What is STEM?

What is STEM and STEAM? 

As a mom and a former public school educator, I keep hearing about STEM. It's the new buzzword in the education sector. Well, what if you're a homeschool mom? I believe it is very important to keep an ear out on what is taking place in the educational side of your state and national government. After all, whether or not your children are being homeschooled or going to a private or Christian school, they all end up in the same pool after graduation. We know children are our future, but what we do in the nasty now now can help our children be successful in their future. So let's talk about STEM and what it means for us homeschool moms.


STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) are clearly the have all and be alls of the world. These

are the foundations of what I call the "smart" careers. (Careers at which I don't find myself ever qualifying for.) 

Anyway, our world is always changing at rapid speed and our children need to be students of these subjects to be successful. The problem is that "research shows that by 4th grade, 1/3 of students have lost interest in science" and "by as early as 2nd grade, students start stereotyping math as a male's subject". 
That's a problem!

Here's why a push for STEM has been organized: According to STEMconnector.org and LiveScience.com, we have a major shortage in jobs for STEM knowledgeable people. In fact, it is stated that by only 2018 we will have a need of over 8 million jobs to fill with 600,000 manufacturing shortages.  Here's the breakdown of STEM jobs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2018:

• Computing – 71 percent
• Traditional Engineering – 16 percent
• Physical sciences – 7 percent
• Life sciences – 4 percent
• Mathematics – 2 percent

Does this mean my kid needs to play with legos more? Haha. Well maybe. Actually the website above states that less than half of STEM related jobs actually don't require a college degree. So you're thinking, good news for my pocket! Hold on. It does also state that four year degrees in these fields help with salary scales as having a bachelor's increases your salary by an average 26%. Yes, send your kids to college, of course and make sure they love STEM subjects on the way.

What does it look like and how is it different from what we currently teach and do?

"What separates STEM from the traditional science and math education is the blended learning environment and showing students how the scientific method can be applied to everyday life."(livescience.com) It  teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real world applications of problem solving. As mentioned before, STEM education begins while students are very young.
If you're rusty on what the Scientific Method is, visit http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml.

According to  Going Deep: STEM in the Connected Classroom, an activity is only truly a STEM activity if it involves ALL science, technology, engineering and math.  Think "unit study", only add engineering.   Not only are students to be constructing, designing, gathering data about their design, redesigning, problem solving and using math, science and technology to do this, they are to be communicating regularly during their project with other students working on a similar project and or professionals via technology resources. 

I know as an educator that rich, effective teaching should be deep and integrate as many subject areas as possible. STEM does that with a specific focus on the concentrations of science, technology, engineering and math being tied together. However, the difference is that it is NOT a collection of activities using the four areas of study separately around one topic of study. That is how we teach now. STEM is seeing a problem and using science, math, engineering and technology to solve it. 

You can have a STEM learning environment with a head focus on one of the four concentrations. Let's explore this concept. 

© 2014 ETA hand2mind

1. Engineering Focus: It must involve the engineering process shown in the graphic from ETA Hand2Mind.com. Using this focus, children engineer to solve a problem utilizing science, technology and math along the way. This is probably the most unexplored focus coming from a classroom perspective. It's not just building something related to what you're studying. It's very similar in my mind to the writing process- multi-step revision and editing. This is more than building with legos. It's design with purpose. My father-in-law is a gas engineer and the graphic shown here is exactly what he does all day long. He defines a problem or creates an idea for a gas water heater. He then plans how it should look and what it should do. He works in a team to make the model, test the model and redesign the model until it works the way he envisioned. Pretty neat? He, the engineer, is in fact close to extinction if we cannot effectively teach our children the art of engineering. No more warm showers. Just kidding! For an interesting story about a real life engineering focus read about how NASA used this focus to win the race to the moon.


2. Science Focus: This focus starts with a question and uses all four concentrations to answer it. 

3. Math Focus: It is extremely difficult to start with math for a focus because math really is the key focus in all the other concentrations. "Engineers would be tinkerers without mathematics". 

4. Technology Focus: Students learn about technology we already have and try to make it better. This reminds me of the cartoon "Curious George".
 "This "make a better mousetrap" approach motivates students to learn the science needed to understand how the technology works, perfect mathematics needed to run the technology properly and safely, and some engineering design process in order to effectively improve the devices." (engineersplayground.com)


This is a new way of thinking and is no longer a shallow form of education we had as children. STEM learning should be designed to take students deep into a subject. STEAM, STEM, with the addition of art is also gaining speed. Imagine your children taking what they're learning to the next level with a cross-curricular approach. Extending in writing and fine arts is just one more way to extend their learning. 

Goals for STEM learning in each grade level

STEM in the Early Grades discusses what early childhood students can do in the way of STEM learning. While we would initially assume this is for upper elementary through high school, elementary students can also participate.

At the elementary school level, to pique interest is the key by providing inquiry-based and problem-based learning. This requires a lot of time and working through steps of trial and error to get to a desired result. However, this is very structured and projects are based on the standards of learning for the state in which the child resides or standards set forth by the school. Students will need the opportunity to participate in learning outside the classroom too. 

For homeschool moms, this is easy! A word of caution: I am not suggesting to abandon your usual curriculum or methods of homeschooling as we know that young children need that grammar stage and foundations of all subjects, but adding these learning experiences can train them to think in a problem solving manner.

