STEM-based curriculum and Common Core Standards reform

How STEM-Based Curriculum Improves Student Outcomes and Understanding of Common Core Standards Curriculum Research Paper

Abstract Curriculum and common care standards require a comprehensive overhaul to better prepare students for future societal needs. These needs and corresponding problems will require a completely different skillset that those of prior generation. These skills will include elements of problem solving and critical thinking. STEM related education is quickly becoming paramount to the overall improvement of curriculum and common core standards. The global move to technology and other STEM related fields requires a labor force equipped to handle the increase in demand. Innovation within curriculum and common core standards are method of providing society with these needed skills. Unfortunately, the traditional methods of teaching and instruction will no longer work for world predicated on STEM related fields. Instead, a paradigm shift is required to help usher in a new and innovative method of education within curriculum and common core standards. This form of education will be predicated on problem solving, critical thinking, and cultural collaboration on a global scale. Each of these elements will be required to succeed in a much more STEM-centric world. As a result, it is the point-of-view of the author that curriculums and common core standards should incorporate a larger element of STEM related principles.

Introduction As noted above, my point of view is that curriculum and common core standards should leverage STEM related principles and applications within their instruction. Unfortunately, the topic of education has become a very contentious and polarizing issue around the world, particular as it relates to curriculum and common core standards. For one, globalization has created a much more competitive educational environment for students. India, China, Brazil and other emerging countries are quickly adopting STEM related principles within their own curriculum to propel their respective nations further into the technological revolution. In many instances foreign curriculum and standards have much higher degrees of STEM principles embedded within the overall educational process. This revolution has resulted in rapid innovations that have not only enhanced the overall middle class of these foreign countries, but have also made them very competitive on an educational level with that of the United States. For example, through educational initiatives within China, a number of STEM related curriculum policies have been advanced such as the artificial intelligence industry and robotics. These industries compete heavily the United States and other developed nations to exert their overall market dominance. To do so however, China, along with many other developing nations changed their curriculums to empower their students with the skills of the future. It is my assertation that curriculum and common core standards in the United States should do the same.

Foreign educational standards also leverage grants and other policies to ensure that students complete their curriculum and course instruction. For example, Brazil has improved its Fintech industry through regulatory innovations throughout the country. They have done this be initiating legislations designed to increase competition in STEM related industries within the country. Industries such as Fintech, e-commerce, and other sectors have all be impacted through a relaxation of regulatory requirements and a generally accommodative atmosphere towards STEM related initiatives. These initiatives however start in the classroom where Brazil overhauled curriculum and common core standards throughout the country. Here, new and innovative startups are continuing to take market share from incumbent operators within the industry. Each of these changes are just a few examples that are occurring throughout the world that are heavily related to changes in curriculum and common core standards embrace STEM related principles. The Role of Government Agencies in Changing Curriculum and Common Core Standards In order to enable changes to curriculum and common core standards, education initiatives must be undertaken by both schools, governments, and communities. For one, governments through the legislative process can provide both financial and other economic incentives to engage in certain educational initiatives. Currently the United States government has created a number of committees and initiatives designed to help propel curriculum and common core changes forward. Here, the United States has created the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the committee on STEM Education, and the National Science and Technology Council. Each of these initiatives are designed to help each level of society foster growth within STEM related curriculum and common core changes. For example the National Science and Technology Council, is heavily involved with the executive branch and is used to fund federal research and development enterprise. Here the NSTC is designed to help adhere to the specific goals of the president that are related to scient and technology fields. This is critical form a competitive landscape as education initiatives are critical components to these initiatives. The NSTC has proposed a series of curriculum and common core changes to be implemented in schools through its five-year strategic plan. The United States along with many other international countries are looking to compete with their peers in a race to become dominate in the science, technology, and data analytics fields. These areas will become the future of economic prosperity and therefore require large economic investments. The same concept applies to the Office of Science and Technology Policy. This too is an area in which education and increasing student literacy plays a critical role. Here, this agency is designed to further leverage STEM related fields to aid in economy, national security, foreign relations, and environmental initiatives for the world. Finally, for the purposes of this document, the STEM Education committee is charged with reviewing STEM related educational programs to ensure their overall effectiveness. The agency is also charged with developing a strategic plan to help improve student outcomes for those looking to get involved in STEM related fields.

