STEM HistoryScience, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics make the world go…literally. Where would we be had it not been for the discovery of penicillin by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928? Through tedious hours of scientific experimentation, analysis and observation Fleming was able to conclude that if this particular form of mold, Penicillium rubens, were grown in adequate conditions, the byproduct would have antibiotic like properties. Although he’s not credited with suggesting penicillin use in treating bacterial infections in humans, (that attribution goes to the Australian biologist Howard Walter Florey, German biologist Ernst Chain and the English biochemist Norman Heatley) we can certainly thank him for laying the groundbreaking foundation. And what of the Great Pyramids of Giza, one of the last known Wonders of the World?? We would have never been granted the opportunity to witness the finality of such great structures had it not been for the architectural genius of our predecessors like the great Imhotep of Ancient Egypt.
Imhotep
used his knowledge of mathematical ratios, materials, what we now know as
architecture and his understanding of the physical world to construct a simple
pyramid which used a stacking of materials upon others to achieve a particular
height and shape, which was a totally new idea at the time. From the construction of the pyramids mathematicians and scientist were able to manipulate those finding into a manifestation of something else…in some cases, other pyramids, and in others…the foundations for understanding Phi, the Golden Ratio, Pi, the circumference of a circle in relationship to its diameter and the Pythagorean Theorem, which is used to calculate the side lengths of triangles….all from that.
After Sputnik’s launch, the American education
system saw it necessary for immediate reform, and has not looked back since. America’s leaders at that time began to fear that other countries would continue to surpass us in scientific advancements which could then lead to a clear and direct shift in power from us, to those who are smarter than us. Of all of the innovations mentioned in the first paragraph, and of many you can probably think of, none of them came to be because of us Americans, not the atomic bomb, not the periodic table and not even the name from which Nobel prizes are derived...it’s actually Swedish and named after the brilliant Swedish inventor, Alfred Nobel. So, where did we fall short? Perhaps…instruction and expected outcomes. U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and other government officials saw our children losing the academic race, and knew that if the children lost, then our futures are lost as well. Most reformers at the time saw science education as a means of national security, in all ways they were correct. An investment from the National Science Foundation might have ignited the journey towards a shift in science instruction; but the launching of Sputnik embarrassed us and solidified it.
So the change began. No longer were teachers just “expected to” teach Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, teachers were now required to actually teach Science as a subject. Very shortly thereafter we saw the introduction of the Scientific Method, a process designed to give guidelines and specifications as to how one should carry out scientific experimentation. Then came national science standards, standards given as guidelines for educators teaching scientific concepts, technology standards, standards to be used in conjunction with technological innovation projects and more recently the introduction of the Engineering Design Process which like the Scientific Method, gives precise procedures to use when completing an engineering design challenge. Mathematics instruction has also seen various reformations, the most recent reform…the Common Core. But some others wondered still how can we make all of this scientific and mathematical information come together in a workable conceptual framework that can be applied to various situations?? Then came STEM.
My Perspective of STEM
STEM, which again is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is an integration of four subjects. STEM education is unique in that it takes pedagogy from several different disciplines and combines it into the application of something totally new. Optimal STEM instruction challenges students to work collaboratively, using critical thinking skills to creatively solve an overarching problem. The problems, which are usually referred to as challenges, are presented as relevant, everyday personal and/or global scenarios and encourage students to use an engineering design process in order to “solve” or complete them. For example, Totally STEM, a business whose main mission is to introduce as many children to STEM challenges as possible, devises STEM challenges that require students to draw upon their scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical knowledge in order to conquer a global task. One of their “challenge sheet’ specifics is below. The challenge detailed below requires students to accurately draw upon their knowledge of physical science, engineering, similar technologies and measurement in order to create a launcher with the exact specifics in the directions.
The STEM Debate
How STEM should be taught is certainly up for debate. Many people believe it should be taught with other school subjects, basically in conjunction with them, and some, like me, believe it should be taught in solitude...as a subject in itself. In a scenario like this one, Science and Math for example, would be taught in solidarity…so skills, base information, and concepts can be taught without waver so as to ensure complete understanding. If this where the case, then STEM would be taught as its own subject and during that instructional time teachers and students would only be working on application of the skills they’ve acquired in other subjects. STEM challenge activities really bring out the best in students!! STEM challenges stimulate the brain and require children, and adults for that matter, to think less superficially in order to come up with a way to complete or conquer the problem given. Moreover, STEM challenges require students to 3 C it! as I like to call it, which is a short way to include the following words into something we all can remember: Communicate, Collaborate, and Create!! If STEM is the future, the 3C's are the mechanisms we must use in order to get there. Why should we only teach students to utilize these skills during STEM activities, when they are skills that can, and should be used in all subjects, including when they are at play. In short, a consistent helping of STEM should produce students who will at some point change the world we know of today by being inventors, innovators and critically thinking problem solvers.
So when will there be another scientific/mathematical instructional reform?? I’d say right about the time when all of our troops make it home from Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever else they’re stationed.
Barman, C. (1989). Making it work. Science Scope, 12(5), 28-31.
Ramsey, J. (1993). Developing conceptual storylines with the learning cycle. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 5(2), 1-20.
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