For middle school, STEM becomes more rigorous and students would be aware of fields and occupations relating to STEM. As they enter and pass through high school, they may be on specific STEM tracks toward an occupation or career by training for it. 

For Homeschool

This is a topic for which I am hard pressed to find reliable resources as of yet. They simply aren't available for a homeschool setting and the resources I have found aren't affordable.  We are hoping to add to our staff a teacher author, Ms. Casey, this school year coming. She is a STEM teacher in an elementary school and will have great resources and ideas to share here on Freshly Chewed. She will be journeying through this new way of learning with her students this coming school year, 2014-2015 and will be using mostly common items which are inexpensive; you can find their work on the FB page, Cedar Ridge Science Lab. I am excited about seeing what they will be learning and you will be sure to gain some ideas from her. So, stay with us!

Why should children (and adults) be steeped in knowledge and ability of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics?  

These are the contents of study that change our world, that allow us to invent and problem solve. Think of some of the engineered luxuries you enjoy today. Where would we be without the heavy emphasis these inventors had in the areas of STEM, what if they had not envisioned and brought forth these inventions? 

So, whether or not you get on the STEM bandwagon, it is important that our children are steeped in all types content areas including these heavy STEM ones. Here is a real life encouraging story about how knowing your STEM can really make a difference. This is a lengthy expert from Cedar Ridge Elementary School's Science Lab FB page and offers some great links for your children.

"When Cynthia Koenig, a young social entrepreneur from New York, learned that millions of girls and women around the world spend hours each day collecting water from distant sources, she decided to create a new way to help people in poor communities transport water and it's called the WaterWheel. Koenig's WaterWheel allows people to roll water in a 50-liter container versus carrying it in 5 gallon (19 liter) jugs. Koenig estimates that the WaterWheel can save women 35 hours per week in water transport time, as well as prevent the physical strain that comes from balancing 40 pounds of water on top of their heads for hours each day.

Every day around the world, over 200 million hours are spent each day fetching water, often from water sources miles from home, and this task usually falls to women and girls. By freeing up valuable time, the WaterWheel allows women to spend time on income-generating activities that can help pull her family out of poverty. The time savings also means that there is a greater likelihood that girls will be allowed to stay in school, further reducing the rate of intergenerational poverty.

After receiving a $100,000 Grand Challenges Canada prize to develop the WaterWheel, Koenig founded a social enterprise company, Wello. The company is in an early stage of development and has been piloting the WaterWheel in rural communities in India. Koenig also plans on continuing to make the WaterWheel itself more useful by adding in filtration, drip irrigation kits, even a cell phone charger that uses the rotation of the wheel to charge the battery of the cell phone and give people more access to essentials like communication and education.

To learn more about this invention and its potential to transform the lives of many girls and women around the world, check out Koenig's TED talk at http://bit.ly/1gBdpGt and you can read a recent article in The Guardian about her venture at http://bit.ly/1dMt7Mh.

To learn more about how to support her work, visit Wello's website at http://wellowater.org/

For a wonderful book about more female innovators and inventors throughout history, check out “Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women” for readers 8 to 13 at http://www.amightygirl.com/girls-think-of-everything

Or, for younger readers age 4 to 9, we highly recommend the newly released fiction book "Rosie Revere, Engineer" about an budding young engineer at http://www.amightygirl.com/rosie-revere-engineer

To help children and teens better understand the challenges many children around the world face in order to go to school, check out our blog post, "Honoring Malala: Mighty Girl Books on Children's Fight for Education," showcasing our top books for young readers on children's educational access issues at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog/?p=4057

A Mighty Girl also has a section highlighting stories that feature poverty and hardship as a significant theme. Such stories provide opportunities for parents to discuss these topics with their children while also helping to foster children's empathy for people living in difficult circumstances. Learn more at http://www.amightygirl.com/books/social-issues/poverty-hardship

And, if you're looking for ways to encourage your children to become the next engineering and technology innovators, visit A Mighty Girl's STEM toy section at http://www.amightygirl.com/toys/toys-games/science-math."

What an encouraging story!  Thanks go to Ms. Casey at CRE for posting this on her FB Science Lab page. 

RESOURCES to help you in STEM

In addition to researching for this post, I did find a MOST helpful website for homeschool moms on the subject. http://www.stemmom.org/p/homeschooling.html  She has scads of STEM projects!  Please take time to check her out.

Also, STEM: RESOURCES FOR HOMESCHOOL

ASK a Scientist  A service provided by Binghamton University, every Thursday. Scientists answer kids' questions about science related topics. I found the answer to "What is Thunder" really interesting.  Teachers (and homeschool moms) can find information on participation via the provided link.

ETA Hand2Mind: STEM Teacher Resources

* A note of caution. When looking for STEM activities, make sure you're getting true STEM learning experiences.

 Ms. Casey's Science Lab Page https://www.facebook.com/CREscience

Attend a professional development workshop and learn how this fits in with you. 

If you choose not to ride the STEM train, provide many challenging and rigorous learning experiences for your children using the STEM concentrations.  Benefits will be bountiful and don't be afraid of these meaty subjects. We know homeschool moms model life-long learning.

Shelley-
Educator & Homeschool Mommy
M.Ed. Reading Curr.& Inst., ESOL

 
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