Implementation of STEM in classrooms

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics

Biology, chemistry, The biggest and This is not Geometry, fractions,

and physics, also broadest of these exhaustive but the algebra, statistics
includes subjects subject areas, four main areas of and other
such as psychology, technology includes engineering are mathematical
geology and topics such as chemical, civil, concepts, also
astronomy. computer science, mechanical, and encompasses
software electrical subjects related to
development, AI, engineering. economics.
and programming.

Skills developed in a student after effective implementation of STEM Education

 Critical thinking

 Independent learning

 Great communication and collaboration

 Digital literacy

 Problem-solving

 Creativity

 Self-reflection

‘STEAM’ is an upgrade to the STEM approach and adds the Arts in a comprehensive
learning approach. This addition focuses on feeding into kids’ innate curiosity and cultivating
their desire to ask questions, explore and solve problems.

Practical tools and methods to implement STEM Education:

1. Nurturing a School Environment for STEM Education

 Alignment: First and foremost, the entire school community should be on board with
STEM integration and aim for the same goals. Educators, administrators, parents and
organizational partners all need to work together.
  Dedicated time: Setting aside a time or a class for STEM-based activities and
learning. For starters, it can even be a 30-minute class per week
 Educator support: Strong support helps teachers provide high-quality STEM
education. Professional development is one of the clearest examples of this support.
Training sessions on STEM methodologies allows educators to see STEM strategies
in action with clear, actionable examples and solutions for overcoming problems.
 Parent and Community Involvement: Involving parents and community members
helps you access a stronger, more diverse network of helpers. Resource persons and
working professionals in STEM can be invited to hold talks, discussions and
workshops. Parent involvement is also critical for a child’s effective STEM education.
Parents should be active partners in STEM integration by inculcating scientific temper
in their kids throughout the day and indulging their curiosity.
 Diverse Experiences: A STEM program is a great way to expose kids to more topics
and ways of learning. Include a wide range of topics in your STEAM program and
allow students to explore different interests

2. Inquiry-driven Learning
 Before starting a comprehensive STEM education, the first issue that needs to be
addressed is instilling the ability to inquire in the students. Teachers should
inculcate the practice of asking questions and should keep the atmosphere in the
classroom non-judgemental, and open to diverse queries. The students’ curiosities
must be tapped and they should lose inhibitions as far as scientific temper is
concerned.
 No matter how much mathematics or science is taught to a student, without the
ability to inquire, they won't be able to use that knowledge effectively.
 For example, a class is taught about the valuable minerals on the moon's surface.
If students do not question what these minerals are used for or how they can be
extracted, this information will be forgotten in a month and become useless.

Easy activities that can be done in the classroom to develop inquiry skills:

1. Hypothesis Testing: Have students make observations and form hypotheses. Then,
ask them to test these hypotheses with simple experiments, like observing how plants
grow in light.
 2. Question Time: At the beginning or end of each lesson, ask students to pose at least
one question related to the topic. These questions can be discussed in later parts of the
lesson.
3. Solving Puzzles: Present students with puzzles or problems and encourage them to
discuss solutions. This develops critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills.
4. Observation Journal: Have students keep an observation journal, where they record
and write about events they observe and things they are curious about.
5. Research Projects: Allow students to conduct short research projects on topics they
are interested in and present their findings in front of the class.
6. Role-Playing Activities: Organize role-playing activities about historical events or
scientific processes. Having students act out these events or processes creates
opportunities for in-depth understanding and inquiry.
7. Creating Mind Maps: Ask students to create mind maps about a topic. This helps
them organize their thoughts and make connections.
8. Research Projects: Encourage students to conduct short research projects on topics
they are interested in. Ask them to present their findings in front of the class.
9. Role-Playing Games: Organize role-playing activities about historical events or
scientific processes. Having students act out these events or processes provides deep
understanding and inquiry opportunities.
10. Creating Mind Maps: Ask students to create mind maps on a topic. This helps them
organize their thoughts and establish connections.
11. Classroom Discussions: Arrange discussions that allow students to express different
opinions and question each other's ideas.
12. Analyzing Current Events: Bring daily news or events to class and ask students to
analyze these events with questions.
13. Creative Writing Activities: Encourage students to write stories using their
imagination or create alternative endings to existing stories.

