STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
KsGEN is putting in the effort is to meet the need of educating local communities in STEM areas. We have introduced STEAM education as well, which adds the Arts. What separates STEAM from traditional science and math education is the blended learning environment and showing students how the scientific and artistic methods can be applied to everyday life. It teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real-world applications of problem-solving.
Much of the STEAM curriculum will be aimed toward attracting underrepresented populations. Female students, for example, are significantly less likely to pursue a college major or career. Though this is nothing new, the gap is increasing at a significant rate. Male students are also more likely to pursue engineering and technology fields, while female students prefer science fields, like biology, chemistry, and marine biology. Overall, male students are three times more likely to be interested in pursuing a STEM career.
An education that culminates in a solid foundation of science, technology, engineering, and math is never a bad thing. The danger is when we focus on these fields to the detriment of other fields, such as language arts, history, visual arts, music, and social studies. There’s more danger in assuming that because college students major in STEM subjects, they will find well-paying jobs upon graduation.
By Wanjiku Kang’ethe