Discover how schools can elevate STEM learning through best practices. From hands-on projects to interdisciplinary education, enhancing classroom engagement.
Embrace the Messiness of STEM Learning!
Many scholars have spent long hours researching and writing on STEM learning or best practices, capturing the powerful experiences students and teachers have in the classroom. STEM is a popular topic in schools throughout the country and all over the world.
STEM best practices are continuously unfolding in new and magnificent directions. The experts in STEM are the students, teachers, and educational leaders willing to sharpen critical thinking and creative skills. They are the people willing to try new technologies, practice interdisciplinary approaches, and be open to failure.
What I have learned from delving into the world of STEM is that many schools are STEM schools. They simply need methods on how to organize and showcase their STEM characteristics. This article seeks to provide a few examples of how to organize STEM practices for a wide variety of institutions. (This work is based on research from my experiences as a STREAM Director at Cardinal Gibbons High School and Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; I am currently the STREAM Director at Cardinal Gibbons High School, where I am an alumna.)
There is more to highlight, however, especially since the conversation is ontological and an ongoing journey. While educators have made incredible strides in STEM practices, there is a need for more research, especially when it comes to the organization. Schools are usually fast-paced, and modes of learning are needed that enhance and sustain engagement with students, teachers, stakeholders, parents, leaders, and so on.
STEM Learning Through Guest Speaker Networks
First, insights of STEM organizations will be highlighted. Teachers and educational leaders should keep a database of guest speakers who come to their school and speak to the students. This database should be shared with all teachers so that they can collaborate as the school year progresses.
This organization should also include both physical and virtual guest speakers. In terms of cautionary procedures, inviting virtual guest speakers is a powerful practice to engage students with the latest research. I suggest connecting with Marine Biologists, engineers, and professors at local universities that focus on research your students are interested in.
When you collect the data from their stakeholders, consider including their contact information and focus areas for future use. In addition, consider surveying the students, teachers, and guest speakers on their experiences. You can collect and organize this data, then use it for certification, connecting with the community, securing potential internships for your students, and more.
Teachers get busy. Send out the database a few months before school ends to see if they need to add anyone to the list! Meet the teachers where they are at. Keeping connections is also important for investment and donation opportunities for the students.
Encouraging Students to Explore New STEM Technologies
Second, the practices of the students, in particular, are important in STEM conversations. Students usually have a mindset that they should receive a solid grade and move on to their next assignment. This is understandable. Encourage students to experience new technologies, especially in secondary education. If students do not experience new technologies early in their academic careers, they may get stuck using the same technology as they continue progressing.
For example, if students are presenting their research to the class, encourage a diverse use of technology platforms (instead of the platforms they typically use). In addition, teachers should engage in local technology conferences and innovation events that highlight new technology platforms that are accessible to students. During these conferences, educational leaders and teachers can learn about innovations in technology, robotics, engineering labs, gardens, VR, AI, and so on. Lastly, seek out companies that offer educational discounts before you purchase big-ticket items for labs and classrooms.
Furthermore, educational leaders should create collaborative networks across schools to “see” what other teachers and students are doing in their classrooms, labs, afterschool programs, and so on. Don’t be afraid to reach out and tour other schools! Most of the schools I seek to learn from are open to collaboration for the benefit of student advancement. Afterschool programs are important avenues, as well, to continue the STEM conversations (e.g., Robotics Club, Aviation Programs, Beach Cleanups, Marshmallow Building Challenges, and Math Competitions, open to all students).
Aligning STEM’s Best Practices With Your School’s Mission
Third, resort back to your school’s Mission Statement. This is important because it reminds you of your core values as a community. Are your STEM approaches aligned with your community’s goals and objectives as you continue to progress?
If not, you may want to listen to your students, teachers, stakeholders, and parents on a more intimate level. This can include surveys, inviting investors to come to campus and participate in virtual or in-person STEM Fairs. Schools can organize dialogue with underrepresented communities in the area.
Learning Beyond the Classroom: Interdisciplinary STEM Approaches
There is so much to learn through collaboration, especially with people who have diverse backgrounds! These conversations are also helpful in identifying partnerships and blind spots, or unexpected areas where learning can take place. Leading a STEM community or school is about listening, collaborating, being hospitable, asking questions, reflecting, and organizing, to name a few. In addition, it includes conversations in light of power, hopeful and optimistic thinking, and an appreciation for the natural world.
One may ask, what role does the natural world play in STEM? Such a practice is critical in allowing students to research outside of the classroom. They, thus, create interdisciplinary approaches and methods and solve problems. What is the correlation between robotics and gardening? What is the connection between learning and outside environments? Why is AI ethics important when we write? How can technology enhance the latest play production in the Arts department? Learning, as we know, happens all over a campus or a community, not just in the classroom.
Conclusion
Finally, STEM teachers and educational leaders should be moving toward a more adequate approach to STEM learning. They should embrace the messiness! Not every meeting will be successful. Not every class will have the same opportunities. With STEM learning, that is okay. What is important here is recognizing that messiness in STEM learning is part of the process and progress. STEM creates twisted trajectories, which can be fun and exciting, especially with collaborative learning.
The best STEM leaders are those who remind everyone that everyday STEM learning starts and ends with openness for others. It is in this that individuals and communities encounter the transformative power of continuity and reflection, thus, a community of deeper understanding and engagement. A community of empathy, creativity, and innovation!
Additionally, to stay updated with the latest developments in STEM research, visit ENTECH Online. Basically, this is our digital magazine for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Furthermore, at ENTECH Online, you’ll find a wealth of information.
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Dr. Jane Marie Spanich is the STREAM Director at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, recognized as one of the Top Ten STEM Directors in the United States in 2024. A native Floridian who has grown up in the Archdiocese of Miami, she holds a Bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, a Master’s from Rollins College, and a PhD in Practical Theology from Saint Thomas University. Dr. Spanich’s focus areas include STEM, Practical Theology, Catholic theology, interdisciplinary approaches, Milestones of Modern Science, and the life and work of Dorothy Day. Alongside her leadership role, she teaches Comparative Religions and Catholic Social Teaching, inspiring students through a holistic, spiritual and integrated educational experience. She dedicates much of her time to teaching, reading, writing, researching, and reflecting on performance standards for teachers, students, and educational leaders. When not engaged in academic pursuits, Dr. Spanich enjoys spending time with her family as a devoted mother, wife, sister, and daughter.