3. Project-based learning
This method encourages students to learn skills and apply their knowledge by taking part
in a project. They work for an extended period to research and create a solution to a
problem or query. The role of a teacher is to be a facilitator and encourage students to
take full control of their projects from start to finish. Some examples of project-based
 learning in STEM could be designing an app or building a model of a bridge applying
laws of physics.
4. Interdisciplinary Teaching
It is a teaching approach that combines multiple disciplines to help students come up with
new ways to think about issues and solve problems. This encourages critical thinking,
allows for collaboration and supports different learning styles.
For example, there is a lesson on Sustainable Urbanization.
This topic involves geography, environmental science, sociology, economics, and
engineering disciplines.
1. Geography: Students examine the geographic locations of different cities and how
these locations impact urban planning.
2. Environmental Science: The environmental aspects of sustainable urbanization are
discussed. Students learn about topics such as the conservation of green spaces, waste
management, and energy efficiency.
3. Sociology: The social structures in cities, migration movements, demographic
changes, and their effects on urban life are examined.
4. Economics: The economic aspects of sustainable urbanization are analyzed through
cost and investment analysis in urban development.
5. Engineering: The design and construction of sustainable buildings and infrastructure
projects, energy-efficient transportation systems, and other topics are evaluated from
an engineering perspective.
Thus, interdisciplinary approach provides students with a comprehensive perspective on
sustainable urbanization, not just a single aspect, through various scientific disciplines.
This enables students to evaluate the topic from a broader perspective and develop critical
thinking skills.

5. Encourage team-work and collaboration

Conducting teamwork activities is a fun way to reinforce learning in students' minds.
Also, team projects can present more challenges for students. Solving these as a team
helps them succeed in teamwork in the future.
For example, the same topic – Sustainable Urbanization can be taken and developed into
a team project.
Project Name: "Designing A Sustainable City"
Groups and Their Tasks:
 1. Geography and Environmental Science Group: This group selects the geographic
location of the city and analyzes its environmental impacts. They plan the city's green
areas, water resources, and eco-friendly energy usage.
2. Sociology and Demography Group: This team studies the city's social structure and
population distribution. They develop social policies considering migration,
education, health services, and social welfare.
3. Economics and Finance Group: This group forms the city's economic model and
development plan. They work on investment costs, economic sustainability, and job
opportunities.
4. Engineering and Infrastructure Group: This team designs the city's infrastructure
and buildings. They develop projects on energy-efficient buildings, transportation
networks, and waste management systems.
Activity Flow:
1. Research and Planning: Each group conducts research related to their field and
creates a plan.
2. Inter-Group Collaboration: Groups share their plans with each other and discuss
how different aspects of the city can integrate with each other.
3. Joint City Design: The groups combine their information and plans to create a joint
city design.
4. Presentation: Each group presents their work and the overall design of the joint city
to the class.
5. Evaluation and Feedback: Teachers and other students provide feedback on the
presented projects.
This team project shows students the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration while
also developing their problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork skills.

6. Formative assessment in STEM teaching and learning

 Formative assessments are a much better way to check students' progress, as they
provide ongoing feedback designed to improve the teaching process and their learning
throughout the year.
 More specifically, formative assessments help students to identify their strengths and
weaknesses, allowing them to easily pinpoint areas that need improvement. They also
help school faculties recognise common areas where students are struggling so they
can quickly address any issues.
  This kind of assessment is ideal for STEM learning because it’s closer to how real-
world scenarios play out, it encourages active engagement in lessons, and it doesn’t
rely on memory power. Not all students are good at memorising large quantities of
information, and this doesn’t mean that they’re not intelligent or capable.

Examples of formative assessments include asking students to:

 Create a research proposal

 Write or draw a quick summary of what they learnt in class

 Draw a concept map to show they understand a topic

 Build a prototype for a project

7. Lesson planning for STEM subjects

There are a few things to keep in mind when planning lessons, to ensure that the students will
have the best learning experience. A good STEM lesson should:

a. Be hands-on. The best STEM lessons involve practical activities where students can
use their hands, whether they’re designing a concept or creating and building
something themselves. This way, students are far less likely to become bored or
distracted, plus it is rewarding for them to have a final product to evaluate.
b. Mimic real-life scenarios. This is another reason why hands-on learning is so
essential. One of the most important things about STEM is that it helps students learn
skills that will be immediately useful in the outside world. So much of traditional
schooling teaches impractical skills, and your goal is to prepare your students for
real-life.
c. Integrate maths and science into projects seamlessly. The maths and science that
your students complete should be relevant to their current project, relate to real-world
scenarios and ultimately serve a purpose. For example, perhaps maths equations will
ensure that their design works properly or knowledge of physics will help them
understand how to create something.

