scholarly journals STEM and STEAM Education in Australian K–12 Schooling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn ◽  
Melissa Silk ◽  
Jane Martin
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Stem Programs ◽  
Elementary Schooling ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Engineering Mathematics ◽  
Steam Education ◽  
K 12

STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education has become a global agenda, with schooling systems around the world in developed and developing countries seeking to incorporate STEM programs into their in-school and out-of-school curricula. While disciplinary integration has been common practice in primary (elementary) schooling for many decades, in the early 21st century the STEM education movement has promoted an increased focus on project- and problem-based learning across disciplines in secondary schools as well. Research suggests, however, that STEM education programs can face barriers in their implementation, often depending on whether they are designed to align with existing curriculum outcomes or whether they are developed as cocurricular programs. Challenges are also presented by the need for professional learning to equip teachers with new skills and knowledge in designing and delivering STEM education. In addition, some researchers and educators have argued for STEAM—integration of the arts in STEM education. For those concerned with school reform, a great strength of STEM and STEAM education approaches lies in the potential for transdisciplinarity. As such, new opportunities and possibilities for framing driving questions and addressing contemporary societal challenges are created. Two particular issues identified as critical are (a) the potential contribution of STEM education to creating a sustainable future, and (b) the importance of STEM education for social justice, in ensuring all children and young people have equitable access to learning opportunities.

STEM Education, Economic Productivity, and Social Justice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Drew
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
The United States ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Economic Productivity ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
K 12

Just as the factory assembly line replaced the farmer’s plow as the symbol of economic productivity at the beginning of the 19th century, so the computer and its software have replaced the assembly line at the beginning of the 21st century. In the United States, and in countries around the world, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education has moved front and center in national discussions of both productivity and social justice. This article will include (a) a review of how the world of work has changed, with a special focus on the history and impact of digital technology since ca. 1970; (b) lessons from research about K-12 education—elementary, middle school, and secondary education—and about higher education; and (c) research about how to increase access to education, and facilitate achievement, for those who traditionally have been under-represented in STEM education. Rigorous research has demonstrated how psychological and sociological factors (e.g., self-concepts, instructor expectations, and social support) often make the difference between student success and failure. To fully contextualize consideration of STEM education, many advocate broadening STEM to STEAM by including the arts, or the arts and humanities, in building educational programs. In today’s world a young person who wishes to secure a better life for himself or herself would be well advised to study STEM. Furthermore, a nation that wishes to advance economically, while reducing the gap between the have’s and the have-not’s, should strengthen its STEM education infrastructure.

scholarly journals STEAM Course Development and Design based on Design Thinking: A Case Study on “Self-induction Demonstrator”

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi Li ◽  
Yaxi Zhang ◽  
Meiqi Yu ◽  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Xinyu Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
School Design ◽  
Creative Development ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
Engineering Mathematics ◽  
Steam Education ◽  
Interdisciplinary Knowledge ◽  
Deep Integration ◽  
K 12

STEAM education is a new direction of education reform in the 21st century. It can cultivate students’ ability to creatively solve practical problems, integrate and apply interdisciplinary knowledge. It is an effective way to help students master the 21st century’s abilities. All countries spare no effort to let it be local Take root. The integration of design thinking and STEAM education provides a good opportunity for students' comprehensive and creative development. Therefore, we use the D. School design thinking model developed by Stanford University to develop a STEAM course based on design thinking to improve students' STEAM literacy and the skills and abilities that company needs for high-quality development. This STEAM course takes "Self-induction Demonstrator" as the project theme, including five steps: Empathize, Define, Ideal, Prototype, and Test. It aims to provide a reference paradigm for the design and implementation of the K-12 STEAM course, and promote the deep integration of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and art.

scholarly journals Integrated STEM for Teacher Professional Learning and Development: “I Need Time for Practice”

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Andrea C. Burrows ◽  
Mike Borowczak ◽  
Adam Myers ◽  
Andria C. Schwortz ◽  
Courtney McKim
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Authentic Science ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
K 12

This study compares three pre-collegiate teacher professional learning and development (PLD) integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences framed in astronomy. The study is set in the western United States (USA) and involves 60 pre-collegiate teachers (in the USA these are K-12 teachers) over the course of three years (June 2014–May 2017). During the PLDs, astronomy acted as a vehicle for pre-collegiate STEM teachers to increase their STEM content knowledge as well as create and implement integrated STEM classroom lessons. The authors collected quantitative and qualitative data to address five research questions and embraced social constructionism as the theoretical framework. Findings show that STEM pre-collegiate teachers are largely engaged with integrated STEM PLD content and embrace astronomy content and authentic science. Importantly, they need time to practice, interpret, translate, and use the integrated STEM content in classroom lessons. Recommendations for PLD STEM teacher support are provided. Implications of this study are vast, as gaps in authentic science, utilizing astronomy, PLD structure, and STEM integration are ripe for exploration.

