STEM – Changes Defined

As we move forward with current reforms entitled Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has recently committed itself to offering some members to work with other scientists and engineers to help design STEM reforms. They are placing volunteers in K-12 classrooms one day a week to make scientific literacy possible for all students. But even with such efforts, the definition for STEM as reform is not clear. It is not a scientific term like the ones scientists choose to replace a complicated observation. Even with more and more dollars being spent to support STEM reforms in all K-12 classrooms, we continue to not have an accurate idea as to what STEM could accomplish over the next decade. Some STEM changes have been proposed and considered in several states for the last four decades. We now know the eight features offered by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve, 2013) as reform; but, will they really improve the actual “doing” of science for all students at all grade levels