STEM: Reshaping the Future of Learning
With the ushering of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the pressure became immense to upskill the workforce as quickly as products were being churned out of the factories. Over the decades, this has snowballed to the increased awareness of the need to educate as efficiently and as effectively as possible, resulting in many innovative breakthroughs in the field of learning and development. The different approaches of educators are as fascinating and as diverse as the colors in a kaleidoscope, from the “Superlearning” hypnosis techniques at the University of Sophia, Bulgaria in the 1960s to the learning hacks espoused by Tim Ferris to the millennial generation. One of the more critical developments of the 21st century in the science of learning is STEM.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The acronym was coined in 2001 by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). In 2005, the administration of U.S. President George Bush allocated $345 million to help bail out hard-up but promising students who majored in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics. This move by the most powerful administration in the world has possibly given traction to the growing campaign to focus on specific areas of learning. But STEM is not just a collation of four disparate subjects. Rather, it is a whole interdisciplinary approach that is not just the sum of its parts. The relevance of each is exponentially heightened when interconnected with the rest. Here are a few reasons why STEM education is vital in molding our future generation of learners:
Leveraging integration
Traditional learning is compartmentalized. Instruction materials are handled as subject matters that are distinctly apart from each other. This piece-meal way of processing data makes for a fragmented and inefficient way of cascading and absorbing new information. STEM adopts a more holistic approach in that it emphasizes the interconnectedness of the spheres. Similar to the principle behind mnemonics but with a broader application, the soaking up and retention of facts and figures in one area is made easier with the provision of cues by another. Because the methods are more cohesive, the learning of one enhances the learning of the rest of the disciplines.
Increased relevance
The strategic selection of focus topics in the STEM approach will also ensure its sustained relevance long after classroom days are over. We are familiar with the success stories of whiz kids ditching their education in favor of launching digital mega empires. The new generations are starting to look down on the importance of the conventional school system as they see more and more educational “deviants” making it big in the “real world.” STEM addresses that growing concern with the heightened emphasis on knowledge that can be parlayed into wisdom. It will have none of the filler-subjects whose sole purpose for existence is to while away the time of bored students. All the materials under this purposeful way of learning will give the solid base necessary for the achievement of professional and personal success.
Critical thinking as a core value
Have you ever wondered why some people who did very well in school end up in mediocre jobs after college? How often were you surprised, perhaps even shocked, upon finding out that the school dunce once voted “Least Likely to Succeed” is now highly accomplished and is one of the very few from your batch who are looking forward to your high school reunion? The era of equating rote memorization to success has gone to the dogs. To truly be successful in life, you need more than unconnected bits and pieces of information swimming in your head. You need the glue of critical thinking to keep them from vaporizing into the thin air of irrelevance. STEM’s “interrogative” techniques will allow one to focus more on the why’s than on the what’s. More than molding learners to become traditional employees, the innovative process will encourage students to become analytical problem-solving entrepreneurs. With a deeper understanding of the world, one is made more capable of applying learnings to varied situations, resulting in higher resiliency and a higher dream-to-reality conversion rate.
Fearless Exploration
What is learned with pleasure is learned in full measure. One major hindrance to effectively imbibing knowledge is the ineffective marketing presentation of “technical” subjects. The traditional means is unapproachable and cold, with the pervasive impression that SCIENCE and its buddies are only reserved for those possessed with a certain quota of neurons and dendrites. STEM takes that fear away by boldly putting forth heavily precise topics and pitching them as subjects well-grounded in everyday reality. The approach is made more fun and familiar, more within the reach of the so-called “average” student. The change in mindset spells out a world of exciting possibilities, creating new and fearless game changers and decision-makers who will help propel us into the next century.
About The Author:
Chatty is a freelance writer from Manila. She finds joy in inspiring and educating others through writing. That's why aside from her job as a language evaluator for local and international students, she spends her leisure time writing about various topics such as lifestyle, technology, and business.