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STEM education
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The acronym "STEM", originally coined as an education term by the National Science Foundation in the early 2000s, refers to four educational subject disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. STEM education, therefore, refers to an education initiative that addresses quality and participation in these disciplines out of economic, political, and educational concerns. Americans had historically performed well in these subject areas, but waning student interest, performance and quality of education prompted a push to reinvigorate participation and quality in these disciplines. Since STEM education was first emphasized in the 1950s in response to Soviet scientific advances, public agencies and private organizations have tried to promote interest in these disciplines. Recently, the Obama administration spearheaded a campaign called "Educate to Innovate" using what President Barack Obama called an "all hands on deck" approach. This campaign is one of many that attempts to bring America to the forefront of science and technology.[1][2]
History
1950s
The first time science and technology education was emphasized was after the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik in 1957. Many Americans believed more needed to be done in order to compete with other countries in the global arena. President Dwight Eisenhower spoke to the American people about the need for more science and technology education in his time:[3]
| “ | The Soviet Union now has – in the combined category of scientists and engineers – a greater number than the United States. And it is producing graduates in these fields at a much faster rate.
We need scientists in the ten years ahead. They (the President’s advisors) say we need them by thousands more than we are now presently planning to have. The Federal government can deal with only part of this difficulty, but it must and will do its part. The task is a cooperative one. Federal, state, and local governments, and our entire citizenry must all do their share.[4] |
” |
| —President Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||
In 1958, shortly after the Sputnik launch, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was founded. NASA's creation helped organize the nation's science programs and served as the leader of the country's push for greater science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and awareness. The public's attention on space and engineering motivated more students to pursue the relevant fields.
1980s and beyond
The Engineering Workforce Commission measured approximately 80,000 students graduating from engineering programs per year in the mid-1980s. Years of education reform programs tried to attract more students and improve the quality of STEM programs. However, projections done by several groups, including one conducted by the STEM advocacy group STEMconnector, show an alarming gap between the number of prepared STEM graduates and the number of needed jobs in the STEM fields. This gap and the desire to gain global leadership in the increasingly necessary field of STEM subjects has inspired more attempts to reform and improve STEM education.[3][5][6]
STEM in the 21st century
| “ |
Leadership tomorrow depends on how we educate our students today—especially in science, technology, engineering and math."[4] |
” |
| —President Barack Obama, September 16, 2010 | ||
As mentioned above, the United States government and various research groups have reported a decline in STEM performance. One of these groups, STEMconnector, has published several reports indicating a need for more Americans to move into STEM fields. During a 2013 STEM symposium at Capitol Hill, STEMconnector's director, Edie Fraser, said that 2.5 million STEM jobs were not being filled at that time, and that her group projected 71 percent of new STEM jobs would require a computer science background.[7]
The U.S. Department of Education published its own article discussing STEM education. The chart to the right includes the Department of Education's projections for STEM-related job increases.[8]
In this article, the Department of Education disclosed the following information:
- "Only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in mathematics and interested in a STEM career."
- The United States ranked "25th in mathematics and 17th in science among industrialized nations."
- The Obama administration pledged to work towards the following goals:
STEMconnector study
STEMconnector is one of the largest organizations dedicated to documenting and improving STEM education and related programs. The organization released a study for the 2012-2013 school year examining current trends, provided projections for future trends, and highlighted other issues within STEM education.
The charts to the right measure STEM interest among high school students. The chart on the top compares interest by gender, and the lower chart compares interest by ethnicity. Although both charts show fluctuating interest in the past, STEMconnector shows a projected increase from 2011 and on. It is important to note that these charts only show interest in STEM subjects. The numbers on the chart do not necessarily reflect the number of students who progress into STEM careers.[10]
Gender
The gender chart shows a large gap between male and female students interested in STEM subjects. Although the size of this gap stayed relatively constant throughout the years measured, the gap was projected to increase from 2011 and on. This projected increase has prompted many STEM groups to focus on attracting more female students to science. Data also show that even female students who are interested in STEM subjects are largely attracted to biology, chemistry, marine biology and science. Computer science and engineering are two of the least popular fields for women in STEM.[10]
Ethnicity
The ethnicity chart shows a different yet still significant issue. Asian students have maintained significantly more interest in STEM subjects than all other ethnic groups in America. American Indians have had the second highest interest since 2002. Black and Hispanic students have consistently had the two lowest ratings of interest since 2004. Because of this, some experts believe that one of the best ways to increase STEM interest is to focus recruitment efforts on underrepresented ethnic groups. STEMconnector argues that special effort should be given to recruiting black students, as they are the only ethnic group to experience constant overall decline since 2000 with the exception of a brief rise from 2004 to 2007.[10]
Initiatives
Educate to Innovate
The "Educate to Innovate" campaign of 2009, organized by the Obama administration, applies to a wide range of initiatives all designed to improve STEM education throughout the country. These initiatives include grants, awareness programs and education reform efforts.
