Teaching STEM in the Secondary School The skills, knowledge and understanding of the subjects involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are vital for all young people in an increasingly science- and technology-driven society. This book looks at the purpose and pedagogy of STEM teaching and explores the ways in which STEM subjects can interact in the curriculum to enhance student understanding, achievement and motivation. By reaching outside their own classroom, teachers can collaborate across subjects to enrich learning and help students relate school science, technology and maths to the wider world. Packed with ideas and practical details for teachers of STEM subjects, this book: ᔢ considers what the STEM subjects contribute separately to the curriculum and how they relate to each other in the wider education of secondary school students ᔢ describes and evaluates different curriculum models for STEM ᔢ suggests ways in which a critical approach to the pedagogy of the classroom, laboratory and workshop can support STEM for all students ᔢ addresses the practicalities of introducing, organising and sustaining STEM- related activities in the secondary school ᔢ looks to ways schools can manage and sustain STEM approaches in the long- term.
This timely new text is essential reading for trainee and practising teachers who wish to make the learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics an interesting, motivating and exciting experience for their students. Frank Banks is Emeritus Professor of Teacher Education at The Open University. David Barlex was Senior Lecturer in Education at Brunel University and directed the Nuffield Design & Technology Projects. This page intentionally left blank Teaching STEM in the Secondary School Helping teachers meet the challenge Frank Banks and David Barlex First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Frank Banks and David Barlex The right of Frank Banks and David Barlex to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Banks, Frank, 1953– Teaching STEM in the secondary school : helping teachers meet the challenge / Frank Banks, David Barlex.
pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. Science--Study and teaching (Secondary) 2. Technology--Study and teaching (Secondary) 3. Engineering--Study and teaching (Secondary) 4.
Mathematics--Study and teaching (Secondary) I.1'2--dc23 2013037913 ISBN: 978-0-415-67530-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-67531-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-80992-1 (ebk) Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby Contents List of figures vii List of tables ix Foreword by Sir John Holman xi Preface xiii Acknowledgements xv 1 What is STEM? 1 2 A curriculum for STEM – ‘looking sideways’ 25 3 Teaching science in the light of STEM 48 4 Teaching design & technology in the light of STEM 75 5 Teaching mathematics in the light of STEM 100 6 Project work and problem-based learning through STEM 135 7 Enabling the ‘E’ in STEM 151 8 The role of STEM enhancement and enrichment activities 175 9 Computing, digital literacy, IT, computer science, TEL and STEM 197 10 Creating an environment for sustaining STEM 218 11 Future visions for STEM 238 Index 259 v This page intentionally left blank Figures 1.1 Investigating the ‘best’ materials for a mountaineer’s jacket 11 2.1 The school curriculum 26 2.2 Framework of teacher professional knowledge 34 2.3 A completed framework of teacher professional knowledge for a mathematics teacher 36 2.4 Society-Technology-Science-Society model 42 4.1 Part of a chooser chart from the Nuffield Design & Technology Projects 79 4.2 Instructions for the Peltier Cell project 83 4.3 Introducing students to thinking about the effect of wheel size on movement 86 5.1a Framework for describing progression in the learning of BIG mathematical ideas 104 5.1b Description of progression in multiplicative reasoning 105 5.1c Description of progression in understanding measurement 106 5.2 Graphical presentation of possible formulae for magnesium oxide 112 5.4 The Practical Physics oil drop experiment 115 5.5 An explanatory diagram to show the probability of inheriting cystic fibrosis 120 5.6 Simple stress strain graph for ductile metal 122 5.7 Three possible arrangements of the four bar linkage 123 5.8 Three types of robot arms: Cartesian, cylindrical and spherical 125 5.9 Duality of the cube and the octahedron 128 7.1 Teaching resource: Winning the Medals 155 7.2 Teaching resource: Modelling a wheelchair 156 7.3 Teaching resource: Exploring human performance 157 7.4 Teaching resource in support of unit 8 of the Higher Diploma in Engineering 162 7.5 Cycles of epistemic practices in science and engineering 170 vii Figures 9.1 Experimental investigation of acceleration of a fixed mass 202 9.1 Mathematics word wall 220 11.1 Moving from school math to real-world math as envisaged by Conrad Wolfram 243 viii Tables 1.1 The STEM milestones 4 2.1 Extracts from the proposed National Curriculum for 11–14 year old pupils in England 30 2.2 Topics that could be taught to mutual advantage 37 3.1 Fourteen big ideas in science 48 3.2 Practical activities to explore the relationship between physics and design & technology 67 3.1 Features of mathematics enrichment activity 192 9.1 Models of learning with information technology 200 9.2 Science activities and possible IT tools 202 9.3 Progression in systems for controlling artefacts 206 9.4 Mathematics activities and possible IT tools 208 9.5 Topics suggested to be covered with increasing depth and complexity with examples given for 13–14 year old pupils as suggested by the Royal Society 211 11.1 Ella Yonai’s ‘being a space traveller’ approach to science teaching 241 11.2 Principles of vocational education 247 11.3 Effective methods for vocational education 247 ix This page intentionally left blank Foreword ‘STEM’ has become an established term in education, but it has different meanings depending on whether you are inside or outside the school. To government and employers, it means an area of the school, college and university curriculum that is of great economic importance. All over the world, developed and developing countries see Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education as fundamental to a successful industrial base. Prowess in STEM education is the new educational ‘arms race’, and governments are prepared to invest heavily in it.
