Providing for STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and math) in all of California’s PK-12 classrooms is integral to ensuring California’s students graduate college and career ready and capable of filling the jobs required in a STEM workforce.
The Common Core State Standards and the imminent New Generation Science Standards, as well as the Career and Technical Education standards are supporting the opportunity to develop STEM education in all classrooms. California’s STEM Task Force Report vision is that “California leads the world in STEM education, inspiring and preparing all of its students to seize the opportunities of the global society through innovation, inquiry, collaboration, and creative problem solving.” (2016) Although a STEM education is both an approach and interdisciplinary method of teaching and learning, it is also much more than the four disciplines. This approach teaches students to be problem solvers, communicators, creative thinkers, and collaborators. In essence, students learn to …show more content…
Over the past 20 years, research in STEM learning has found key factors that are necessary for engaging-and effective-STEM education. In addition to providing opportunities to inspire students to be scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, thus allowing for the application of their learning to real-world problems and issues, it also capitalizes on student interests. By learning to wonder about and investigate their world, they become critical thinkers and creative problem solvers-early innovators. Learning becomes relevant, interesting, and important to the students. It is for these factors that STEM education is a necessity in every PK-12 classroom. The learners in our schools today must leave with the skills necessary to be competitive and thus successful in the workforce the will be
The Common Core State Standards and the imminent New Generation Science Standards, as well as the Career and Technical Education standards are supporting the opportunity to develop STEM education in all classrooms. California’s STEM Task Force Report vision is that “California leads the world in STEM education, inspiring and preparing all of its students to seize the opportunities of the global society through innovation, inquiry, collaboration, and creative problem solving.” (2016) Although a STEM education is both an approach and interdisciplinary method of teaching and learning, it is also much more than the four disciplines. This approach teaches students to be problem solvers, communicators, creative thinkers, and collaborators. In essence, students learn to …show more content…
Over the past 20 years, research in STEM learning has found key factors that are necessary for engaging-and effective-STEM education. In addition to providing opportunities to inspire students to be scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, thus allowing for the application of their learning to real-world problems and issues, it also capitalizes on student interests. By learning to wonder about and investigate their world, they become critical thinkers and creative problem solvers-early innovators. Learning becomes relevant, interesting, and important to the students. It is for these factors that STEM education is a necessity in every PK-12 classroom. The learners in our schools today must leave with the skills necessary to be competitive and thus successful in the workforce the will be