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 – Nurturing Young Scientists

STEM education fosters curiosity and instills a love for learning in children. The sooner children come across disciplines, the faster they grasp concepts. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math often has a variation with the STEM e inclusion of Arts. It then takes the form of STEAM Education to ensure positive mental health practices among elementary students.  

When children are introduced to STEM at an early age, they develop a lifelong love for learning. We are living in a world that is constantly advancing in the fields of science and technology. Everything that we use is based directly or indirectly on some forms of technology. In this scenario, students must come out of the traditional learning systems and make a move towards innovation. In order to make this happen, they must have a keenness to learn. Without a passion to learn, students will have to struggle in the real world. And, elementary age is the best time to instill that drive and passion to learn.

Elementary students have immense curiosity and fondness for learning new things. With year it gets lost in traditional education. On the contrary, STEM education in elementary school drives curiosity and generates in them a thirst for knowledge. Gradually, students develop a passion to create something new and learn from innovation. These skills provide them with the much needed background to tackle challenges of higher education. No matter which area they explore, their drive and passion will ensure a path to success.

Also Read : Integrating STEM in Traditional Curriculum

STEM doesn’t affect the regular curriculum, instead imparts skills for better planning and using creativity to solve challenges. This interdisciplinary way of learning is not only limited to geeks in lab coats, but has benefits for everyone. STEM is all around us and it’s for everyone, and more benefiting than one can think:

• Its real-world inspired, engaging and motivating
• Students develop a sense to apply learned concepts to solve real-life challenges
• It uses sense and allows students to do so
• It’s creative and there is nothing life failure, but each failed experiment is a lesson to learn
• STEM requires students to develop teamwork and collaboration which helps forever

To make STEM education an integral part of traditional curriculum, StemBridge Labs provides the necessary tools and support to schools. Their endeavors are to benefit children from elementary STEM programs.

For more Information about STEM Education Please Visit here

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/

Challenges Faced in Implementing STEM Education in India

Debating around the importance of STEM Education in Indian curriculum is nothing new. With the government’s aid, the country is making great developments in popularizing STEM subjects among students. Focused towards developing critical thinking, self-management and innovative skills, STEM Education is all about hands-on learning. ‘Do-it-yourself’ activities remains at the core of this rather modern education system.

However, a country like India which produces the highest number of scientists and engineers still struggles to increase involvement of students in this curriculum.

Several challenges are being faced in implementing STEM Education. 

Let’s have a look:

The biggest obstacle in this direction is the infrastructural support. Schools need to design infrastructure to create an environment of scientific learning. It requires funds to bring the required DIY tools and equipment including the best computers. Difficulties are also faced while finding the best guidance and support for children. Making arrangements towards educating the ecosystem about the need for such programs could be one of the possible solutions to overcome these challenges.

Educators’ conventional thinking and more inclination towards traditional learning also create problem. They think that STEM labs will divert students from studies and defined curriculum would be difficult to complete on time. Probably, this problem could be addressed by creating awareness around STEM education and showing the positive side of introducing students to STEM learning.

More boys and fewer girls in this discipline also creates an imbalance. Providing them equal opportunities and career prospects can be a way to bring equilibrium.

India is a developing country that is gradually striving to make its position among renowned nations of the world. This would turn into a reality only if its sizeable young population is educated in science and technology, which is a huge challenge. A major proportion of India’s population is economically backward and lives in poverty.

In this scenario, keeping pace with the global scientific and technological innovation seems like a distant dream. Now, integrating latest developments in STEM in traditional curricula while considering both the employ-ability and the social development of students is a huge challenge. A possible solution could be to increase awareness around the need of education and introducing STEM at the school level. Global STEM job requirements are already up.

India needs to make strategic plans and establish STEM labs in elementary schools to acquainting students to research life, identity their interest areas, foster curiosity and nurture innovation. In addition, there’s a strong need to assist academically brilliant students from economically backward sections to make greater advancements in STEM.

Reference Link:

https://stembridgelabs.tumblr.com/post/175108354847/challenges-faced-in-implementing-stem-education-in

How to Promote STEM Education in School?

Indian education system has realized the potential of STEM in technological and scientific developments. Efforts are also being made to implement STEM education across schools and promote a culture of practical learning and creative thinking. However, there’s a long way to go to increase the popularity of STEM among teachers and students.

While it is clear now that STEM education in school is compulsory for the evolution of skilled workforce to compete at the global level, its practical implementation is still under scrutiny. Besides initiatives like Atal Tinkering Lab, it is crucial to pay attention to other factors that can lead to popularity of STEM.

Let’s look at a few:

Creating a support channel for teachers

Whatever students learn in their classroom, teachers have a great impact on that. Teachers are their first guides and play a significant role in the kind of learning they receive. In this light, it is right to say that teachers’ knowledge and skills affect students’ work and their learning outcomes. Therefore, skilled teachers are first and foremost requirement in creating a STEM learning environment.

Effective teacher preparation can help here:

1. Providing practical learning to teachers
2. Enabling teaching candidates to get involved into the content of their area
3. Focusing on developing their knowledge and capacity
4. Providing them STEM training
5. Allowing them sufficient time to get engaged in teacher development program
6. Providing them skill enhancement programs on regular basis
7. Learning climate

Proper learning environment is essential when it comes to delivering education. Considering the nature of STEM subjects, it is important that the schools provide the kind of environment that facilitates project based learning. Scientific and technology based learning requires state of the art tools and equipment.

Strategic partnerships

Partnerships with institutions to provide support for teachers and students can positively influence the demand for STEM. Curriculum partnerships, collaborations to train teachers or establish STEM labs within school premises can help. These associations and partnerships can enhance the outcome of education system.

Reference Link :

http://stembridgelabs.com/blog/how-to-promote-stem-education-in-school/