This class has opened my mind to the incredible impact that STEM Education can have on our society. I do not work in an institution that has a STEM program. I work at a preschool; this makes my practice of any type of STEM program extremely limited. However, it is a private school. All my students come from households where one or both of their parents are professionals. These professionals want their children to be academically prepared for school. This means we must academically, mentally, and emotionally prepare them for their future schooling. I teach my students how to be a functioning participant in a classroom while exploring mathematics, science, art, history, literature and pre-writing. Puzzles, counting, shapes, measuring, etc. are on the daily agenda. Science is a huge part of our curriculum. Science in the …show more content…
We base our curriculum off of the expectations of Common Core and STEM. Working in compliance with such standards, creates a learning environment that indirectly adheres with STEM Education standards. After thoroughly studying STEM education, achievement gaps, expectations, and the impact of mentorship, I believe I have a solid understanding of what STEM is and how to use the principles it teaches to propel my students to success.
Humans make judgements and assumptions almost constantly. This is an extremely difficult habit to break in the classroom. With my students, I feel that I can see their strengths and weaknesses rather quickly. It is easy to get caught up in my own perception of each student and not give them the credit and opportunities they deserve. Recently, I have started to evaluate my thoughts and actions, I have discovered some of the gender biases I tend to operate under. I believe that little girls can sit and do academic work easier because they do not have as much energy as little boys. This bias has been proven completely true and completely false at times. I have one
STEM focusses on what the job field is looking for, so they are preparing them to succeed. It provides greater job potential because it allows its students to develop independence skills, and it also focuses on helping students improve their critical thinking skills. 199 -. They build on student strengths and prepare them for life after school; however, with all great innovations, also comes complications. In stem and magnet schools, teachers have the independence to teach how they see best fits; however, this can cause some uncertainty.
Society itself teaches us how our mindset is supposed to be. Children are being taught a certain idea at an early age. If children are taught at an early age about a certain idea, as adults, they will believe that the idea is true. In her article Reflections on Gender and Science, Evelyn Keller states that it was common to hear teachers, scientist, and parents say that women cannot and should not be a scientist (77). According to this idea, women lacked the strength, rigor, and clarity of mind that one needs to be a scientist. Only men had those characteristics, which is why science should be for men. If a child is taught that idea at a young age, he or she grows up believing it’s true. The people that interact with the children the most are the ones that have
STEM, also known as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, is the field that is advancing at a rapid rate. Within STEM, there are many occupations across the four fields. As years go on, more and more people start to have a growing interest in STEM, but this can’t be said for women. Women almost take up half of the workforce, but when it comes to STEM, women only take about 24%, almost half of the women aren’t participating in STEM. The numbers continue to get worse. From 2000 - 2009, the numbers have remained at a constant 24%. At this rate, employers could potentially see a decline in women’s representation, but there have been efforts to change this rate (Beede et al par. 6). This could mean disastrous problems in the world as more problems will arise and there’s nothing to be done because companies are non-diverse and
When children experience gender bias at an early age, not only can affect their development but it can affect their behavior, beliefs, and relationship with others. Children learn by what they see their parents do or what is acted out in their communities. Studies have shown, not only do children experience gender bias at an early age but that they also learn to stereotype as early as the age of three years old.
Gender stereotypes are common in the United States today, even though many men and women have been working hard to defeat it. The task is made difficult however, when society in general implants the idea of gender roles into the mind of a child. Two authors, Judy Mann of The Difference and Bernard Lefkowitz of Our Guys face the issue of gender roles and stereotypes, and how they affect our lives today.
As we went through each chapter of our book it would remind me of situations I already observed or would see that week. The more I learned about the educational theories I was able to see certain situations in a new light and it highlighted the differences I saw in the ages groups and different classes. The use of different motivation methods that were utilized by the teachers was great; most of them I didn’t realize were motivators until later and the one motivator I thought I understood was a reinforcer. I did see how the teacher’s preconceived ideas about students because of the type of community they are affected the students most of the time not positively. Some students were quickly disciplined and others were allowed to get away with similar offences with no comment all because of the relationship the teachers had with the families involved or the town gossip about them. I could see that this was negatively reinforcing the bad behaviors in both students. This made me aware of checking my own preconceived ideas and trying to judge the children based on what I have learned about how students learn. Overall I do believe the goals of the STEM camp were met and this has taught me to use multiple approaches to keep students engaged and
The gender gap that results in the absence of women in STEM is progressive and persistent. Not only is this an issue of equity, but a lack of female participation in STEM results in a lack of diversity among perspectives regarding solutions to problems and other scientific endeavors. The gender gap in STEM can be seen as the result of several factors including teacher bias in the classroom, a chilly climate from male colleagues as they progress through their careers, little societal support for wanting a career and a family, lacking role models in their study of interest, and an overall lack of science preparation when it comes to pursuing a STEM career.
