Posts Tagged ‘interdisciplinary’
There is a lot of talk about higher education being an economic driver in the United States, especially with respect to the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines. What powers the economic engine? While there are several factors that contribute, one of the most important is the ability to innovate and create new knowledge, products, solutions, and industries. One might argue that the United States is very good at this innovation, and our economic standing in the world, as well as other indicators (patent filings, Nobel prizes, etc.), backs this up. However, there are concerns that the United States is losing its foothold in the innovation arena. The slipping performance of our K-12 students on international studies of mathematics and science performance, such as the TIMMS and PISA exams, is commonly called up to support this claim. But what does performance on these metrics have to do with innovation? Some of the countries that best us in these rankings are envious of our system of education. What does that mean? (more…)
For decades, the Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) community and many others around the country have been working to improve undergraduate STEM learning environments. When PKAL started its work in 1989, Walter Massey, then director of the National Science Foundation, was quoted as saying that STEM education is “one issue that does seem to be emerging in the national consciousness to a degree that might provide a coalescing influence for concerted nation action…I refer to the crisis in American education and, in particular, its effects on the nation’s ability to remain competitive in a rapidly changing world” (Presidential Address, AAAS 1989).
Twenty years later, this quote still resonates. Much work has been done and improvements have been made; collaborative & cooperative learning, problem-based learning, case studies, interactive lectures, studio-based science courses and other interactive-engaging pedagogies are more commonly used in STEM classrooms across the nation; however, these practices are still not the norm.
