Being a science teacher at heart I am always eager to increase my awareness and knowledge of what is going on in the science world, particularly in the STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics) areas. Along with twenty-five other Piqua City School District educators I am participating in an on-line iDiscovery course through Miami University this fall. The course is Implementing Ohio's New Learning Standards Reform 1: New Assessments and Project-based Learning for STEM Math & Science 1-9.
For this week’s lesson I had to answer questions about the T and E of STEM. Before answering these questions I had to complete my homework (Yes, I am still doing homework at this point in my life!) of watching a video clip by Ioannis Miaoulis, President and Director of the Boston Museum of Science and founder of the National Center for Technological Literacy.
During the video clip Ionannis shared “We need to make technology and engineering as important as science and math in STEM education." I was reminded during the clip that approximately 98% of what we experience during our daily lives are products of the human-made world. Everything from our clothes to our homes are human-made and derive from some connection to technology and engineering.
This simple fact is a great reminder as to why we need to spend more time in our K-12 classrooms emphasizing and providing opportunities associated with technology and engineering. The majority of content in our science classrooms throughout our district and most other school districts is focused on natural science. If you think about it we spend a lot of time studying plants, animals, rocks, minerals, stars and other natural phenomena. We spend much less time focused on the creative process used to design the products and systems which meet human needs, aka the T and E of STEM!
Much of the discussion in this homework assignment has been centered on the fact that many students are not aware of how vast the field of engineering is in relation to the world around us. Our goal as parents and educators should be centered on providing experiences and opportunities for our children not only with the natural world but also in the man-made world.
My wife and I have always provided nature type experiences for our children since they were very young. Family trips to Brukner Nature Center, Charleston Falls, Ohio Caverns, Cincinnati and Columbus Zoos, and the Newport Aquarium were usually focused on hiking, experiencing living things and spending time together in nature. While this was all good I now realize that we easily could have combined these natural experiences with some technology and engineering.
While I often marveled at the man-made environments offered at the zoo for animals such as polar bears and tigers, I now know that questions regarding these structures could have generated some great discussions for my family. How was the glass structure between the tiger and my family designed and developed to keep my family safe? How is the climate in Ohio adjusted with air conditioning systems to allow for a polar bear to exist?
In reality our role as parents and educators should be focused on our ability to ask the right questions to stimulate the brain and pique the interest of our children so they are motivated to explore. This is a flip from what many of us strive to do with our children. Often we feel the need to answer their questions and are always amazed at how many questions they have! Instead we should be asking them many questions causing them to think about possibilities and answers.
Technology and engineering are an extension and application of science and math and at Piqua City Schools we continue to explore how we can provide great opportunities and experiences for our students especially in these STEM areas. Many of our teachers currently are providing hands-on connected learning in the STEM area. We do challenge our students with real world problem solving opportunities with problem based learning and other design processes.
I greatly appreciate the other twenty-five Piqua City School District educators who, like me, are studying and completing homework assignments in a quest to increase our knowledge and skills to help better serve our students. We approach all of our content areas with the goal of integrating them into life skills which builds a foundation for further use. Our focus is to help mold a child who will both accumulate and apply knowledge.
We Are Piqua!