, Sheila Jones, Charles Kutal, Amy S. Mast, Mary Jo McGee-Brown, H. Richard Miller, Judith A. Monsaas, Frederick Rich, and Nancy Vandergrift.

For more information or to order the book, please visit http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com/.

$80.00 / Cloth / 1607090139 / 978-1607090137 / Feb 2009 / pp.

$29.95 / Paper / 1607090147 / 978-1607090144 / Feb 2009 / pp.

About PRISM

Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) is a multi-year initiative funded by the National Science Foundation and administered by the University System of Georgia with the primary purpose of improving student achievement in science and mathematics at all levels of education throughout Georgia. PRISM is working in four regions of the state with partners at the university and P-12 level in each region. For more information about PRISM, visit www.gaprism.org.

This press release is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement Number: EHR-0314953. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

About the Authors & Editors

Jan S. Kettlewell, vice chancellor for Pre-School-College (P-16) Initiatives for the University System of Georgia, serves as principal investigator of the Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics, a comprehensive partnership in Georgia funded by the National Science Foundation.

Ronald J. Henry physicist, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Georgia State University, serves as co-principal investigator of the Partnership for Reform In Science and Mathematics, a comprehensive partnership in Georgia funded by the National Science Foundation.

$80.00 / Cloth / 1607090139 / 978-1607090137 / Feb 2009 / pp.

$29.95 / Paper / 1607090147 / 978-1607090144 / Feb 2009 / pp.

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