STEM Education & Predicaments
Once a wise man said Change is the only constant and there couldn’t be a better opener for a topic that craves changes, our education system. But how much has changed? Are the learning methods still relevant? Have we learned anything from generations of academic blueprints? If you are not living in a cave or something, it wouldn’t take too long to answer. But, at the same time, there is no definite answer to this problem. Some parts of the world have evolved their education system with time. They understood that with globalization, technological advancements, and other technical factors, practical exposure to the students is essential. This is where STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education came into the picture. It started in the US, where the educators felt that students lacked scientific competency and knowledge. They gave this issue enough thought to have come up with a parallel curriculum.
STEM education was introduced for kids going to kindergarten as well as the young brilliant minds in their 12th grade. The idea was to focus more on project-based activities to be applied after learning the science concepts. Also, STEM sought to apply mathematics to link with real-world problems and solve them using technologies or/and engineering. The number of STEM jobs created saw a surge the following decade after the introduction of STEM education. Along with the US, many other countries decided to add the curriculum. Lego blocks, basic robotics, hands-on activities in mathematics, teamwork, creative solutions, and many other engaging aspects are part of the STEM curriculum.
The idea is exciting enough, but there are some issues with it. Some of them are the concerns of the educators or the teachers, and some are related to the students.
So what are they?
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Well, since there are interdisciplinary connections in STEM, the activities of the programs should make sense. But it is not always possible to get it right. Even with the training, teachers in the schools face challenges creating activities that connect the STEM disciplines. A possible reason for this may be that the teachers do not have a collective STEM background. For example, the school teachers get their training from teachers with STEM experience. Here, the training revolves around coding for robotics, handling the workshop or activities, collecting the resources, etc. But this means a hindrance in the allocated time. Homeroom or class teachers, who are now also handling the STEM curriculum, have to make time for the newly added activities. It might affect their productivity as they have to learn and dwell on a new set of things. The way STEM is perceived by educators matters a lot as well. One teacher thinks of STEM as using LEGO blocks to build robotic models and coding them. The other would think of it as creating an online quiz, creating journals, etc. Both are correct but not collectively.
The idea is exciting enough, but there are some issues with it. Some of them are the concerns of the educators or the teachers, and some are related to the students.
So what are they?
Well, since there are interdisciplinary connections in STEM, the activities of the programs should make sense. But it is not always possible to get it right. Even with the training, teachers in the schools face challenges creating activities that connect the STEM disciplines. A possible reason for this may be that the teachers do not have a collective STEM background. For example, the school teachers get their training from teachers with STEM experience. Here, the training revolves around coding for robotics, handling the workshop or activities, collecting the resources, etc. But this means a hindrance in the allocated time. Homeroom or class teachers, who are now also handling the STEM curriculum, have to make time for the newly added activities. It might affect their productivity as they have to learn and dwell on a new set of things. The way STEM is perceived by educators matters a lot as well. One teacher thinks of STEM as using LEGO blocks to build robotic models and coding them. The other would think of it as creating an online quiz, creating journals, etc. Both are correct but not collectively.
STEM education is teaching real-world problem-solving methods, 21st-century skills, inspiring to innovate, etc. to students. However, critical thinking needs to be prioritized instead of the rewarding scheme of memorization. It would probably reduce the dropouts or subject changes among the STEM students. The education system we offer to students should be process-oriented instead of result-oriented.
But, should we discard this great idea of revolutionizing the education system? Not at all. If graduates with STEM degrees were to join the forces as teachers, we might overcome the shortcomings and the overburdening of the regular school teachers. Design Thinking also comes to the rescue. Applying design thinking to overcome the problems mentioned might give us unanimous results in favor of the STEM methodology.