Research related to Implementing STEM Principles into Curriculum Curriculum and common core standards leveraging STEM principles have tremendous benefits for students. Research conducted by Abell and Lederman has shown the important of science-based education within curriculum and common core standards (Abell, 2007). The research by Abell first established two general ideas related to their ability to capture where science education has been and what we currently know. In additions, the authors look to project future research agendas for other scientific disciplines with curriculum and common core standards. From the research conducted by Abell in conjunction with the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, science teaching has a positive correlation to overall literacy rates in students. Here, the research found that students who study science often develop problem solving skills that are unique to their discipline. From a curriculum standpoint, these problem-solving skills are critical within the science field as many answers are either uncertain or unknown. Here, the research found that the science discipline looks to emphasize rigor in design, data collection, interpretation, and write up. As it relates to STEM research these elements encourage a higher level of literacy. The research from Abell, also indicated that science often provides an element of uncertainty that allows students to explore potential solutions and collaborate on their merits. For example, instruction often doesn’t provide students with the answer as with typical topics. Topical topics and discussion revolve around instructors lecturing students. The students are then tasked with regurgitating the information on a test or written assessment. The test often doesn’t reflect the students aptitude but instead looks to test their overall memorization skills. According to research conducted by Barak, from a cognitive perspective, students often forget the information after the evaluation process (Barak, 2012). Instead according, cognitive ability is enhanced by application of STEM related fields and subjects.

Benefits of STEM based Curriculum Changes for Student Outcomes Curriculum and common core standards should be developed in a manner that is engaging to the student. Students are much more engaged in the process of learning if the curriculum leverages items, objects or programs of interest to them. Science and technology are particularly beneficial for students as they allow for a much more dynamic learning environment in which to collaborate with peers and learn unique concepts. This ultimately improves literacy rates as students, unbeknownst to them, often learn at a much more subconscious level. This occurs because students, through science are much more empowered throughout the learning processes. As noted above, students are empowered because problems, answers, and solutions are not given to them. Instead, students must explore, examine and use their own abilities to derive solutions to science problems provided in the classroom setting. Teachers often intervene only to provide new material, insights, or observations which the students can then use to solve a particular task or problem. As a result literacy is improved in both meaningful and purposeful ways. As it relates to literacy, the ability to read, decipher, and untimely interpret meaning.

How Technology Can Be Implemented in the Curriculum Curriculum and common core standards must leverage technology in a major way. Technology content instruction is arguable the most dynamic and well researched academic discipline of late. For one, the technology element of the STEM related research has received a large amount of capital and attention from all corners of the globe. Research conducted by Achterhuis introduced the overall philosophy of American technology as it relates to STEM disciplines and overall literacy with curriculum and common core standards. Here, the researchers studied the contributions of Albert Borgmann, Hubert Dreyfus, Andrew Feenberg, Donna Haraway, Don Ihde, and Langdon Winner and how they impacted the overall literacy levels of students using older curriculum. This literary work focuses on Borgmann’s engagement with technology and everyday life. Likewise it leverages Dreyfus’s work on the limits of artificial intelligence and how it can impact student learning within the coming decades. The research then transitions into Feenberg’s perspectives on the cultural and social possibilities opened by technologies and how they are impacted by U.S. and China tensions. Next, the research reviews Haraway’s conception of the cyborg and its attendant blurring of boundaries between human intelligence and automatous or automated technology. Finally, the text delves into Ihde’s explorations of the place of technology in the lifeworld; and Winner’s fascination with the moral and political implications of modern technologies. Achterhuis these leverages these technologies to help provide insights into how students can improve their overall understanding of these concepts through academic study (Achterhuis, 2010). The research findings suggest the literacy elements are heavily correlated to a variety of factors, contrary to popular belief. Interestingly, many of these findings where backed by studies conducted by Bandura and Breiner, which looked to establish the correlation between technology, literacy and student outcomes. (Bandura, 1998). As it relates to the questions related to self-efficacy Bandura established that correlation between motivation and efficacy within the Greek education environment. Although the Greek education environment is not exactly similar to that of the United States, it does provide some element that can be used to establish means of improving STEM related literacy. For one Bandura established that government intervention combined with autonomous organization involvement can be used to improve student outcomes related to technology. This research is particularly important as it established that correlation between STEM related intervention and outcomes are not subject to geographic boundaries. Here, research has found how globalization and the overall need for STEM related disciplines often transcends geographic boundaries as many of these disciplines are needed throughout the world. Bandura found that although the overall STEM related climates in global jurisdictions are different, nearly all look to promote these fields with their borders and on occasion, have policies that shun foreign intervention.

