The framing plenary presentation addresses the necessity and urgency for the NSF DRK–12 and STEM+C communities to capitalize on intersections or the nexus of the three domains of broadening participation, STEM+C disciplines, and technological innovations.
The education system is rapidly changing due to three emerging forces: traditional minority groups are now the majority; standards in STEM and computer science are academically rigorous; and technological innovations are advancing fast. The NSF 10 Big Ideas provide the vision for harnessing these emerging forces. This framing plenary presentation will address the necessity and urgency for the NSF DRK–12 and STEM+C communities to capitalize on intersections of the three domains of broadening participation, STEM and computer science disciplines, and technological innovations in education. First, the presentation will describe the context of the emerging forces in these three domains. Second, it will highlight key features of each domain. Third, it will describe approaches to capitalizing on the intersections of two of these domains and sometimes at the nexus of all three domains. Fourth, it will consider conceptual, methodological, and personnel issues at these intersections or the nexus. Finally, it will consider conceptual, methodological, and personnel issues pertaining specifically to broadening participation.