As Barack Obama said in his Educate to Innovate speech in 2009: ‘Around the world, there is a hunger for knowledge, an insistence on excellence, a reverence for science and math [sic] and technology and learning. That used to be what we were about. That’s what we’re going to be about again.’ But inside schools and classrooms, ‘STEM’ can often have a subtly different meaning. The letters still stand for the same subjects, but now the emphasis is more on a group of subjects whose teaching can support and strengthen one another.
In secondary schools, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are usually taught as separate subjects, with science and mathematics often getting the lion’s share of the time and resources. Yet the advantages of linking and co-ordinating these subjects together are many, as this book shows. For a lot of students, technology and engineering provide the rationale for science and mathematics. The co- ordination of these four subjects leads to better engagement and motivation, and better teaching when they are arranged to support one another.
Yet the STEM subjects remain largely separate in secondary schools. There are understandable reasons for this: subject teaching expertise is important, and as you go up the school, the practicality of teaching these subjects in an integrated way becomes harder and harder. Yet, as this book shows, there are many ways that each subject can in turn draw on the others to motivation and rationalization. Today, secondary schools in England are driven largely by assessment and accountability systems.
The motivation to optimise performance in GCSE and other public exams is overwhelming, and this has had a serious effect on STEM teaching. In science, the drive towards ever better exam performance has had a xi Foreword negative effect on practical work, which has largely been shaped by the requirements of the assessment regime. In mathematics, pupils are being entered for GCSE before they are ready, and are even allowed to drop the subject once they have it in the bag. The new accountability arrangements for England are putting pressure on design & technology, once the most popular of all the optional GCSE subjects.
Yet parents want more from schools than examination performance alone. They want their daughters and sons to be inspired by their teachers, to develop skills of leadership and teamwork and to be employable when they move on from school. These qualities don’t come from mere examination preparation: they need a style of teaching that aims to engage curiosity and inspire further study. Extended project work and problem-based learning can encourage enterprise, team working and engagement in ways that normal school lessons cannot.
Enriching the curriculum through visits to industry and contacts with STEM ambassadors helps learners to see what awaits them in the world of work, and how to get there. STEM is about the world outside the school as well as inside the classroom, and the most effective schools take a whole-school approach to it. All these themes, and more, are dealt with in this valuable book. Written by authors who have experience of all the elements of STEM, it is an important reassertion of the value of STEM within the school at a time when it has never been more important in the world outside.
John Holman, August 2013 Sir John Holman is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of York and advises the Wellcome Trust and Gatsby Foundation on education policy. He was National STEM Director for the English government between 2006 and 2010, and founded the National Science Learning Centre and the National STEM Centre. xii Preface At the start of our teaching careers the authors trained to be science teachers; Frank a physics teacher and David a chemistry teacher. As happened in those days we were soon required to teach all the sciences to pupils up to the age of 14.
Whilst teaching in comprehensive schools, both of us then became interested in and enjoyed teaching technology too, and ultimately moved into higher education with responsibility for training technology teachers. David concentrated on curriculum development directing the Nuffield Design & Technology and Young Foresight Projects. Frank was in charge of both science and design & technology PGCE courses at The Open University. Both of us have an interest in the professional development of teachers.
Given our background and interests it is not surprising that we were intrigued by the rise of STEM as a potentially unifying concept across the related yet different disciplines of science, mathematics and technology which could be used to mutually enhance pupils’ learning in these subjects. We saw that it was not easy for teachers to capitalise on the STEM potential despite successive initiatives and exhortations across many years for them to do so. Hence we have written this book to explore the advantages for teachers from mathematics, science and design & technology in “looking sideways” in their school’s curriculum to see what is happening in the STEM subjects other than their own. We suggest that such a view will stimulate conversations that are the first and vital step in developing synergy in pupils’ learning across the STEM subjects.