Benefits of STEM Content Within Curriculum Likewise, research from Lave and Wenger indicate the STEM content with curriculum and common core standards can be varied and complex. Here, the researchers establish that learners participate in communities of practitioners, moving toward full participation in the sociocultural practices of a community. In short, to improve STEM related instruction in a meaningful manner, the instruction must leverage participation from all members within the academic community. This participation looks to incorporate both women and minorities who have historically been absent from STEM related fields. The research authors describe their process as legitimate periphery participation. Here, Lave and Wenger believe that this process provides a means for newcomers and established participants in the STEM related fields to coalesce for the mutual benefit of each party. These benefits, according to the research will allow more students to receive meaningful and purposeful instruction. Here the research also identifies that areas of weakness within minority communities. These associations include a lack of mentors within the field, a need to “fit in” and adopt non-STEM relates disciplines, and an overall misinterpretation of the difficulty within the field (Lave, J., & Wenger. 1991). The research indicates that students need no fully commit to STEM related ideals, but should at least be expose to them to receive many of the critical thinking and problem-solving benefits these disciplines provide. For one, research conducted by Hmelo-Silver, found that STEM relates disciplines improve literacy due to their capability to improve probrlme solving skills. These problem-solving skills prove invaluable as they are able to be used in a multitude of other non-STEM related fields. There the exposure itself can help improve STEM literacy as students are forced to leverage various problem-solving skills within unique and often unknown circumstances. These findings are supported by Barrows how found that students learn by solving problems and reflecting on their experiences in meaningful ways (Barrows and Tamblyn, 1980).

This strategy, according to Barrows is required to helping students become active learners with STEM related field and other areas of life that require problem solving skills. This form of education and instruction increases literacy levels as leverages learning situations using real-world problems and makes students responsible for their learning. Due to these benefits, according to Barrows, literacy is improved due to the dual emphasis on helping learners develop strategies and construct knowledge. To improve literacy within STEM related fields, Barrows uses a focused, experiential and organized approach. This approach is designed to allows students to investigate STEM relates problems in both a collaborative and intuitive manner. Instructors do not provide the answers, but instead allows exploration and meaning problem solving skills to develop (Barrows and Tamblyn, 1980). The teacher acts as a facilitator to guide student learning through the learning cycle. This is unique compared to traditional learning styles that look to simply provide information to students that they must remember for a standardized test. As noted earlier, the research suggests that these methods do not work as it related to students cognitive learning ability (Barak, 2012). Instead, students simply learn the information specifically for the examination and forget the contents of what they learned. Here, the instruction is simply meant to satisfy an obligation on the part of the school board or government leadership. It is not meant to provide tangible and meaningful benefits for students. Instead, STEM in unique in that it challenges students a very unconventional manner. It allows students to properly explore, discover, and most importantly question conventional wisdom (Breiner, 2014). For example, to improve student literacy, research conducted by Breiner found a number of elements that made STEM elements much more beneficials for student outcomes. For one, Breiner found that in order for STEM related literacy to increase, it was important for students to formulate and analyze the specific problem presented by the teacher by identifying the relevant facts from the scenario. According to the research, this fact-identification process would help students to better identify and represent the problem in their minds. Next, as students where better able to understand the problem they were much more inclined to formulate a hypothesis and investigate possible solutions. An important part of this cycle, according the research conducted by Brenier was the ability for students to identifying knowledge deficiencies relative to the problem issued by the instructor. These knowledge deficiencies would be identified by the students as learning issues. According to the research students would then leverage these leaning issues as mean to leverage self-directed learning. This self-directed learning would be unique to the student. It could include consultation with the instructor, alone time within the library, discussion with parents or guardians, and much more. In each instance however, students’ levels of literacy within STEM relates fields was increase in a meaningful and purposeful manner (Breiner, 2014). This learning cycles is displayed in a visual format in Figure 1 below

The increase in meaningful and purposeful methods is attributable to numerous factors. For one, students are much more empowered under this method of engagement. This element of student empowerment is often lost when using tradition approaches. However, when using much more refined approaches to that look to differentiate themselves for the traditional approaches better student outcomes are obtained. In his research, Barrows substantiated the benefits of problem-based learning as compared to memorization (Barrows, 1980). Barrows acknowledges the challenges with approach but offers detailed explanation as to why problem-based learning benefits STEM relates students Conclusion In conclusion, STEM principles within curriculum and common core standards increases students levels of literacy in a litany of ways. First, it prepares students for a much more competitive and globalized working environment. As noted above, this environment will be predicated on the ability for laborers to display their talents without regard to geographic reference points. STEM related fields can now work from anywhere in the world. As a result, competition has increase dramatically, with talent coming heavily from China and India. As a result, STEM principles within curriculum and common core standards must prepare students for a world that is highly dynamic and evolving in a rapid fashion. In addition, the ability to mater these fields will rewards students handsomely as demand continues to expand at a much higher rate than overall world GDP. This indicates that STEM relates fields will have a larger portion of the economic pie than traditional industries. To compete, students must be trained early and with a specific curriculum involved. Although not discussed heavily in this document, the curriculum must leverage elements related to problem solving, critical thinking, student autonomy, and group collaboration. Research has shown, as indicated above, that these elements greatly enhance student outcomes and improve performance. This is a crucial as the problems of the future will leverage a high degree of innovation and problem-solving skills. The tradition methods of learning and work are demising due to the rapid pace of innovation within STEM related fields. As the research has indicated, a much more comprehensive and holistic learning experience is required for students to obtain the skills necessary to compete with their international counterparts and win.