STEM Success: What takes the lead?

STEM! Once an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics has now become its own word. You can buy your kids STEM toys and can participate in STEM clubs, but what is at the heart of STEM. After preparing, teaching, observing and reflecting on several STEM lessons- I have a few reflections about what can make STEM lessons successful and rich learning opportunities.

  1. Taking the Lead: While STEM is the integration of several disciplines the most successful lessons allow one content area to take the LEAD. For example, if I am teaching the science concept of pushes and pulls, how can literacy, math, engineering and technology be used to support this endeavor? We can measure, analyze the results of the data, engineer something to test all with the main focus on learning about a science content. It is impossible to make each subject the leader and to teach for UNDERSTANDING which is the ultimate goal of STEM lessons. However through multiple experiences and applying skills in a variety of contexts students build understanding of not only the lead content, but the supporting disciplines and skills as well.
  2. Authentic Opportunity for Math and Science Practice Standards: Regardless of which content area takes the lead, STEM lessons allow students to authentically utilize the Common Core Practice Standards. When students manipulate real data they have gathered from a science investigation they have more connection to the numbers which gives them more meaning and allows them to manipulate the data at a whole different level. I can give students a worksheet on measuring angles or I can have students repeatedly measure an angle for testing a science experiment. Either way they will learn angles, but we know which one they will remember more and which one will build this as a skill for life.
  3. Shorter Teaching, More Facilitation: After focusing on a Lead Content Area or maybe Guiding Question and allowing for the authentic integration of other disciplines, you will naturally find your teaching shift. Less teaching will happen up front and more teaching will occur as students naturally ask questions or need guidance to use a new skill. You won’t have to think about how to differentiate the lessons or even pre-assess students skills, as the teacher you will see these things occur naturally. While working in teams students will gravitate to the skills they are most comfortable, students will teach each other how to be precise in their work and you will stop the class when you can tell their is a roadblock to provide a brief mini lesson and then send them on their way.

While these reflections on successful STEM lessons are extremely important it has also gotten me wondering. Due to Common Core Science and Common Core Math standards, STEM is often lead by content for Science, Engineering and Math. However when we look at the jobs of tomorrow more fall into the technology end of the spectrum. According to Code. org 71% of new STEM jobs are in computing. Should TECHNOLOGY take the lead? How would that look? Can we develop lessons to teach the fundamentals of technology and allowing science, engineering and mathematics to support the thinking?

I just taught a lesson using Scratch Jr. where Computer Science principals  took the lead and students applied their geometry knowledge. The conversations about the math were fascinating, but the students’ understanding of the basic principles of computer coding is what really grew. (Slideshow of the lesson)

As a classroom teacher for many years, I know it is difficult to think about how you could fit in one more thing. It makes me wonder though are we teaching for yesterday or tomorrow?