Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Publication
    Metadata only
    STEM inquiry and its practice in K-12 classrooms
    (Routledge, 2024) ; ;
    Chang, Jina
    ;

    Through examining the theoretical ideas of disciplinarity and disciplinary practices, the book presents instructional aspects for teachers to explore when engaged with integrated STEM inquiry.

    Are you interested to understand the difference between science inquiry and STEM inquiry? Do you want to introduce integrated STEM problem-solving to your students but need help with the key features of STEM inquiry? This book presents in-depth discussions related to the features and affordances of integrated STEM inquiry. Written for K-12 teachers and training teachers, this book conceptualizes STEM inquiry and integrated STEM and their enactment, using three practical STEM instructional frameworks: problem-centric, solution/design-centric, and user-centric STEM. The three STEM instructional frameworks serve as a key anchor for teachers to interpret and apply in planning various STEM lessons in meaningful, practical, and coherent ways.

    Whether you are an aspiring K-12 STEM teacher or an in-service teacher teaching K-12 students, the ideas of integrated STEM inquiry presented in this book challenge educators to think about the principles of integrated STEM inquiry and how it can be incorporated into classroom practice and lessons

      10
  • Publication
    Open Access
    “It feels different when blindfolded”: Developing social empathy through inclusive designs in STEM
    Narratives about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education are strongly connected with conversations about developing learners' humanistic knowledge and their ability to listen with understanding and empathy. This is challenging because learners need to find resonance through first-hand contextual experiences with the issues at hand. In this paper, we describe and discuss an activity that was enacted to actively engage 74 teachers from Thailand in constructing a prototype cutting device for the blind to prepare food themselves. This activity underscores important considerations for inclusive design and offers affordances for teachers to develop their learners' inclusive mindsets. Findings were generated from voice recordings of reflections and written reflections collected after the activity. We highlight the importance of creating opportunities for learning to listen and resonate with others' experiences and argue that such STEM activities can offer a platform for learners to develop humanistic qualities such as social empathy.
      38  181
  • Publication
    Open Access
    The S‑T‑E‑M Quartet
    The issue of integrated STEM curriculum design and evaluation requires a more consistent understanding and clarity among STEM educators. In this paper, we propose an instructional framework of STEM integration based on the theoretical notions of disciplinarity and problem-centred learning. The proposed S-T-E-M Quartet instructional framework utilises complex, persistent and extended problems at its core, and the problem solving process as the overarching frame. The key difference between the proposed S-T-E-M Quartet instructional framework and models such as the STEM road map and the Cubic model for STEAM education is the emphasis on the connections between different disciplines. Similar to the STEM road map, the application of the S-T-E-M Quartet framework begins with a single lead discipline as the focus and subsequently examines how knowledge and skills of the lead discipline are connected and related to the other three disciplines. As an instructional framework, the S-T-E-M Quartet requires description of learning outcomes for each discipline when students work with the problem. The learning outcomes within individual disciplines constitute the vertical learning within a discipline. Depending on the problem described, the learning outcomes for some disciplines might be more in-depth than others. As the S-T-E-M Quartet foregrounds connections between disciplines, attention is also paid to the strength of connections, whether they are weak, moderate or strong. A case example of application of the S-T-E-M Quartet instructional framework is presented as an illustration of how the S-T-E-M Quartet instructional framework can be used to design and reflect on STEM tasks.
      371  204
  • Publication
    Metadata only
    Centricities of STEM curriculum frameworks: Variations of the S-T-E-M quartet
    This commentary is an extension to the integrated S-T-E-M Quartet Instructional Framework that has been used to guide the design, implementation and evaluation of integrated STEM curriculum. In our discussion of the S-T-E-M Quartet, we have argued for the centrality of complex, persistent and extended problems to reflect the authenticity of real-world issues and hence, the need for integrated, as opposed to monodisciplinary, STEM education. Building upon this earlier work, we propose two additional variationsjsolution-centric and user-centric approaches to the provision of integrated STEM curricular experiences to afford more opportunities that address the meta-knowledge and humanistic knowledge developments in 21st century learning. These variations to the S-T-E-M Quartet aims to expand the scope and utility of the framework in creating curriculum experiences for diverse profiles of learners, varied contextual conditions, and broad STEM education goals. Collectively, these three approaches problem-centric, solution-centric, and user-centricjcan afford more holistic outcomes of STEM education.
    Scopus© Citations 10  213