STEM Education: How much Integration is Enough?

Abstract

STEM Education has in recent years has been influenced by both political and pedagogical imperatives to increase student participation and improve student learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education. Integrated approaches to STEM Education have been identified to increase student engagement in STEM Education and lead to improved depth of understanding of STEM concepts. Nonetheless, such integrated approaches require significant understanding from engaged, skilled an appropriately trained teachers from multiple disciplines to work effectively. This paper investigates the conceptual and philosophical rationales for integrating STEM Education and provides a summary of both pedagogically and structural considerations that may assist schools in implementing an integrated approach to STEM Education.