[ad_1]
Education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is already necessary for modern citizens. In the future it will probably be even more important. However, the US is not doing as well as it could be to provide STEM education of the young students. A 2009 report from the Program International Student Assessment (PISA) ranked us 15-year and 18 and 13 in mathematics and science, respectively. This news is particularly sad because only 34 countries were evaluated by PISA, and many of them are much less wealthy than the US
problem was taken long before PISA assessment in 2009, however. Concerns in the first half of the century resulted in the 2006 Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Initiative. This initiative aims to provide better training for teachers and greater access to high-quality education for students of stem cells. The focus of the initiative is a practical stem material, the skills needed to train scientists, mathematicians, engineers and technicians in the future.
Even before the stem Initiative, many schools had their own efforts to improve education in these areas. However, the initiative made it possible for both new and existing schools get funding to stem education. Help from businesses and government funding enabled many schools to provide more emphasis on STEM content and ensure that graduates were familiar with these essential areas.
Due to the focus on stem education was new, schools also pioneering new and innovative methods of teaching to see what effect they had on student performance. Smaller classrooms of no more than 10-12 students and a computer for each product debut. Using Skype, video conferencing and electronic textbooks brought technology into the curriculum of many schools.
Support for those who had the ability but not the financial means to continue Stem related education was also created. A Washington State program that provides scholarships to students who scored highly on stem sections of state or college entrance exam is one such offer. In return for scholarship funding, students had to agree to pursue STEM major in college and working for the Washington-based company in the field in a given period after graduation.
Innovation was only part of the push for better STEM education, however. Solid progress requires a few basic elements, such as well-trained teachers, appropriate curricula, and meaningful assessments. Improving the number of specialized teachers, student access to integrated technology classrooms, and encourage interactive, inquiry-based learning were all important parts of the stem Initiative.
Schools can and have become stem specific organizations by meeting certain educational requirements. This name can bring access to significant resources from the government and business sources. What constitutes a Stem-designated school depends on the situation, however. Union rules described the basic idea, but each country made its own rules of what was required.
Designation based on various factors, but considerable weight was placed on the methodology of teaching and curricula. Some stem-designated schools led to a completely new school, designed from the ground up to meet these requirements. Others shifted current methodology and curricula to be more in line with those required to become stem-specific.
There is a solid national support stem Initiative from most corners. However, some believe that the focus of the program is too narrow and might be an idea blocked by government and business officials in an attempt to boost the economy. Concerned by these critics is the idea that a special emphasis on STEM education can lead to too many skilled people for STEM jobs in the future.
critical evaluation of policy initiatives, few are likely to affect the overall forward momentum of the program. State governments continue to fight for more stem-designated schools and set aside money to fund these efforts. The hope is that the combined efforts of government and business will improve math and science education for American students.
2009 PISA assessment is the latest estimate for the updated 2013 version. The evaluation is done every three years and the next year; Therefore, sometime in 2013, from 2009 to 2012 data will be available. All eyes, both supportive and critical, is focused on the results of the assessment in the hope that it will provide a measure of how stem Initiative has worked out for American students.
[ad_2]