What is the "M in STEM"?

I recently chaired a very lively and interesting discussion at the 7th British Congress of Mathematics Education. It was an open discussion regarding the role of mathematics within STEM education and the 12 participants threw up some very interesting questions and opposing theories, some of which I have summarised below:

  • Is STEM just a collection of related subjects?

    The group were fairly adamant that STEM should be much more than this, rather than just being related subjects, there is a strong need for a cross-curricular approach to tie one subject into another and look for potential subject overlaps to exploit. The group also agreed that this needn’t be limited to traditional STEM subjects but that even wider links could also be made to other subjects such as English – as can be seen in the ongoing Bowland Maths teaching materials.
  • Are there any benefits to coordinating STEM teaching?

    The main benefits of coordinating STEM teaching can be seen at Primary school level, where new maths teachers often don’t know how to apply maths to other STEM subjects, and therefore vitally need the support of more experienced maths teachers from whom they can learn how to draw maths out of context and apply it to other subjects.

    Having the right staff supporting new maths teachers is therefore of great importance, and their enthusiasm and passion for the subject of maths can be particularly helpful in their role as mentor; an enthusiasm which often comes from an in-depth subject knowledge.
  • What are the potential obstacles maths teachers come up against?

    There is a discrepancy in where mathematical topics occur in the science and maths curricula with some mathematical skills being needed in science before they have been covered in maths.

    Secondly, some scientists / lab technicians perceive maths as basic numeracy and are blind to the wider contexts and applications of maths. An important item on the future maths agenda needs to be an attempt to tackle this misconception, through raising interest and strengthening learning in the subject.

    The group also identified a marked disparity in STEM education, in that the profile or demography of successful STEM figures is relatively poor; and this may have a knock-on effect on STEM students’ interest in their subject which lies in opposition to the fact that, on the whole, the achievement of STEM students is good. Therefore, the question arises as to what is turning STEM students off the subject? One suggestion from the group was that too heavy a focus on assessment can influence practice, and risks robbing STEM of the excitement it initially triggers in young students.

This discussion was a great opportunity for me to find out some of the wider opinion regarding the “M in STEM” and I am very thankful to everyone who voiced their opinions during the session. I think one of the overriding lessons I learned from it was the importance of the primary approach to secondary education, and a need to “borrow” some of the good practice we see in primary STEM education to reinvigorate secondary STEM teachers.

If you have your own opinions then I would be very keen to hear them, so please consider leaving a comment below and I will aim to respond to you.



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