K-12 STEM Education: An Overview of Perspectives and Considerations

Abstract

Over the last two decades, discussions, rhetoric, recommendations, and policies regarding STEM education have escalated among businesses and industry, policy makers, think tanks, and educators around the world. STEM education is cast as pivotal in increasing productivity, prosperity, and global competitiveness; as a lynchpin in addressing current and future socio-geo-political-economic challenges; as a panacea for filling shortages in workforce pipelines. In this commentary, we discuss the emergence of STEM acronym, its variants, and the rhetoric surrounding STEM that drives educational policy. We examine more closely the integration of STEM and present an example of how in our own work, we have begun to clarify the characteristics of integrated STEM that guide our projects. We summarize some of the research studies in the emerging field of integrated STEM that document its benefits and reflect on the opportunities afforded STEM educators for future research. This commentary is by no means exhaustive, but is intended to instigate thought, reflection, and progress regarding the nascent state of integrating the STEM disciplines.

Editorial: STEM Education: “What’s in a Name?”

“…However, we also see that, when one examines authors' backgrounds, technology education people rarely contribute, if any, to these journals. These observations support the claims of Bryan & Guzey (2020) in this issue as to how the term STEM originated.…”

“…In this inaugural issue we begin with two reviews of the literature. Bryan and Guzey (2020) are starting with the origins of the STEM acronym and in reviewing the literature making a case for integrated STEM education by asserting that emerging studies are revealing that a positive impact is being created by integrated STEM on student learning of science and mathematics with a catalyzer role of engineering and technology.…”

The effectiveness of an integratedSTEMcurriculum unit on middle school students' life science learning

“…Due to these reforms and policy documents, there has been a steady increase in research studies on integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, particularly science and engineering (English, 2017). In contrast to traditional discipline‐specific instruction, integrated STEM instruction refers to models of explicit, intentional integration of STEM disciplines' core disciplinary content and practices (Bryan & Guzey, 2020; Bybee, 2013; National Academy of Engineering [NAE]/National Research Council [NRC], 2014). Specifically, integrated STEM education suggests teaching science and/or mathematics by integrating engineering and technology design to solve authentic problems in culturally and socially relevant contexts (Bryan et al, 2015).…”

Editorial: A New Era with STEM Education?

“…can provide the tools to develop artifacts following he engineering design process integrating Computational Thinking concepts with interdisciplinary approaches through problem solving. Integrated STEM (for Indicator descriptors you can visit the article by Bryan & Guzey, 2020) can also enhance internal motives for STEM based activities (Bryan & Guzey, 2020;Guzey, et al, 2017).…”