Community Involvement in STEM Education

Rationale for Community Involvement in STEM Education

The meaning of STEM has evolved over the last 25 years and the use of this relatively new term has been accompanied by some confusion as the acronym has several different definitions. One definition stipulates that it simply refers to the teaching of any one of the four disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In another definition the acronym is used to refer to a situation where some of the subjects are covered in student learning experiences. It is also used for a situation where the individual subjects are combined and blended to create an interdisciplinary subject. This interdisciplinary STEM subject incorporates twenty-first century skills, where these include creative and critical thinking and problem solving. Combining all these aspects as one interdisciplinary subject provides a powerful and cohesive learning environment where students can become involved in solving problems set in real-world contexts...