The Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education - Essay Example

Exploratory Essay The Integrated STEM System Essay Outline I. Introduction General overview of the topic. The introduction of the integrated STEM system in schools. A brief explanation of the reasons behind the idea. II. The Deficit in the Delivery of Science Subjects The reason why the idea was yielded. How the integrated system is aimed at addressing the problem in science and technology. The requirements in the deliberation of the project. III. Challenges The challenges that are encountered e.g. lack of enough teachers who are qualified. Lack of enough STEM labs etc. IV. Remedies How the limitations in the system can be addressed V. Conclusion Revisiting the main idea in the work to create cohesion of the ideas brought up. Project Summary This essay will explore the overall topic and bring in the concepts that will be discussed in the main paper. Being an exploratory essay, the main objective is to introduce the topic and expound on it to explain its relevance in this specific context. The topic was chosen due to its importance to the US education system and the emphasis that has been put on it to ensure that students are introduced to science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts early enough to enhance their thinking ability and suit them to address serious life problems which include innovation and security problems. This essay will not deeply address the issues as the main project will follow that will handle the topic adequately. The Integrated STEM Education The Integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a fairly new system that was established in the United States with the aim of solving the problems created in education and offering of science subjects. The project is aimed at making the STEM related fields more relevant to the students. This is aimed in turn at ensuring that the students become more creative in the future and come up with new projects that can help the country scientifically. The problems in security is a major concern in many countries and it was also one of the highlighted problems that are to be addressed by the STEM project once it goes underway. This essay will look deeply into the idea and point out the strengths it has depicted and the limitations including the remedies that can be implemented to make it a more effective method of bridging the scientific and technological gap that is created in science subjects. Need for the Integrated System Over the years, there has been the complain that the kind of education the science and technology students are being exposed to does not allow them to think critically and come with new ideas that can be cultured into the next big things of the future. This is according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Looking at some projects that came to change the world, the largest social forum Facebook was invented by Mark and his friends while they were still in college. Other big projects include the invention of Microsoft by Bill Gates and friends. It was therefore advised that the students should be exposed to an environment that allows them to think critically and address the global problems from an early age. This would be done by the use of the labs that were to be established across the country and those that would serve as the centers where the students can access the internet and learn new things that will prompt them to come up with their own works. From the FY13 Funded Proposal, the integrated system required trained personnel to handle the students. The project requires much money and each year $4.3 billion is channeled into it. This is a big sum of money that needs to be followed well to ensure that the results are worth the effort that has been put into it. From my point of view, this is a good idea that has been drafted as the science courses in many institutions are much of theory based limiting the students the chance to think critically and come up with new solution strategies. Introducing the concepts to the students at an early age serves to ensure that they engage their small brains when it is active and make the best out of them. Accessing the internet though risky at times is important to make them access important stuff that can be used in their study. It is important however to censor what they have access to as in various circumstances they can turn up to be malicious and avert the mission of the whole initiative. Challenges According to Bybee (2013), the integrated system has encountered various challenges since its initiation (2-12). First, the number of the scientific labs available and the computer access centers have been inadequate. It is important to have a forum where the students can discuss of exchange ideas or access a common pool of information. It has been hard to have such a common pool and this has greatly affected the progress of the integrated system. The aim of the project is to instill practicality into the system of education. If there are limited labs, then the idea may not be as successful as it was supposed to be. Another problem is gender disparity among the teachers who are working in the labs and directing the students. It was noted in a number of studies that males dominated the field and therefore prompting the question of gender balance in the initiative. The ladies need to be challenged more to accept venturing into science and technology and this can be done by adding the number of female teachers in the field. Another major drawback of the initiative is censoring of the content the students are exposed to when they are accessing the in internet. It is known that the internet can be a source of deviant trends and this should be avoided at all costs to prevent the students from subscribing to deviant ideologies that can alter the main objective of the initiative. There are number of ways to achieve that which include monitoring and censoring of what they have access to. Remedies The amount of money allocated to the project could be raised if the current amount is not sufficient to address the situation. Drew (2011) notes that more labs need to be opened and help more students who are thirst for education to receive quality education that is practical and evidence based. The management of the funds should be strictly monitored to ensure that it is channeled to the right avenues. The gender imbalance in the field needs to be addressed by supporting more female players into the field. This is important in prompting more female students to aspire to become scientists and make the idea successful. Conclusion The introduction of the integrated STEM education system was a good idea that needs to be monitored to ensure that it succeeds. The challenges that it has faced should be taken positively to address the problems arising and move forward. The students need to be exposed to a more practical learning environment band also at an earlier age to make them productive at an earlier age. This is the only way it can be made possible to bridge the technological gap between the groups of today to the next one Cited Works American Society of Civil Engineers. International Conference on Urban Drainage, Urban drainage 2002: Global solutions for urban drainage. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers. Bybee, Rodger, W. The Case for STEM Education: Challenges and Opportunities. Washington: NSTA Press, 2013. p. 2-12. Print. Drew, David, E. Stem the Tide: Reforming Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education in America. New York: JHU Press, 2011. Print. FY13 Funded Proposal: Engaging undergraduates in STEM laboratories using emerging technologies for teaching and learning | Information Technology Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from Read More