Shaping the Future with STEM Instruction by Dennis Adams and Mary Hamm

Author:Dennis Adams and Mary Hamm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: undefined
Published: 2012-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Summary, Conclusion, and Looking Ahead

Without scientific literacy and numeracy (math competency), bad things are bound to happen at the new frontier of freedom, democracy, and the human future.

There is general agreement that both eager and reluctant learners need to develop an age-appropriate understanding of science, mathematics, and the other STEM subjects. This puts all students on the right track for personal, social, and academic growth. Developing good citizenship and a knowledgeable society depends on it.

A key concern across disciplines is figuring out how to apply what is learned to challenges in daily life. Also, it certainly helps if students learn to use the intellectual tools associated with science and math as part of their life survival kit. (The scientific method, for example, can be used to solve all kinds of real problems.)

Whether it is using picture books in the lower grades (to inspire STEM learning) or exploring the topic of energy across the sciences, there are many ways that teachers can inspire cross-curricular learning.

Being able to work in small groups is a very desirable skill. Developing problem-solving, analytical skills, and social intelligence goes with any version of tomorrow. Tackling the dilemmas surrounding things like the merger of information technology and biotechnology comes with the surprising speed and scope of change today.

In a world deluged with information, certain science/math skills are needed to sort out what’s not useful. Meaningful STEM lessons can take students beyond what they might learn in traditional single-discipline programs. This is particularly true in an age of total connection. In such a world, a wide range of inquiry, problem-solving, and analytical skills are more important than ever.

No matter how informed, knowledgeable, and thoughtful we become, we are all dancing in the dark when it comes to predicting the future. Accidental events can turn things upside down faster than the blink of an eye. Still, it is useful to have some idea of where you want to go; otherwise, you will have more trouble integrating the past and present into something useful and new for the future.

Innovation and new ways of going about doing things has as much to do with social networks as it does with individual brilliance. There are many ways to go about scientific inquiry and mathematical problem solving. But you can be sure that collaboration, communication, and critical thinking will all be part of moving imaginatively along the path to tomorrow.

As many successful adults will tell you, achievement often comes after overcoming multiple failures. It is bound to happen; so deal with it. So it is important for students to learn how to move on when things go wrong. Preparation is the key, but the winning and losing hand are often products of chance, time, and circumstance. A good motto is do your best today; do better tomorrow.

Sometimes, it takes years before the importance of new scientific findings take root and come to be recognized as important. For example, who twenty-years ago would have thought that algorithms (mathematical recipes) would come to dominate the

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