STEM Education – Driving Factors in Schools

As the need for innovation is increasing due to the effect of globalization, the demand for STEM is going up in India. Relatively new, STEM – the acronym referring to: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – has become something of a household term.

While the world has already started to shift towards STEM, our traditional primary schools are making a gradual move towards integrating STEM in regular curriculum. The power and importance of scientific innovation is realised by the world and our country needs to amend its educational system to adopt innovation which can lead its path to development. STEM education in India can help to create a highly skilled workforce that will be capable of providing solutions to modern day challenges.

Technologies changes rapidly, so it would be really difficult to predict trends which may influence STEM pedagogy. It, in fact, can be said that the ‘technologies to watch’ in future can have a direct influence on this method of education.

Modern and future trends that can influence STEM education and practitioners:

• The Internet of Things
• Virtual assistants
• Machine learning
• Wearable technology
• Gamification
• 3D printing

Most of these technologies have already made their presence felt in our lives and the classrooms. Though already known and being in use, evolutions in the mobile technology and online learning could also be included here. Comfort conferred by the emerging technology trends actually sets the stage for what’s to come, which also forms the basis for STEM education.

Also read : STEM Education in India – Paving the Way for Our Girls

Initiatives in India

‘Make in India’ roll-out is nothing new. If this idea is being promoted across the globe to attract manufacturers, providing the required skill-set is also compulsory. With the mission to create a highly skilled workforce, government has taken an initiative to establish Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across schools and institutions. A strategic partner in this program, StemBridge Labs helps establish ATLs which provide a scientific environment for critical thinking and innovation. StemBridge Labs also provides necessary equipment for hands-on training and experiment to learn how to solve real-world challenges.

Equipped with the latest technology, StemBridge Labs also provides training programs for teachers to counter the increasing demand for quality STEM educators.


Reference Link:

http://stembridgelabs.com/blog/stem-education-driving-factors-in-schools/

STEM Education in India – Paving the Way for Our Girls

The ‘Make in India’ initiative by our honorable Prime Minister intends to make our country a prominent manufacturing hub of global standards. This requires creating a vast pool of highly skilled workforce who can adopt modern practices around innovation. Intelligent quotient of our youth plays a remarkable role here.

India’s academic institutions are adopting the best practices to enhance the skill level of students. Major emphasis is put on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (termed together as STEM) to create highly skilled graduates who can lead India to innovation. Since this pedagogy is relatively new, there are many challenges that the education industry has to face in enhancing the popularity of STEM education in India. One of the biggest challenges is to encourage the participation of girls in STEM based curriculum.

Also Read : STEM – Being a critic of Indian Education System

A nation’s socio-economic growth is possible only when both men and women show equal participation in the development process. Non participation of women in the technological innovation can create a disturbing imbalance which is not good for the society, the country and the women themselves.

The traditional patriarchal society always envisions women in some gender defined roles which leads to a deeply biased workplace. This contribute to women leaving jobs not only in STEM disciplines, but other streams as well. In fact, most of the girls do not even get a chance to pursue the basic education. Further, girls hardly get involved into any research or scientific based job as their families pose a restriction. While they favour boys and willingly invest in their education, they expect girls to stay behind doors and plan to save for their dowry.

Amidst everything – family responsibility, maternity break, safety concerns, longer working hours for research, etc. – impose restrictions on them. Since STEM education in India is more of a boy’s club, the working pattern favours the same. It’s time to modify this traditional culture and create flexible spaces to accommodate more female STEM aspirants.

StemBridge Labs believes that every child is equal and must be given equal opportunities to succeed. Educational institutions, government agencies, and society must work together to encourage more girls to actively participate in STEM.

Reference Link:

http://stembridgelabs.com/blog/stem-education-in-india-paving-the-way-for-our-girls/