Are you Moving Full STEM Ahead?
Does anyone remember the days when the “stem” was simply another thing for year 7 Science students to label on their “Parts of a Flower” work sheet? It was no more and no less important than the pollen, petals or ovule and perhaps easier to remember than the stigma and the stamen. Now it is the catch cry on everyone’s lips, from politicians to business industry spokespeople. But there’s one voice that isn’t exactly heard in this buzz of STEM endorsements. Where are the traditional teachers in this discussion and what on earth should we be doing with STEM?
Perhaps the reason why we don’t hear much from educators regarding STEM is that, as Williams (2011) points out, “the agenda for this amalgamation [worldwide] is being driven by vocational and economic goals” and “The STEM movement has developed from a non-educational rationale”. For this reason alone Williams warns that developing STEM education is an area where we should “Proceed with Caution”, least the vital elements of each discipline are lost in the mix. Technology is a key element of our lives, and yet the potential is there to sideline it into STEM, forcing it to “once again justify its place in the core curriculum”. Physics and Mathematics run the risk of being watered down in favour of students just building things and the whole approach can end up looking more like a kindergarten construction hour complete with paddle pop sticks and Perkin’s paste.