The demand for quality science education videos keeps growing in the K-12 market. In fact, just this past month, we added two great subscribers to our roster, including Monmouth County Voctional School District, New Jersey, and the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Florida.
Student demands for new learning methods (ones not just lecture- and textbook-dependent) are driving adoption. And at JoVE, we hear about the unready state of many students entering college-level STEM programs. According to one study, about half of all who enroll as STEM undergrads don’t graduate in their majors, or they drop out completely.
1 Video = 1,000 Teachers
One teacher sums up perfectly why JoVE video meets these challenges. “A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth a thousand teachers,” explains Dr. Andrea Cobb, the former biotechnology director at JoVE subscriber Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. “This way they can see a procedure and practice it over and over again.”
This is where JoVE comes in. “Having a treasure trove of these [videos] collected in one place is fabulous!” states Heather Moser, a teacher at Beaver Local High School in East Liverpool, Ohio. Moser is also a chair of her science department, which is a new JoVE subscriber.
She explains: “Many science teachers (myself and some of my colleagues included) spend a ridiculous amount of time searching for good quality visuals and videos that will help our students develop a deeper understanding of the beauty and wonder of the tiniest pieces of the world around them.”
Meeting STEM Video Demand
The size of this K-12 market is vast and so, accordingly, is the demand for quality STEM education and research videos. According to Education Week, in the United States there are:
- 13,584 school districts
- 132,853 schools (91,147 public)
- 50.8 million public school students
- 5,750,520 private school students
JoVE has even dedicated new resources to support this segment. In the past year, our K-12 department has gone from just one account manager to more than a dozen people working in different roles.
Making a K-12 Impact
JoVE officially entered the K-12 market around 2011, when Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology became a subscriber. “We’re just not your typical high school,” as Cobb (cited above) states. She had requested a JoVE subscription to help her students watch the protocols and learn to use the school’s advanced science gear.
The school had a DNA sequencer, mammalian cell culture facilities, and environmental growth culture facilities. “We have a lot of toys,” she said. “Stuff I didn’t even have when I was in grad school.” And that’s where JoVE came in.
Besides Thomas Jefferson High School, we also are proud to include as subscribers:
- Choate Rosemary Hall
- Cistercian Preparatory School
- Island Trees High School
- Mineola High School
Schools are selecting JoVE because its videos produce real world results. Moser uses basic biology modules with her general biology class at Beaver Local. “Having good clear visuals to help students conceptualize processes and structures that we can't observe (in this setting anyway) is a tremendous help,” Moser states. She also plans to incorporate JoVE education videos into her chemistry classroom.
Stem Ready Option
JoVE also offers the STEM Ready program. This allows JoVE subscribers to designate high schools of their choice as recipients of JoVE Unlimited at no extra cost, as a previous blog notes. Among the 100-plus institutions to benefit through this program is Edmond Memorial High School (thanks to University of Central Oklahoma).
The high school’s library/media specialist Myka Gilliam states: “The teachers love it. Our advanced placement chemistry teacher is a big fan. It means so much to us to partner with UCO to provide our students with college resources to better help them prepare for their future. Right now, we see nothing but amazing benefits and believe we will continue to do so.”
Always in Great Company
JoVE subscribers include many of the best STEM research and teaching organizations worldwide. There are some 6 million scientists and students viewing JoVE annually, and about 1,000 academic institutions are subscribers. These organizations — of all different sizes and types — access the same high-quality scientific video solutions.
JoVE is proud to help drive education in K-12 in North America, and anywhere else researchers and teachers want to improve how science is taught. Read more about how JoVE is having an impact in Germany, New Zealand and Australia, and Israel.