Zhang, Xiaodong, Joseph McInerney, and Joy Frechtling. "Engaging STEM Faculty In K-20 Reforms--Implications For Policies And Practices." Science Educator 19.1 (2010): 1-13. ERIC. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Colbeck C. (1994, November).
Female and minority students are underrepresented in upper level science, technology, engineering, and math courses in high schools. Data collected from a freshman class survey and subsequent follow up discussions revealed that interventions can positively impact motivation and interest in STEM subjects and postsecondary goals. Online activities such as developing student profiles, completing interest inventories, and career searches foster understanding of personal strengths. Partnering with the local college heightened enthusiasm and helped bridge connections with all students. Through these efforts, students in a low socioeconomic school setting were encouraged to believe in themselves and take steps toward future goals.
The Common Core State Standards have made tremendous gains for the world of education. Students nationwide are learning the same standards and skill sets. Nationwide standards are clearly necessary, so one state isn’t far more advanced or lagging behind other states. Not only has the Common Core provided national standards, it has created rigorous standards that encourage critical thinking, and prepare students for college curriculum and careers pursued after their schooling. Before Common Core, teachers could teach anything they wanted without purpose and support. CCSS have required teachers to b...
This hidden curriculum of lessons endured in the everyday functioning of the classroom where teachers are unaware of their own biased teaching behaviors for the sake their diligent duties as teachers. These teachers are applying their teaching based on how they obtained it. In the younger age, the learning environment is feminine since the adult females outnumber the male teachers. Teachers present curricular materials that contain gender stereotype behavior which the students internalize and exhibit these behaviors which in turn guide their own behaviors and preferences. In these institutions, teachers receive little training in combating gender stereotypes of their own and others and as a consequence, teachers often model, reinforce and lay the foundation for gender role differentiation among their
One of the main issues today 's students face is the act of being given gender roles and experiencing gender bias. To further explain, "Society treats boys and girls differently and expects them to develop different gender-role identities" (87). Throughout the gender section of the book, there are several examples given on how boys and girls are divided and given gender specific roles. For instance, girls are told that “Women aren’t good at math” and boys are told “Men don’t make good nurses” (87). These stereotypes affect the thinking of the students and later become obstacles when deciding careers. One way I would promote gender equality as a teacher is by completely eliminating the use of stereotypes in my classroom. This change will be accomplished by doing group activities and assignments in the classroom which avoid gender bias. It is important for students to have an equal opportunity to achieve their goals and follow their dreams. Sadly, when we expose our students to specific tasks and activities with respect to their gender, we limit their chances of having an optimistic approach towards their higher education and
A teachers thinking and actions can be directly affected by just having the knowledge of the stereotype of girls not being better in math than boys, and as a result will have an effect on how their female students perceive themselves. Some female students often feel the pressure of knowing that these stereotypes exist so they put extra pressure on themselves not to fall behind or fail at math. As a result
In the first chapter of STEM Lesson Essentials, it asks you to write down your own definition of STEM education. Here’s what I wrote: STEM education is interdisciplinary lessons engaging the students in real life scenarios through hands on activities and explorations. Although I had not yet been properly given the direct definition till further in the chapter on page four. I was surprised to find that I was not that far off from what was given as the “real” definition. It states that some of us may have even been a STEM teacher at some point in their teaching career with out even knowing it. Looking back on my teaching, I believe this to be true for most of us at some point.
Education is man’s most valuable possession: it is the concept through which one’s love for learning stems, and the equipment used to pave an individual’s path to success. Although easily influenced by the opinions of others, education is one of the few concepts that neither internal nor external stress can strip from our being. The future of our society lies in the hands of our educators; the values and morals instilled by such figures govern the actions of the earth’s people.