Mis MOOC
STEM Is Everywhere!
Module 1: Towards 21st-century STEM education
In this MOOC, you will learn to:
Identify STEM in everyday life and learn how to integrate real-world STEM problems in your lessons
Build confidence in trying out new methods in the classroom, such as an interdisciplinary approach
Explore a range of resources, tools and strategies for activities that enhance STEM in real life
Learn about 21st-century skills and how to address them in the classroom
Review the work of course peers
Connect with other course participants
Reflect on your professional practice, beliefs and learning
The evolution of STEM over the years
If you search for “inventions that changed the world”, a plethora of lists will arise. Now choose any of those lists and try imagining what your life would be like without any of the items listed. Can you imagine living without electricity? How about a world without the wheel or antibiotics? We have grown used to inventions that make our life easier to the point that we take them for granted, and we are not fully aware of the big impact that they have on our society. We forget that many inventors, researchers and scientists had to step in to get us where we are now. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is everywhere, and it’s been a game changer for the whole of humanity.
STEM has evolved exponentially in recent human history. We have gotten to a point where most of us are proficient users of technology, yet most of us don't really understand the science behind everyday objects, such as microwaves, mobiles, tech gadgets, etc.
PAST
If we look back in history, we will notice that STEM was present from very early on. In about 3,000 BC, man invented the wheel. Using the laws of physics, this great invention made people's everyday lives easier, while today it is the base of most machines we use daily. The laborious work of human hands in manufacturing was replaced by machines during the first industrial revolution in the second half of the 18th century, which led to an increase in industrial production. The most important STEM invention was the steam engine. In addition to many large factories, new cities were established, and as a consequence, new modes of transport developed, such as steamships and steam locomotives. Important sources of power came with the discovery of petroleum and electricity sources in the mid-19th century. It was followed by the period of the second industrial revolution - a period of great progress in science and many discoveries without which we can’t imagine today's life - bulb, telephone, aircraft, radio, etc. In this period, one of the greatest discoveries in the field of medicine arrived - the discovery of penicillin, an antibiotic that has saved millions of human lives.
If you are interested in inventions over time, you can watch this collection by TED Ed.
The second half of the 20th century brings the period of the third industrial revolution, which is based on further digitalisation of machines, leading to an increase in mass production. This third revolution had a great impact on the media, with the arrival of the Internet, but has also affected manufacturing jobs. Most jobs that were previously done by employees on the factory floor are now are done by engineers, IT specialists, and designers from their offices. Therefore, new technologies require different skills.
PRESENT
In our everyday lives, we can see, touch and use hundreds or maybe thousands of products, apps, and devices that became real thanks to STEM. Some of them are really easy to spot: for example, STEM helps us connect with people from all over the world through the Internet, phones, etc. Right now, as you are reading this module and participating in activities during this course, you are connecting with many people from all over the world.
Thanks to new scientific methods, more powerful pieces of farm machinery are created, genetically engineered hybrid plants produce more food, and new, more powerful fertilisers are being developed daily. Food is more plentiful and of better quality.
Chemists are also improving and creating new materials for packaging, such as plant-based "plastic" that is more eco-friendly. Furthermore, engineers have managed to produce clean energy using renewable resources. Civil engineers design buildings, roads, bridges, airports, sewerage systems and railways more efficiently, with greater durability in natural disasters like earthquakes or floods, by using STEM.
Also, biologists, doctors, and medical personnel are helping to improve our health and wellbeing. Now, medicine can cure diseases that, not so long ago, were terminal. For example, polio affected millions of people since prehistory, and led to the death of two out of five affected children and to the paralysis of many more adults and children until the middle of the 20th century. The cure came in most countries in the 1950s as a result of better sanitation and the invention of the polio vaccine. Today, polio is almost non-existent in most countries, with a few exceptions.
Watch this video about the history of polio vaccinations if you would like to know more.
We live longer, in better conditions, and with fewer negative effects on the environment thanks to the scientists that have worked in STEM-related fields for decades.
FUTURE
Quoting Bernard Marr (Forbes, issue of 20180813), “We’re on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0.”
Mankind is on the verge of gaining all the advantages of artificial intelligence (AI) as a commodity, but this also brings up some questions:
Does having AI at our disposal mean that humans will be entirely displaced in factories, and if yes, how does one prepare for future skills?
Will manual work become obsolete and will the skills of manual workers become unnecessary?
Even more to the point, can education endorse all future students with the right skills before the fourth industrial revolution?
