This week in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) studies, find out some ways to remain innovative in teaching STEM this upcoming school year. 

Do Away with "I'm Not Good at Math"

Many educators and experts seem to agree that part of the reason behind our country's students lagging behind in math is due to a lack of confidence.

"As a former teacher and a parent, I believe that we need to first address student confidence. Student success, especially in subjects like math and science, is not just a matter of cognitive ability and IQ," said Beverly E. Perdue for EdSurge.com.

Confidence, grit, and self-control are the non-cognitive skills she says are important to also teach when teaching math for the benefit of STEM in general.

Read the full story here. 

Teachers Can Learn, Too

Some initiatives to help increase and boost STEM education across the country go beyond teaching just the students and instead focus on the teachers.

For instance, at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, ore than 250 teachers from all over the country learned how to better teach STEM subjects this week.

"The teachers in the program said they'll take what they learn directly back to the classroom to develop specific activities to teach the students STEM skills," according to WBALTV.com.

When the teachers are excited, so are the students, and professional development involving STEM is a great way to prepare for back-to-school.

Read the full story here. 

Support Efforts to Help Challenged Learners in STEM

This week, Education Week featured the efforts of groups in Houston that are pledging millions of dollars to help bilingual learners in STEM education.

The funds will not only help Hispanic students looking to study STEM, but will also help recruit bilingual educators (40 over the next five years) to "teach scientific investigation skills to minority elementary school children."

Funding has been made possible from Talento Bilingue de Houston and the University of Houston in addition to ten other groups.

Read the full story here. 

Make STEM Summer Camps a Part of Back-to-School Chatter

A record amount of students this year participated in STEM summer camps, or summer camp programs that featured STEM activities.

Be sure when asking students about their summer activities to hold a discussion about any STEM learning they did, such as cool science projects or the like.

One example of a STEM summer camp that's made waves this season is STEM camp, a camp in Florida that prepares children for science learning throughout the school year.

"Once your kids get to middle school, public or private, chances are they will be required to complete a science fair project. For some students, this is a satisfying, exciting adventure into the world of research and experimentation. For others, it's a huge hassle and takes time away from homework during the school year."

"Veteran science teacher Guillermo Garcia decided the best solution was to get kids to do their projects in the summer. So he founded STEM Camp."

Read the full story here. 

Compiled by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

08/11/2015