8. Using the Engineering Design Process (EDP).

 One method for planning lessons is to use the Engineering Design Process (EDP). This is
a series of steps students can take to design solutions to problems as part of a project. This
project-based learning strategy should encourage open-ended designs, creativity and
practical solutions. The steps are:
i. Ask

Begin by asking your students critical questions about their project or what they want to
create. What is it for? How will they design it? Use the start of the lesson as an opportunity to
get your students curious and their minds running.

ii. Research

This is a time for students to research around the topic, whether that involves talking to you,
using library and online resources to do some research, or watching relevant videos. Research
can help students find out what similar products or solutions already exist, and let them know
how they can do better.

iii. Imagine

In teams, your students now have the opportunity to brainstorm as many ideas as possible.
This should be a collaborative process where everyone’s voice is heard; your job as a teacher
is to ensure this. There should be a no-judgement zone where students must show effective
listening skills and stay focused. Brainstorming out loud is a great tactic, but mind maps can
also be a good way to remember ideas.

iv. Plan

It’s time for your student teams to pick a solution and plan how to bring it to life. To do this,
they’ll have to consider their original questions, the research they carried out, and everyone’s
different ideas from the brainstorming process. Planning can be the hardest part, so make sure
to help out your students by making sure everyone’s thoughts are considered and they get
their ideas down on, digitally or on paper.

v. Create

In this part of the lesson, students have the opportunity to build a prototype using the plans
they just created. This is a time for them to be creative, use their hands and be practical. Here,
students will discover whether their solutions meet the original requirements and are
functional. Teachers act as facilitators and improvisers, merely keeping an eye on things and
encouraging the students.

vi. Test

Students will then need to come up with a way to test how effective their creations are. They
should be able to test their creations and record the results. Teachers can ask them what
feedback they would give themselves and then offer them advice or ask questions that will
get them thinking. Peer reviewing is also a great way to encourage deep thinking and
collaboration.

vii. Improve

This final part of the lesson consists of discussions about how students can improve their
ideas. Then, students will have the opportunity to redesign their product, make amendments
and create the next prototype. This cycle can continue for as long as you want, or until they
are happy with the final result. It’s up to you whether each project spans one lesson or a few
weeks.

9. STEM-Focused Exams in Addition to Traditional Exams

In addition to traditional pen-paper exams, STEM-focused exams can be conducted.

For example, the topic, "Sustainable Urbanization" can be made into a STEM-focused exam.

Part 1: Individual Knowledge and Application Test

 Duration: 30 minutes

 Content: Each student receives multiple-choice and short-answer questions related to

STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). The questions
measure students' basic knowledge of sustainable urbanization, understanding, and
application skills.

Part 2: Group Project Presentation and Defence

 Duration: 15 minutes presentation for each group, 10 minutes of Q&A

 Content: Each group presents their "Designing Our Sustainable City" project. The
presentation should cover all aspects of the project (geography, environmental
science, sociology, economics, engineering).
  Q&A Section: After the presentation, questions related to the project are posed to
group members by the teacher and classmates.

Part 3: Practical Problem-Solving Activity

 Duration: 45 minutes

 Content: Students are given a scenario related to sustainable urbanization. They work
in groups to solve the problems encountered in the scenario and develop practical
solutions.

Evaluation Criteria:

1. Knowledge Understanding: The accuracy and depth of students' basic knowledge in

STEM subjects.

2. Application Skill: The ability to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios.

3. Teamwork and Collaboration: Interaction, collaboration, and collective effort

within the group.

4. Creativity and Innovation: The ability to bring creative and innovative solutions to
problems.

5. Presentation Skills: Communication skills during the project presentation and the
ability to clearly express their ideas.

10. Make STEM lessons fun:

One way to engage students is simply by making the lessons fun! And remember, if you’re
enjoying the lesson, they probably will too. Here are some things you can do to show that
STEM can be just as fun as art subjects:

 Take a field trip

 Have a competition

 Get messy

 Play games

11. Create a ‘Makerspace’

Makerspaces are incredibly versatile. As the name implies, these are places where kids can
create. They get to explore their interests and learn to use tools and materials that they may
not otherwise have access to. In a makerspace, you might find:

 3D printers.

 Computers with coding software.

 Robotics components

 Sewing machines.

 Laser engravers.

 Woodworking equipment.

 Art supplies.

 Photographic/videography equipment, such as a camera and greenscreen.

While you may want to limit access to some tools to older students, you can also create
makerspaces for younger students with items like tablets and arts and crafts supplies.

Makerspaces are the perfect entry point for STEM experiences and cultivating authentic
interests. When it’s open year-round, a makerspace lets students continue their STEAM
hobbies after school or in between semesters. Invite parents to get involved and create new
things alongside their kids.