Ask an educator what “STEM” stands for, and the answer comes quickly. It’s an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Ask an educator what STEM education is, and …
“To some degree it depends on who you ask,” says Dr. Nancy Brickhouse, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware.
“There are hundreds of different definitions and approaches for STEM,” adds Dr. Fara Zimmerman, deputy superintendent for teaching and learning in the Christina School District.
“STEM is the future,” says Ted Kaufman (D), who retired in November as Delaware’s junior U.S. senator.
Sen. Kaufman, a former DuPont engineer, will take on the question of how to teach STEM in Delaware’s schools as co-chair of the new Delaware STEM Education Council, which convenes next month. The council was created by Governor Jack Markell to guide the development of STEM programs in Delaware’s public schools. Its members include representatives from the state’s departments of education, labor, and technology and information as well as a variety of educators and business people in STEM-related fields.
Click here for more of Sen. Kaufman's thoughts on STEM and related issues
One of the council’s first tasks “is to define not only what STEM is, but what it is not,” said co-chair Judson Wagner, manager of Race to the Top and STEM programs for the Brandywine School District. Wagner says Brandywine is the only school district in Delaware to assign an administrator to work full-time on STEM issues.
“STEM subjects span an incredible number of careers, including traditional fields, such as agriculture, medicine, engineering, and economics, and many that we haven’t yet imagined,” Governor Markell said in a statement announcing creation of the STEM council. “We owe each of our students a strong foundation in STEM to empower them to innovate and compete. Improving our statewide STEM performance is critical to job creation.”
In a narrow sense, Wagner says, STEM education means making sure students are exposed to advanced classes in math and science to prepare them for careers in science, technology, and engineering. That goal is reminiscent of the expansion of school science programs in America following the Soviet Union’s launch of the world’s first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957. That event jolted the United States into action. Now the impetus comes from another huge competitor.
“Where we used to say Sputnik, now we call it China,” Wagner said.
Kaufman notes that China is moving rapidly into new areas of technology, posing new competitive challenges to the U.S. For example, until recently the Chinese government resisted international pressures to adopt green energy technologies, viewing them as a threat to its development. Now the leadership realizes the economic development potential of green technology, Kaufman said, and “they’re going to have the biggest solar panel in the world, the biggest wind farm in the world.”
Broadly defined, STEM includes the concept of classes in science, technology, engineering and math being taught in a closely coordinated fashion, with an emphasis on project work that encourages problem-solving and critical thinking.
“It’s a way to increase and sustain student engagement in school,” Zimmerman said. “Teachers often refer to this as ‘doing science,’ not ‘studying science.’ ”
The belief that integrating content in the four STEM subject areas will enhance learning has given STEM preeminent status in the world of education reform. Having a statewide STEM plan was a requirement in the competition for the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top (RTTT) funding. A strong focus on STEM is an integral part of the RTTT-funded transformation plans for two underperforming Christina schools, Stubbs Elementary and Glasgow High. And last month the state Board of Education gave preliminary approval for two charter schools that would have a STEM emphasis, the First State Science and Math Academy (grades 6-10) and the Delaware Institute of Technology (grades 9-12).
Last year Delaware became one of the first two states in the nation to win Race to the Top funding. “How advanced we are in developing STEM education” helped the state win that contest, Kaufman said.
But the STEM components of the state’s Race to the Top application, starting with formation of the STEM Council, are as much about future plans as current reality.
Two pieces of the state’s five-part STEM strategy are in place. Delaware has three scholarship and loan-forgiveness programs to help teachers gain certification in STEM fields, and it uses technology for its distance-learning programs.
Using Race to the Top funds, the state and the University of Delaware this year launched a third piece of the plan: a one-year STEM residency program for prospective teachers who don’t have traditional education backgrounds. Eight students are enrolled this year, and up to 20 students a year will be admitted to the program in future years, Brickhouse said.
Participants in the residency program take summer courses at UD and then split their time during the academic year, spending mornings in a public school classroom with a mentoring teacher and afternoons taking more classes at the university.
Participants receive a stipend for their classroom experience, and they will have to spend time teaching in Delaware public schools when they finish the program. The university and the Department of Education have not finalized plans for the length of the commitment. “One year is too short,” Brickhouse said. “It will probably be three.”
Other STEM components of Delaware’s Race to the Top effort are just getting started. One is the STEM Council, which was delayed in its launch because Kaufman, Markell’s pick to chair the council, wanted to complete his Senate service before taking on the project. The other remaining STEM component is a two-pronged effort to strengthen instruction in STEM subjects in districts with sub-par performance and to encourage females and minorities to pursue STEM career paths.
Many educators embrace the STEM concept, but some are cautious about implementing it until the advisory council gets going. “We don’t want to put the cart before the horse,” said Marian Wolak, director of curriculum, instruction, and professional development at the state Department of Education.
One of the STEM Council’s early chores will be to take an inventory of how and where the STEM concept is being implemented, Wolak said.
“Some schools, some districts, say they have STEM courses,” Wolak said, citing the Brandywine district and the Conrad Schools of Science in Red Clay as examples. Kaufman says he has seen STEM activities during visits to St. George’s Technical High School and Sussex Technical High School.
“We need to find out what the districts are doing,” Wolak said. Taking inventory, Wagner says, will help members of the council evaluate STEM offerings so it can then research new STEM opportunities and seek out partnerships with businesses to advance STEM programming.
Wagner isn’t certain how the council’s work will change the way math, science and technology are taught in public schools, but as an example he offers his dream of how to approach STEM programming at the high school level: Imagine one group of 20 or 25 students taking science, math, and technology classes together for the entire school year. In the technology course, the students would apply the science and math subject matter in one or more engineering-type projects, using up-to-date computer technology to create prototypes and conduct research.
Wagner envisions making greater use of Delaware’s scientific community, especially retired scientists, as volunteers in high school classrooms. He hopes to see outstanding high school science students satisfying community service requirements by helping elementary school teachers with their science lessons.
Markell wants the council to increase the number of STEM courses offered in public schools and increase participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, including minorities and girls, in those classes. The goal is “increasing the number of students in Delaware who are prepared for and interested in careers in these high-demand areas,” he said.
