Focusing on the M in STEM

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou

The quote above from poet Maya Angelou can be connected to integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. If students learn mathematics passively by only listening, taking notes and practice, then this can lead to less retention and understanding. Students learn best by being actively involved in mathematics. It is important that students know that mathematics is not a spectator sport! When students are able to participate in integrated STEM education they see mathematics as applicable and engaging. These good feelings can stay with students and motivate them to put forth continued effort in mathematics. Mathematics teachers can implement integrated STEM education in order to ensure that the M in STEM is given focus.

There are three ways that mathematics teachers can implement integrated steM education: engineering design challenges, mathematical modeling, and technology game-based learning (Stohlmann, 2019). Integrated steM education is the integration of STEM subjects through open-ended problems with an explicit focus on mathematics (Stohlmann, 2019).

Mathematical Modeling

example mathematical modeling activity

Article on the mathematical modeling activity

​Engineering Design

Example engineering design activity

Article on the engineering design activity

​Technology game-based learning

Example technology game-based learning activity

Article on the technology game-based activity