What does STEM look like to me? Well...it looks like students working together on a wide array of issues and topics that are relevant to their lives and can make a difference in their communities...it looks like extended inquiry, observation, experimentation, research, writing, data collection & analysis, problem solving, tinkering, imagining, design thinking, critique, revision, reflection, challenge, struggle, persistence...it looks like students interacting with other students, adults, community members, teachers, designers, artists, experts...it looks like asking questions, sharing ideas, learning from each other, empathizing with & supporting each other...I don't think STEM has to look one particular way or have exactly the same meaning for everyone, but I do think it's important for learning communities to have common understandings and language around this work so that they’re on the same page and pointing in the same direction.

What does STEM look like to me? Well...it looks like students working together on a wide array of issues and topics that are relevant to their lives and can make a difference in their communities...it looks like extended inquiry, observation, experimentation, research, writing, data collection & analysis, problem solving, tinkering, imagining, design thinking, critique, revision, reflection, challenge, struggle, persistence...it looks like students interacting with other students, adults, community members, teachers, designers, artists, experts...it looks like asking questions, sharing ideas, learning from each other, empathizing with & supporting each other...I don't think STEM has to look one particular way or have exactly the same meaning for everyone, but I do think it's important for learning communities to have common understandings and language around this work so that they’re on the same page and pointing in the same direction.

We couldn't agree more, Sharon. As a researcher on this project, we have shown that the work has a significant effect on how teachers perceive STEM, shifting towards a more transdisciplinary perspective, as you've described here. 

Thanks Ms. Pullen for your comments. The kids really showed what our 3 minutes could not do without them - the love of learning when they are valued, can be creative, and feel the learning is making a difference! Thinking about leveraging teachers of non-STEM subjects is such a good question. In our work with teachers, transdisciplinary STEM project or unit design may have a STEM anchor, but the holistic work still needs research, writing, reading, presenting, an understanding of history and geography, artistic communication, etc and so we do engage whichever disciplines we can to take on parts of the project that bring in standards-aligned activities so that students are not learning in disciplinary silos but are using many or all the disciplines they have during the day or week to delve into the inquiry, solve real-world problems, and develop potential solutions. I'm sure some of my team members will also weigh in, but please let me know if that makes sense!

I agree, Karen. As a former ELA teacher and current curriculum specialist working with STEM-themed schools, I've discovered that as our teachers' understanding of transdisciplinary STEM deepens and they develop a common language around this work, we begin to realize that, in a way, we are all STEM teachers. For example, I can imagine an ELA class working on a project like the one shared in this video. Since, for the most part, ELA teachers focus on skills such as reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking, communication, etc., the content can vary. I can imagine rich discussions, interviews, multi-genre reading, data analysis, report writing, debates, and presentations that could take place in connection with this project---and of course there’s the added bonus that the work is relevant and can have a positive impact on the community...and the cats!

Thanks for your comments Sharon. I am happy to hear someone who has an ELA lens, and has worked in STEM development, sees how STEM strategies such as experimentation, exploration, trial/error and iteration to name a few, can apply as well for the humanities (and arts etc) when they are brought in under the same project 'umbrella' in a rich inquiry learning environment. This is where real-world connections can be made and meaning-making strengthened when students use all at their finger tips to use what they've learned and build new knowledge in pursuit of problem-solving and sharing with others what matters to them!

Hi Eva! I am a researcher on this initiative. Such a great question regarding the math. Our facilitators co-design the transdisciplinary STEM projects with participating K-8 teaching teams -- inspiration for the work comes from the needs of students, the standards, and the local community. Math can be an excellent entry-point for planning STEM projects. I'm thinking of one middle school team where the analysis of census data was integral to the learning experience and contributed to students perspectives on whether or not their neighborhood had undergone a renaissance. And another elementary team where the teachers taught their fractions unit through a study of music development. That said, mathematics is often underrepresented in STEM projects and limited to accessible topics like measurement. I think our facilitators acknowledge this bias and address this as part of the planning process. Science does not need to be the only entry-point into STEM. It also helps that some of our facilitators have content expertise in math education! What is your experience?

Thank you for your questions, Ann. Our study is focused on understanding shifts in teachers' STEM pedagogy, including teachers' conceptualization of STEM, their STEM design practices, as well as their STEM instructional practices. We are using a combination of questionnaires, performance tasks, and logs to assess teacher outcomes. We are also piloting a student questionnaire, focused on engagement in STEM. We hope to think critically about how best to measure student learning and reasoning as part of our next study. With regard to the longitudinal work, we would be very interested in looking at how this work extends to success and/or choices made in high school and beyond, as you mentioned. Are you doing some of this work, currently? We are happy to share more on our measures if you are interested. 

Great thank you! We focus on shifts in many of the same metrics you mentioned. We examine possible shifts in their views of inquiry teaching and in using inquiry in teaching, and self-efficacy toward teaching science and mathematics, as examples. Measuring impacts on the students is perfect - glad that is part of your program! Yes we also measure the extent to which teachers maintain the strategies they learned and practiced after teaching a few years, but are looking into doing more of this longitudinal work. Very nice program!