what is stem it's the acronym for
science technology engineering and
mathematics the disciplines that are
vital for a thriving economy and a safe
and healthy Society in kindergarten
through twelfth grade in the United
States most stem teaching and learning
focuses on science or mathematics
comparatively little attention has been
paid to the T the products and systems
that meet human needs and E the creative
process used to design these things and
for the most part the four subjects have
been taught in isolation but new reform
efforts like the next generation science
standards are placing more emphasis on
the connection between and among the
STEM disciplines to understand how this
trend might affect teaching and learning
in the future we need to take a closer
look at integrated STEM education not
just the individual subjects that make
up the acronym after all in the real
world science relies on technology
mathematics and engineering and
engineering depends on findings from
science the application of mathematics
and the use of technological tools
imagine if K through 12 students were
taught in ways that highlighted these
connections would they learn more and
more deeply might they see STEM
disciplines as more relevant to their
lives could it lead more of them to
pursue stem courses and careers the
answers to these questions depend in
part on how integrated STEM education is
implemented in schools and in out of
school settings
research suggests that implementation
has to balance learning in the
individual STEM subjects with more
connected ways of learning
in addition because it can be hard for
students to make these connections
themselves teachers will need to make
the connections explicit inside the
classroom some teachers may use
instructional approaches like
problem-based learning or engineering
design which are special kinds of
problem-solving to introduce integrated
STEM education to their students outside
the classroom students are being exposed
to STEM connections in museums and
science centers through after-school
experiences like some TV shows and STEM
focused robotics competitions and in
internships however we need more
research to better understand the
potential benefits and limitations of
integrated STEM education for students
teachers and schools what for example
are the implications of integrated STEM
education for how schools are organized
how can teachers be better prepared to
teach in integrated ways and how can we
test kids to determine what they are
really learning and able to apply as a
result of integrated stem experiences
the list of questions is long but
getting answers is important for
students teachers and the nation for
more information about integrated STEM
education
check out the stem integration in K
through 12 education report