STEM Literacy

What has the government done to prepare school systems for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) literacy and what do they still need to do?

Currently, the government is trying to get support from leading companies, non-profits, and science and engineering societies.  President Obama has started an organization called "Educate to Innovate" in order to get this support.  Although these efforts are in place, many schools are not implementing STEM education, part of the reason being that many teachers are not prepared for such a program.  Specifically, teachers at the elementary and middle school levels lack the experience and knowledge in the four categories of STEM.  Another problems is that there is no set curriculum or standard for teaching.  There is an effort to develop a voluntary curriculum, but it is still unclear exactly what STEM education should accomplish.

Even with this support, there are many budget constraints in getting this technological program into schools.  Educate to Innovate has provided billions of dollars, but these constraints are on going.  In order to have highly qualified teachers in these fields, school systems must be willing to pay for the labor as well as materials needed to enhance this learning.  There are some companies who are partnering with schools to make this happen by provided the necessary supplies, such as laptops and computer software.  Most people who would be prepared to integrate these four subjects in the classroom are practical scientists and engineers.  There is a lack of motivation to teach when the salary is much lower and there is a teaching certificate requirement.  Alternative and flexible teaching certificate programs need to be implemented to recruit highly qualified teachers.  Some after school STEM programs are available to students, but this does not nearly cover the amount of students who should be prepared for future STEM careers.

Burke, L., & McNeil, J.B.  (2011).  “Educate to Innovate”: How the Obama Plan for STEM Education Falls Short.  Retrieved from:  http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/01/educate-to-innovate-how-the-obama-plan-for-stem-education-falls-short

Hays Blaine Lantz, Jr., Ed.D., (2009).  Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education:  What Form? What Function?  Retrieved from:  http://www.currtechintegrations.com/pdf/STEMEducationArticle.pdf


Whalen, D.  (2010).  STEM Literacy- Can The U.S Afford Not To Support It?
STEM Literacy- Can The U.S Afford Not To Support It?  Retrieved from:  http://www.examiner.com/k-12-in-hartford/stem-literacy-can-the-u-s-afford-not-to-support-it

Annotated Bibliography

Trade books:
Mathletics can be used to explore statistics and probability through sports.  In an eleventh or twelve grade statistics class, this book can help with relating the material to real life situations.
Winston, Wayne.  (2009).  Mathletics.  Princeton, NJ:  Princeton University Press.
ISBN:  978-0691139135
Amazon Link

The Greedy Triangle is a book that can be used at almost any age.  I would specifically use this book in a middle or high school geometry class.  It would be a great way to explore the many different kinds of polygons.

Burns, Marilyn  (2008).  The Greedy Triangle.  New York, New York:  Scholastic Inc.

ISBN:  978-0545042208

Amazon Link

"Do The Math" would be a very interesting book for a 9th grade Algebra I class.  It relates what a teenage girl might go through to different math concepts.  I would use it as a review for a final exam because it incorporates many different aspects of Algebra.

Lichtman, Wendy  (2008).  Do The Math:  Secrets, Lies, and Algebra.  New York, New York:  HarperCollins.

ISBN:  978-0061229572

Amazon Link

Websites for student use

Khan Academy videos are great videos to use for further instruction on many math concepts from Algebra I through calculus. There are videos to instruct these concepts and to provide practice problems in order to gain mastery.  In the students' spare time they may use any of these videos to help them prepare for exams and test their knowledge on the classroom objectives.

Along with using these websites at home, they may be helpful in class while instructing a lesson. For example, when teaching about slope, the videos contain pictures of how to find the slope of a line using two points on it in the coordinate plane.  Another example would be in a geometry class.  There are great pictures on the videos for many different geometric shapes.  It would lessen the time in class needed for drawing because the pictures are already there.  Also, students can refer to the same exact video used in class.  

http://www.coolmath.com/ is a great website for algebra, geometry and pre-calculus interactive lessons and games for those students who are confused with, bored with, or hate math.  The site also contains a math dictionary to find unfamiliar math related terms.  The site could be used at home for extra instruction or practice as well as in class for simulations.

The lemonade game is a great game that simulates a simple business.  The game requires the student to buy items such as cups, lemons, sugar, and ice, set a price to sell lemonade according to weather conditions in order to make a profit.  This game could be used in class when discussing cost versus proft equations and finding the maximum profit.