Making STEM Programs Accessible To All Students

It is ten years into the future and a quick scan of the job listings from the online search on your screen reveals Smart Home Designer, Workplace Environment Architect, Data Collector, and Cyber Calamity Forecaster.  Jobs that once seemed specialized like weather analyst and marine biologist have stepped into the forefront as need drives the job market. Of course health care will always be important, but much of preventative health and even surgeries will be taken over by artificial intelligence. 

New technologies abound and continue to advance every year. As technologies evolve so too do jobs and the skills needed to do them.  Jobs of the future will be focused on technologies, the living planet, and global sharing and communication all of which require the workers of tomorrow to be well trained in technology, math, science, and teamworking skills that include collaboration and problem solving.  

Today, we have seen the future suddenly thrust upon us, necessitating our having to take a hard turn from what we’ve always known, to figuring out how to work and learn in a virtual world.  Unfortunately, many of us discovered we were not prepared for such a drastic change.

For years futurists proclaimed the need to refocus educational priorities from a humanities driven curriculum to a math and science concentration in order to better prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.   School districts around the world answered this call by designing STEM curriculums to emphasize science, technology, engineering, and math.  What recent events unfortunately revealed, is that this type of curriculum has not been equally accessible to all.  Many underserved populations throughout the world do not have access to basic technology and are certainly not being trained for a future that depends on such knowledge. STEM is the way to the future.  Ensuring students around the world receive a sound education that prepares them for what’s ahead, requires due diligence on the part of academic decision makers.

Lack of Standard

There are no standards for STEM programs and much of this has to do with budgets.  In some school districts the emphasis on STEM curriculum is at the secondary levels. These programs, as strong as they may be, ensure exclusivity for the few who have already shown aptitude for STEM subjects and have access to superior technology, leaving out students from underperforming schools with poorly trained teachers, overcrowded classes, and minimum resources.  

Instruction For All

A successful STEM Curriculum must be available for all participants. This begins with teacher training programs.  The most gifted teachers will tell you they have always felt a calling to teach. However, most teachers end up in education programs in college because they don’t know what else to do.  Historically, many teaching programs focused heavily on theory and less on practicality, assuming the student teaching portion would take care of the How.  Today, it is imperative that teaching programs become more rigorous and require math, science, and technology courses for their degrees.  State licensure must also show proof of expertise in these fields and require continued proof of growth in STEM knowledge before license renewal.  Ensuring teachers know their subject matter well is paramount to student success. 

STEM programs need to start early and that means in kindergarten. Young students love math, science, and technology as these disciplines encourage their innate curiosity. It’s when they are deprived of problem solving opportunities that they find difficulty in dealing with these subjects later. 

Everyone is capable of succeeding in the STEM subjects. Unfortunately, gender biases are still prevalent and greatly influence our thinking.  Girls at a young age love math and science and do well in their primary years.  Numerous studies from around the world have shown unconscious biases tend to discourage girls from believing they can succeed in STEM subjects as they grow older.  However, this changes when girls are educated in same sex classrooms, allowing them to feel confident and excel when the biases are removed. 

One Size Instruction Doesn’t Work

Because of school overcrowding, many teachers teach by lecturing as it is the easiest way to reach a maximum group.  However, students learn by doing and lecture style instruction fails to capture the attention of most.  Sadly this is the case in so many public schools across the globe.  Virtual classrooms are an ideal way to allow school districts to think outside the box. Large classes can be divided into small teams with some students online and others in attendance. Physical classroom space can be used for labs, projects, and team problem solving guided by the teacher, while virtual space can be used for research and preparation.  Teams would switch spaces to complete all activities.  Low socioeconomic students with no access to technology at home can be provided with laptops or tablets and sent to underutilized spaces within the school like the cafeteria or library, or outside weather permitting. Arrangements could also be made with public libraries for these students.  Time should be made for students who are lagging behind with tutoring sessions.  These can be with the teacher, a peer, or using virtual platforms such as Khan Academy, this Math 2212 course from ProPrep, Learn to Be, and Skooli. 

Not only do teachers need to think outside the box to afford everyone the opportunity to learn by doing, but school districts around the world need to do the same. Budgets must be prioritized towards quality STEM instruction, starting with teacher training.  Real and virtual class time must take priority in schools that are overcrowded.  The use of space must be reconsidered with traditional classrooms divided into several work areas for experiential learning.  The socio-economic background of students must be considered, and every measure taken to equal the disparity of access to technology.  Gender bias should be taken into consideration with professional development for teachers and optional same sex classes.  STEM curriculum needs to begin when children first enter school and not considered as a special program to students who excel in these subjects.  All students want to embrace STEM to be successful.  It is up to us to ensure they have equal access to quality STEM instruction throughout their school career.

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The Best Strategies for Teaching Story Structure in Your Classroom

Writing accomplishes so much for the writer. It helps him look at areas of his life that may be uncomfortable to confront directly, it gives him a way to communicate ideas that he cannot voice orally, and it gives him a craft. There are few successful writers that are completely self-taught. The art of writing should be learned beginning in the primary grades and continued through a lifetime. That is because without some fundamental knowledge, building a story becomes a daunting task. Writers must understand structure, but how do you best teach story architecture in a classroom? Some of the best strategies are the easiest. A few of these are the SWBST, familiarization and the outline worksheet.

SWBST

The acronym stands for “somebody wanted to…but…so then….” This is perhaps the most basic of tools for teaching creative writing. There are many types of stories like flash fiction (which typically is only 500 words or less), short stories and, of course, novels. The thing is that a novel is like a forest in which a writer can get lost. Plot, characters and other elements of a good story seem to blur. The SWBST outline is a fundamental blueprint that helps writers, even experienced ones, keep track of the story direction and the character’s objectives. Students who follow this simple step build characters who have objectives, create conflict for them to overcome and then resolve the problem.

Familiarization

This actually is an introductory strategy. As they read together, students are led through a process in which they identify the elements of good storytelling. They see the main character and understand what that character wants, they determine the obstructions in achieving that goal and they observe how the character overcomes ( or is frustrated by) those barriers. Used with elementary students, this method can utilize fairy tales. With older students, more complicated plot lines such as those in classic novels like “Catcher in the Rye” or “Grapes of Wrath” or even structure in modern books like the “Twilight Series” can be used.

Outline Worksheet

Ask some writers how they determine plot, and they will say that their characters tell them what to write. While that sounds like a spurious answer, given to dismiss the question, it is actually to-the-point and in line with this teaching tool. Novel writing worksheets include several aspects of the novel creation including character development. Similar to the SWBST method, students using a novel outline worksheet create characters using physical characteristics, personalities and other components, develop a plot in which the characters attempt to reach a goal despite opposition and understand how a theme can drive a plot.

Creative writing can be very satisfying, and when someone besides the writer can understand the theme of a story, identify with the characters and enjoy the plot, the satisfaction increases. For more information about a novel outline worksheet and how to use it, visit Adobe’s Education Exchange. A teacher who can communicate these concepts may not have a future Steinbeck in his classroom, but he will teach a craft the pupil can enjoy for a lifetime.

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