Dear TERC Community,
Each day at TERC, I see our mission in action: continuous efforts to advance STEM learning for all. That has been my key takeaway during my first months as TERC’s President. After more than 30 years in STEM education, I can say without hesitation that the passion, creativity, and commitment of this team are extraordinary. TERC’s team recognizes that if innovation is at the heart of STEM, it must also be at the heart of STEM teaching and learning. If science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are evolving at an unprecedented pace, so must the ways we foster STEM learning.
For more than 60 years, TERC has advanced STEM learning through its educational research and development. While our history is long, our entrepreneurial spirit remains strong. We are a learning organization—one that evolves as the needs of our communities change. At this moment, we are asking not only how STEM is changing, but how we as a society want to change—and how STEM learning can help lead that transformation.
Over the past several months, we have taken a close look at our work. We have engaged staff and the Board in deep conversations about impact. We have spoken with partners—both long-standing collaborators and new voices—and asked a simple question: How can TERC best work with you to advance STEM learning?
The result of that reflection is the introduction of four new “currents” that will guide our work moving forward. These currents represent areas where we see the convergence of urgent opportunities for impact and TERC’s deep expertise. They are not a departure from who we are; they are a sharpening of our focus and a deepening of our commitment to STEM learning for everyone, everywhere.
CURRENT Highlighting STEM Across the Community
STEM is not confined to classrooms or workplaces. It is ubiquitously present in our homes, our neighborhoods, our cultural practices, and the issues that shape our communities. Yet too often, its role in our everyday lives goes unrecognized.
Through this current, we center STEM learning in and with communities. We embed STEM experiences in family activities, informal learning spaces, arts organizations, and community-based initiatives. Whether through dance that illuminates physics, maker-centered math experiences, or environmental stewardship projects grounded in local concerns, we connect STEM to lived experience.
Equally important, we are committed to co-design—working not simply for communities but with them. By drawing on cultural strengths, curiosity, and local priorities, we make STEM learning more relevant, more joyful, and more deeply rooted in everyday life.
CURRENT Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Inclusivity
Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are transforming education. It is not, however, the technology itself that determines who succeeds—it is how those technologies are implemented and how the learning experiences are designed.
At TERC, we approach emerging technologies as tools to broaden participation in STEM learning. Through codesign with educators and learners, we develop experiences that strengthen critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and agency. Our goal is to support educators—not replace them—and we work together to deepen STEM learning for all.
CURRENT Growing Mathematical Identities and Understanding at Every Age
For too long, mathematics has been framed as exclusive—something reserved for the few. These narratives shape who participates and who gets counted out. At a time when algorithms and large data sets guide decisions at every level of society, we need everyone to see themselves as capable mathematical thinkers.
Mathematical identity is not fixed but is developed through experience. When learners of all ages—children, youth, adults, families, educators—engage in mathematics as a creative, sense-making, and culturally connected endeavor, confidence grows and participation expands.
This current takes a community ecosystem approach, supporting authentic mathematical experiences in schools, public spaces, family settings, and workforce contexts. By redefining what counts as math—and who gets to do it—we aim to cultivate strong mathematical identities across generations.
CURRENT Expanding Career Opportunities through STEM
Today, STEM knowledge and skills shape opportunity in nearly every sector of the economy—healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, AI, and even the arts, entertainment, public service, construction, and more. Yet, expanding access to career pathways requires more than delivering STEM content in the classroom. Learners must see themselves as capable STEM thinkers, recognize the many ways STEM shows up across professions, and engage in learning experiences that foster belonging, agency, and joy.
From K–12 classrooms to adult education and university systems, TERC designs and studies approaches that reduce structural barriers and strengthen pathways into meaningful careers. We address identity, pedagogy, and systems together—because lasting change requires coordinated efforts that enable learners not just to enter STEM pathways, but to persist and thrive within them.
In this issue of Hands-on, you will see these currents in action as each article represents work that connects to at least one of them. Collectively, these articles also paint a picture of how TERC is working in partnership with others to intentionally shape the future of STEM learning. If the currents resonate with your work, your research, or your community, we invite you to join us in affecting change. Together, we can reimagine STEM learning—and advance a future where science and mathematics truly serve everyone, everywhere.
Sincerely,
Christine Reich
President