March - Vol 70, No 6 - International Technology and Engineering ...

so for a number of reasons. Several participants stated
that STEM was an important way to bridge disciplines,
provide cognitive building blocks for students, and to teach
needed skills (often problem-solving skills). One participant
stated that STEM education “provides relevance to the
concepts presented in traditional core classes as it applies to
technology and other related disciplines.” Another teacher
responded that “it is good for students to see that things do
not exist in a bubble, and they are all intertwined.” However,
others questioned the appropriateness of STEM education.
Several of the teachers and administrators who responded
that they were “unsure” and “no” regarding the importance
of STEM education stated that it was because they believed
it is not for all students.
These ideas led to the next question that focused on the
universality of STEM education. The responses were quite
varied. One teacher who believed that STEM education
has a role in the teaching of problem solving responded
that “it should be for all students because, if you cannot
solve problems, you cannot be a player in our technical
society.” Another participant stated that all students
would benefit from STEM education because “any career
a student decided to go into, they must be able to analyze,
synthesize, evaluate, and utilize higher-order thinking,”
which this respondent believes is possible through STEM
education. Those who do not believe STEM education is for
all students often stated that the academic needs for STEM
education would be too demanding for some students. One
participant stated that “some students will be unable to
process the basics, much less apply the theory to a hands-on
project.” Another teacher responded that “not all students
are academically heading in that direction.”
A small number of participants (n=28) were asked whether
an integrated class in STEM would be beneficial for their
schools. Over half of the participants (16), responded
“yes,” while the remaining 12 participants answered
“unsure” or “no” (8 and 4, respectively). Those who were
not sure of the benefit of an integrated course had several
concerns, including adding something else to the school
day and the worry that the course would just be a response
to a new and trendy initiative and would not be given the
necessary resources.
One of the final questions asked of most of the participants
was related to their current level of collaboration with
teachers outside of their content area on issues related
to STEM education. While a number of teachers stated
that they talk with their peers within their discipline
on curriculum matters, very few responded that they
collaborate, plan integrated lessons, or co-teach with
peers outside their discipline. Of the 125 participants who
responded, nearly 90% (111 participants) stated that they do
not collaborate with peers in other STEM fields.
Conclusions/Implications
The first conclusion is that STEM education is not well
understood. Fewer than one half of the administrators
(with teachers in their building participating in a STEMfocused
Master’s Degree) understood the concept and/
or could describe it. Even teachers in the STEM fields had
varying levels of understanding of STEM education. It
is believed that this finding may even be artificially high
due to self-selection of participation. The researchers who
collected the data stated that they had a number of informal
conversations with teachers and administrators who opted
not to participate in the study, as they did not know about
STEM and thought that their responses would not be
helpful. Had those teachers participated in the study, it is
expected that the findings would have reflected a greater
proportion of teachers and administrators who are unaware
of the concept or definition of STEM education.
This conclusion has important implications for those
teachers who are intending to start a STEM-focused course
or program. The implication is that there is a great need for
awareness-raising at both the administrator and teacher
levels. Many in the field of technology education have
embraced STEM education (as evidenced by the ITEEA
website, conference, and publications) but there is a lack of
understanding of STEM education in schools.
A second conclusion of this research is that there is not a
clear vision for STEM education even amongst those who
believe it is important. The vast majority of those who
responded to the question of importance agreed that it
was an important concept, but for a number of reasons
and for a range of students. Some believed it could help all
students gain an understanding of the basics in each of the
STEM areas when taught as an integrated lesson. Others
thought it was for more advanced students to enhance
their application of theory to hands-on projects. Yet others
believe it is a way to teach problem-solving skills. So, even
when the definition of STEM education is understood,
the implementation can be very different and focused on
different purposes. This implies that there is not only a need
for definitional awareness-raising, but also for discussion of
how STEM education would be implemented. Without that
step, it is likely that those in the school who agree on STEM
education may have different ideas of what it should look
like, who should be involved (both in terms of students and
teachers), and how it should be implemented.
8 • Technology and Engineering Teacher • March 2011