St. Kate's student teacher
STEM initiatives are funded in part by 3M Foundation, Andersen Corporate Foundation, Hugh J. Andersen Foundation, Medtronic Foundation, Minnesota Office of Higher Education, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation.

STEM Education

Ensuring competency for future teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics

Studies report that a large number of girls lose interest in science and math by the fourth grade. We know that many of them go on to become teachers — 98 percent of elementary school teachers today are women.

 St. Catherine University is aggressively addressing this gap and has gained recognition at the federal level for its models in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

The STEM initiative is taking critical steps to train teachers to ensure that future teachers are competent in STEM areas, confident teaching STEM subjects, and comfortable with the material. Teachers who are engaged in the subject matter pass on that enthusiasm to their students.

Full STEM Ahead
Q & A with Dr. Tony Murphy, associate dean of the School of Professional Studies, leads faculty collaboration on STEM initiatives

STEM certificate and minor

All St. Kate’s students majoring in elementary education earn the STEM Certificate. Three classes are required, and students have the option of taking two more to earn a STEM minor. These practical, hands-on courses give future teachers an understanding of science and technology in the everyday world, a skill they can pass on in their classrooms. St. Catherine University is the only college or university in Minnesota to require this certificate, and the program has drawn national attention.

Collaborative research

Student/faculty research initiatives give students real-world, hands-on experience in the field. Recent collaborations have included Nutrients in the Stream, headed by Jill Welter, assistant professor of biology, and Body Satisfaction, joint research between  psychology and biology professors Lynda Szymanski and John Pellegrini. Erick Agrimson’s High Altitute Balloon Project brought students into contact with high-end scientific equipment to gather data for climate analysis. Helping students publish their research is often the end result, as evidenced by Daron Janzen, assistant professor of chemistry, and co-author Nyasha Kanganga '08.

STEM events for children

In addition to initiatives offered to prospective teachers and college-aged students, St. Kate’s also offers special STEM events for children. With a special focus on girls, STEM programs give children entertaining ways to engage in science and math activities.

  • ME Robots: A collaboration between St. Kate’s faculty and Girl Scouts of the St. Croix Valley focusing in mechanical engineering basics ME Robots gives girls in grades 3–8 the tools, encouragement and confidence they need to learn and enjoy science and envision a future in a STEM field.

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