Teaching STEM is about using hands-on experiences, providing students with tools to unravel and enhance their potential to impact the future. STEM teaching objectives need to be adapted and updated, in order to advance STEM education and initiate problem-solving through science.
Future STEM students will be guided from an even earlier age into understanding and using technology in a class context. The educator’s challenge in class already entails teaching students that technology is a tool to develop problem-solving capabilities, both in a team and during independent study. Educators, can for example employ project-based learning in order to identify the tasks that will enhance students’ interpersonal skills and abstract thinking.
These are the questions that today’s teachers have to consider. How do you think humankind will handle the arrival of artificial intelligence? Watch the video below and tell us what you think in the Padlet.
Changing the educational paradigm
Research has shown that the skills that students acquire in public education do not match the employers’ demands anymore – so how could we prepare students better for the job market?
As Richard Riley (U.S. Secretary of Education under Bill Clinton, 1993–2001) noted, we should be preparing our students:
For jobs that don’t yet exist,
To use technologies that haven’t been invented,
In order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.
The question is: are we really doing that?
We live in a world of accelerating change. New industries are constantly being born and old ones are becoming obsolete. A report by the World Economic Forum reveals that almost 65 percent of children today will end up in careers that don't even exist yet. The research conducted by the World Economic Forum in some of the world's leading companies, regarding what would be seen as the most important job skill in 2020, shows that the number one response is complex problem-solving. Other skills on their top ten list include critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and emotional intelligence.
Unfortunately, according to the world-renowned education expert Sir Ken Robinson, our school systems, built during the industrial revolution, are not well equipped to develop these skills.
“…We are getting our children through education by anaesthetising them and I think we should be doing the exact opposite; we shouldn’t be putting them asleep, we should be waking them up to what they have inside of themselves…” - Sir Ken Robinson
According to Robinson, reform is not enough: the real challenge is to transform education from a 19th-century industrial model into a 21st-century process based on different principles. He argues for an end to our outmoded industrial educational system and proposes a highly personalised, organic approach that draws on today’s unprecedented technological and professional resources to engage all students.
Watch the video below to get an idea of how we can transform the current educational system.
Of course, not everyone agrees with Sir Ken Robinson; one of the sceptics is British education blogger, teacher, author and expert on education research Tom Bennett. He disagrees with Sir Ken Robison from a teacher’s point of view, as Robison was never a teacher. Tom Bennett thinks that Robinson doesn’t have a full picture of the public education system and that there is no evidence to support what Robinson says. Click here if you want to learn more about why Tom Bennett disagrees with Sir Ken Robison.
Essential 21st-century skills for today’s students
We have been in the 21st-century for almost 20 years. Technology around us has gone a long way since the beginning of our millennium. Yet, most of our classrooms remain more or less the same as they were at the end of the 20th century. It could be argued that education is still trying to catch up with all the technological achievements. In order to prepare students to successfully deal with the requirements of the 21st century, schools need to help them develop the necessary skills. Many researchers, as well as business leaders, politicians, and educators, are united around the idea that students need 21st-century skills to be successful in today’s job market. For big companies, like Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco, the biggest concern is that recent graduates don’t have the necessary skills for the jobs of tomorrow.
What are 21st-century skills?
It is important to note that there is no clear consensus on what skills should be included in the category of 21st-century skills. The term itself represents a list of skills that students need to acquire for work, life and citizenship. Let’s look at some proposed skills.
For instance, Tony Wagner suggests seven survival skills:
Critical thinking and problem-solving;
Collaboration and leadership;
Effective oral and written communication;
Accessing and analysing information;
Curiosity and imagination;
Initiative and entrepreneurialism;
Agility and adaptability.
Watch this video if you wish to learn more about seven survival skills.
Another list of 21st-century skills was proposed by the non-profit organisation Partnership for the 21st-century learning (P21). They suggest:
Content knowledge and 21st-century themes;
Learning and innovation skills (better known as the 4C’s);
Information, media and technology skills;
Life and career skills.
You can download the Framework for 21st Century Learning developed by P21 here.
Even though there are some differences in approaches, some skills are on almost every list, such as critical thinking, digital literacy, and communication.
How can one accommodate 21st-century skills in the classroom?
Watch this video to understand how we can teach students 4C’s (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity).
As we could see, hands-on and project-based learning, teamwork, and the use of technology can help students develop 21st-century skills and prepare them for challenges.
A teacher could further improve their classroom activities by using already available resources such as Scientix, or by continuously learning about new pedagogical trends through European Schoolnet Academy MOOCs.
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