A Survey Of Best Practices And Key Learning Objectives For Successful Secondary School STEM Academy Settings

Abstract

Specialized secondary schools in the United States focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) are becoming commonplace in the United States. Such schools are generally referred to by U.S. teachers as Academies. In a purposeful effort to provide a resource to educators building new STEM Academies, this study provides both a review of scholarly literature and the interview results from five successful STEM Academy educators from across the United States. This research addresses two overarching questions, a) what are the best practices of STEM Academies, and b) what are the key learning objectives of STEM Academies? Subject integration, in-house engineering curriculum design, student cohorts, community involvement, and internships were all revealed as being consistently reflective of best practices used in successful STEM Academies. Key learning objectives consistent across the literature and in interview results were: problem solving/the engineering design process and soft skills, such as student collaboration, communication, presentation skills and time management.

High school science teachers' receptivity to the next generation science standards : an examination of discipline specific factors

“…These skills included problem solving, dealing with uncertainty and failure, working collaboratively, and engaging in argument from evidence (Adams, 2012;Kasza & Slater, 2017;Mcdonald, 2017).…”

Full STEAM ahead, but who has the map? – A PRISMA systematic review on the incorporation of interdisciplinary learning into schools

“…Sanders (2009) argues for the use of purposeful design and inquiry and while it fits well within their description of integrated STEM education, they provide little evidence beyond anecdotal stories. Similarly, Hasni et al (2015), Kasza and Slater (2017) and Henriksen (2014) rely significantly on individual stories and not extensive evidence-based conclusions. Both Sanders (2009) and Yakman and Lee (2012) proposed that STEM/STEAM sits well within the concept of Constructivism and Cognitive Science, however Yakman and Lee (2012) also links it with several other different educational theories.…”

Quality of Teachers in STEM Learning at Secondary School

“…Penyepaduan STEM dalam pembelajaran di sekolah menengah dapat meningkatkan minat murid semasa menjalankan PdP di kelas (Corlu, Capraro, & Capraro, 2014;J Radloff, 2017). Melalui STEM, aktiviti PdP berjalan lebih hidup, memahirkan imajinasi, produktiviti, memerhati, rekabentuk, kejuruteraan, kemahiran pemikiran aras tinggi, dan psikomotor (Kasza & Slater, 2017;Yildirim & Selvi, 2016). Bagaimanapun, kejayaan proses pembelajaran adalah apabila guru-guru memiliki kualiti pengajaran dan pembelajaran dalam penyampaian PdP (McIntyre, 2014).…”

“…Chang and Park 2014 Dari pelbagai isu terkait kualiti guru-guru dalam pembelajaran STEM, Gardner (2017) mencadangkan supaya pembelajaran STEM dapat dilaksanakan secara terpadu, lebih berkesan dan menyeronokkan melalui langkah-langkah berikut; (i) pembelajaran dilaksanakan berasaskan projek, (ii) waktu instruksional yang fleksibel, (iii) pengajaran dilaksanakan konsisten dengan dua orang guru atau lebih, (iv) berorientasi pada pengembangan kemahiran sosial, (v) disokong dengan penggunaan teknologi sepenuhnya, dan (vi) proses pembelajaran bisa dilaksanakan di luar kelas. STEM di sekolah menengah dapat berjaya apabila penyepaduan subjek dalam STEM, rekabentuk kurikulum kejuruteraan dalaman, kohort pelajar, penglibatan komuniti, dan latihan (Kasza & Slater, 2017…”