A Decade of Research on K–12 Teaching and Teacher Learning with Social Media: Insights on the State of the Field

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-72
Author(s):  
Christine Greenhow ◽  
Sarah M. Galvin ◽  
Diana L. Brandon ◽  
Emilia Askari
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
The State ◽  
Classroom Teaching ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
K 12

Background and Context The increasingly widespread use of social media to expand one's social connections is a relatively new but important phenomenon that has implications for teaching, learning, and teachers’ professional knowledge and development in the 21st century. Educational research in this area is expanding, but further investigation is necessary to better determine how to best support teachers in their professional development, collaboration, and classroom teaching. Prior literature reviews have focused extensively on higher education settings or particular platforms or platform types (e.g., Facebook, microblogging). This article provides needed insights into K–12 settings and encompasses work from a variety of social media types. We describe a systematic review of more than a decade of educational research from various countries to present the state of the field in K–12 teachers’ use of social media for teaching and professional learning across various platforms. Research Questions To define social media's potentially beneficial roles in teaching and learning, we must first take an in-depth look at teachers’ current social media practices. Toward this end, we approached our review with the following research question: How are social media perceived and used by K–12 teachers for their teaching or professional learning, and with what impacts on teachers’ practices? Research Design Guided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) established standards for rigor and quality in systematic literature reviews, this article reviews empirical research to examine how social media are perceived and used by K–12 teachers with what impacts on teachers’ practices. Findings We find that social media features offer several benefits for helping teachers fulfill their goals for classroom teaching, including enhancing student engagement, community connections, and teacher–student interactions, but these affordances come with challenges that must be navigated. The literature also suggests that social media features provide benefits for teachers’ professional learning within both formal professional development programs and informal learning networks. Conclusions Implications of this literature review for future research and the design of educational practices are discussed in the final section. Among our conclusions are calls for more data triangulation between teachers’ and students’ learning and experiences on social media, more attention to teachers’ observational behaviors on social media, and further exploration of how social media facilitates interplay between teachers’ formal and informal learning.

scholarly journals How STEM Academy Teachers Conceptualize and Implement STEM Education

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-58
Author(s):  
Teruni Lamberg ◽  
Nicole Trzynadlowski
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Reading Activities ◽  
Science Activities

STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education has been gaining increasing nationwide attention. While the STEM movement has ambitious goals for k-12 education, a lack of shared understanding exists of what STEM is as well as how to implement STEM in the elementary classroom. This study investigates how seven elementary teachers in three STEM academy schools conceptualize and implement STEM in their classrooms. Teacher interviews were conducted. The findings reveal that the majority of teachers believe that STEM education involves integrating STEM subject areas. STEM activities consisted of student-led research and reading activities on STEM topics. Two teachers described STEM as involving “hands-on” science activities. Teachers at each STEM academy school conceptualized and implemented STEM differently. How STEM was implemented at each school was based on how teachers interpreted STEM and the resources they had access to. The STEM coaches played a central role in supporting the elementary teachers to plan and implement lessons. Teachers relied on them for ideas to plan and teach STEM lessons. The results of this study indicate that as more schools embrace the STEM movement, a unified understanding and resources are needed to support teachers.

scholarly journals A logical approach to supporting professional learning communities

2011 ◽  
pp. 599-620
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Content Management ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Collaborative Tools ◽  
Integration Strategies

Collaborative knowledge sharing requires that dialogues successfully cross organizational barriers and information silos. Successful communication in person or in a virtual community involves a willingness to share ideas and consider diverse viewpoints. This research examines a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content management system called NASATalk, which offers public and private blog posts, file sharing, asynchronous discussion, and live chat services. The service is designed to provide a virtual environment where educators can share ideas, suggestions, successes, and innovations in STEM teaching and learning activities. This study features qualitative data from STEM education groups that helped extend the design of the NASATalk Web 2.0 collaborative tools and features. The analysis shows that the context, e-collaborative tools, integration strategies, and outcomes varied, but also contributed additional space, time, tools, integration strategies, and outcomes through the virtual collaborative learning environment. This study is designed to inform the STEM education community as well as those offering virtual community resources and tools of the added value of using virtual communities to help STEM educators work together in collaborative, virtual environments to discuss ways they can improve their instruction and student performance.

scholarly journals Choreographing increased understanding and positive attitudes towards coding by integrating dance

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-48
Author(s):  
Breeann Flesch ◽  
Camila Gabaldón ◽  
Matthew Nabity ◽  
Darryl Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Student Surveys ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Steam Education ◽  
Statistical Approaches ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Positive Effect

Increasing the inclusion of underrepresented individuals in coding is an intractable problem, with a variety of initiatives trying to improve the situation. Many of these initiatives involve STEAM education, which combines the arts with traditional STEM disciplines. Evidence is emerging that this approach is making headway on this complex problem. We present one such initiative, iLumiDance Coding, which attempts to pique the interest and increase confidence of students in coding, by combining it with a fun and physical activity: dance. The connections between dance and coding, while not immediately obvious, are authentic, and we hypothesize that this approach will increase student comfort level with coding. We used student surveys of attitudes toward coding and a variety of statistical approaches to analyze our initiative. Each analysis showed a positive effect on student comfort level with coding. These results are useful for both educators and researchers since they contribute to a deeper understanding of how to increase interest in coding, which we hope will lead to an increase in representation.

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