What is STEM and why is it important?
I'm sure that we have all heard about STEM in the past year or two. You may even know that it stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. But did you know that it also relates to Social Studies? Did you think about the fact that we already lived in a STEM world before the term STEM even existed? "STEM is everywhere; it shapes our everyday experiences." Science can be found in the daily weather, technology in your phone or computer, engineering in the building you live or work in, and mathematics at the grocery store or the bank. If the world around us is the very definition of STEM why wouldn't we teach these concepts to our students? STEM schools and programs are popping up everywhere, but shouldn't every classroom already be a "STEM classroom?" After all, we should be teaching Today's Learners using the curriculum as well as 21st Century skills. We must constantly connect learning to real-world experiences and examples.
Now you're probably thinking, "How does STEM connect to Social Studies?" The article I found stressed that "We only have to look around to see what improvements to our lives and homes have been engineered in the last decade alone" and "that STEM careers are truly 'helping' professions that build communities and transform nations." I know that in fourth grade there are Social Studies standards that say, "Explain the impact of technology (communication, transportation, and inventions) on NC's citizens, past and present" (4.G.1.4) and "Summarize changes that have occurred in NC since statehood (population growth, transportation, communication, and land use)" (4.G.1.1). To me, these standards illustrate that Social Studies can be used to study changes in the world around us caused by STEM.
I Related what I learned about STEM to NCTCS #3 (and all of it's points). By knowing what STEM is and the content you are required to teach you will be able to seamlessly integrate STEM with any subject area. Also, STEM is the new move for the workforce and by fostering an interest and respect for STEM in the elementary school and beyond prepares students to live and work in the 21st Century world.
In my future classroom, I would like to become STEM certified, but be able to intertwine STEM within all other subject areas. I want my students to be well versed in Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math, but I also want them to know that these subjects relate to real life and how they relate. I am interested in finding out what it takes to become STEM certified.
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteI have heard of the word STEM thrown around from time to time, but I had no idea what it stood for. I am very grateful that you enlightened me on what that meant, and how to use it in my future classroom. I like the statement you made when you said that STEM is all around, and that since it is all around, why not teach it? We want what we teach our students to be relevant, therefore we should incorporate STEM and how we see it all around us, everyday.
Great blog! :)
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this information on STEM. I never knew what the acronym stood for, though I heard it time and time again.I see these STEM schools and programs developing more and more and had always been unsure what their complete program was about. However, I do remember asking one of the teachers that I observed which she thought was better-- STEM or traditional-- and she said traditional She said that all STEM teachers think their program is better but its nit because it can be limiting. I probably wont know until I become a teacher in either program. Thanks for sharing.
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteI think it is a great goal to become STEM certified. STEM is not going away anytime soon. I am glad to see that you mentioned the importance of real life connections. In my opinion, this aspect of teaching does not occur nearly enough in today's classrooms.