Some of the most significant gains made by the campaign have been in military-affiliated schools. One year after Educate to Innovate began, military-partnered schools noted an 85 percent increase in qualifying AP test scores in math and science, 10 times the national average. By 2012, those schools maintained test performance that was still at least six times greater than the national average.[11]
One of President Obama's goals for the Educate to Innovate campaign was to inspire other groups to fund or support STEM education in an "all-hands-on-deck" approach. CEOs of over 100 different companies have worked towards supporting new programs, including "Change the Equation."[12]
Another goal of the Educate to Innovate campaign is to prepare 100,000 new STEM educators by 2021. Similar to the Change the Equation organization, over 150 different groups have come together to create "100kin10."[12]
As mentioned above, one of the major goals of STEM improvement programs is to recruit more women, girls and minorities to enter into these subjects. President Obama has worked to create more influential role models for girls interested in STEM subjects by naming female leaders for certain STEM organizations. Examples include "Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar, and National Science Foundation Acting Director Cora Marrett." Many of the programs inspired by the Educate to Innovate campaign, such as Change the Equation, name recruiting more minorities as one of their goals.[12]
Change the Equation
As a direct result of the Educate to Innovate campaign, Change the Equation was launched in 2010 by over 100 CEOs from various businesses and organizations. Change the Equation, or CTEq, pools the resources of these CEOs and generates additional programs to improve STEM education.[13]
CTEq has done the following since it began in 2010:
- Published a report called Vital Signs that measures the STEM conditions in each state and the District of Columbia. This report is regularly updated.
- Launched "STEMworks," a database of STEM programs deemed most effective as determined by a rubric, which was also generated by CTEq.
- Designed iON Future, a suite of games designed to foster interest in STEM subjects among middle school-aged students.
- Recorded and presented interviews of inspiring STEM professionals to students in order to generate more interest.[13]
100kin10
Started in 2011, 100kin10 is a movement that strives to generate more interest and incentive to train 100,000 new STEM educators by 2021. One of its approaches is to improve STEM education overall. By doing so, more students are likely to maintain interest in STEM subjects throughout their education careers. The hope behind this is that the interest will lead to more people interested in teaching STEM subjects. More teachers with passion for STEM subjects will motivate more students to pursue STEM fields, and the cycle will continue. The movement also strives to change how teachers are trained, hired and paid so that more excellent STEM teachers enter and stay in the education field. The organization has also raised over $30 million as of 2014.[14][12]
This movement also hopes to prove that a nongovernmental organization can affect change without the help of the federal government.[15]
Objections and alternatives
Although there is a definite and recorded need for qualified professionals in STEM fields, some argue that the need is not as severe as the above programs imply. This may be because some feel there are more pressing needs, that the need for STEM professionals is overstated by the studies conducted so far, or that there are other alternative programs that require more attention.
An exaggerated crisis
The most significant objection raised by STEM opponents is that the STEM crisis, which has motivated the spending of millions of dollars on STEM advocacy programs, is grossly exaggerated. Opponents cite conflicting data; while many studies insist that there will be more STEM jobs than STEM professionals, there are other reports that state the opposite. Opponents also believe that many of these studies calling for more STEM workers are too vague. There are no concise definitions of what makes a "STEM worker," so it is difficult to ascertain how much education one must obtain. As such, there are no clear weaknesses in STEM education that must be addressed. Without clear weaknesses, opponents argue that STEM education reform is no more important than general education reform. There is also data that suggests a decline in STEM interest throughout the world. This leads some to think that the STEM crisis, believed to be a symptom of failing United States education, can be attributed to a much larger global trend. While this may warrant some attention from policymakers, opponents of STEM education reform believe that interest in STEM subjects will continue to wax and wane naturally. This suggests that the time and money spent on reforming STEM education may be better spent elsewhere.[16][17]
STEAM movement
The STEAM movement is more of an altered approach to the STEM movement than direct opposition to it. The "STEAM" acronym includes all of the same subjects as STEM, but adds "Art" as an additional component. Proponents of the STEAM approach believe the creativity and innovation that can come from an education in the arts significantly adds to an individual's ability to succeed in STEM fields. One article by U.S. News & World Report discusses different math and science education approaches that incorporate the arts. For instance, a teacher used discussion of Mexican mosaics to help eighth grade students better understand math. By teaching them about the math behind creating these mosaics, students can understand math in a real-world setting. Proponents of the STEAM movement insist that such lessons are not possible using only STEM approaches. They feel that the arts become imperative in order to create as many highly qualified professionals as possible.[18][19]
See also
- Education policy in the United States
- Public education in the United States
- School choice on the ballot
- Education on the ballot
- Education policy project
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Live Science, "What is STEM education?" accessed January 26, 2015
- ↑ International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, "Evolution of STEM in the United States," accessed March 18, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Endeavor - Science Teaching Certificate Project, "A history of STEM - Reigning the challenge with NGSS and CCSS," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ LiveScience, "What is STEM education?" accessed February 11, 2015
- ↑ National Aeronautics and Space Administration, "NASA fact sheet," accessed February 11, 2015
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Behind America's decline in math, science and technology," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 U.S. Department of Education, "Science, technology, engineering and math: Education for global leadership," accessed February 13, 2015
- ↑ [This article, published by the U.S. Department of Education, did not include a publishing date. However, the information from this article suggests it was published sometime between 2010 and 2014]
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 STEMconnector, "Where are the STEM students? What are their career interests? Where are the STEM jobs?" accessed February 13, 2015
- ↑ National Math and Science Initiative, "President Obama celebrates progress on Educate to Innovate STEM campaign," accessed February 13, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 WhiteHouse.gov, "Educate to Innovate," accessed February 13, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Change the Equation, "CTEq History," accessed February 16, 2015
- ↑ 100kin10.org, "About us - Goals," accessed February 16, 2015
- ↑ 100kin10.org, "About us - Main," accessed February 16, 2015
- ↑ Spectrum.ieee.org, "The STEM crisis is a myth," accessed February 16, 2015
- ↑ Forbes.com, "True or false: America desperately needs more STEM workers," accessed February 16, 2015
- ↑ PBS.org "STEAM ahead: Merging arts and science education," accessed February 16, 2015
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Gaining STEAM: Teaching science through art," accessed February 16, 2015
