STEM education
STEM education
Published: 04:27 am Jan 16, 2017
Every year many students get poor grades in SLC, also called Iron Gate of examination, merely because of their weakness in Mathematics and Science. Interpretations on the statistics of SLC result are also done and problems over this issue discussed. However, the discussions over how to sort out the students who are uninterested in these subjects are usually not done. Are these students really weak in these two subjects or really uninterested in these two subjects? The students can do something in this field only if they are cordially interested in. The way to create a talented and technology based group of students is done through STEM education. It is very essential in Nepal as it is yet to run in the path of development. This education can only provide the expert manpower for national development. STEM is a curriculum based idea of teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in an innovative and collaborative approach rather than teaching them individually. These four areas are the cornerstone of scientific innovation and development. Best pedagogical methods are employed to focus students’ interest in this area. The motto of STEM education is that innovations can be achieved from that group of students who are really interested in this arena and who can sacrifice their life for this. And the purpose of teaching science and technology is not merely to produce new teachers but also to produce a highly skilled manpower who can do something miraculous for this world via research and innovation. Suppose you study astronomy then you have knowledge and theories of the temperature and surface of, say planet Mars, but unless you have the engineering concept you cannot design a module, such as curiosity or space apron to reach that planet or computer simulation to predict the planet's vicinity. So, the collaborative study of these four fields is the need of this 21st century which can produce a hybrid manpower that can defend and tackle any obstacle in this field. In STEM education these four fields are not treated as separate. The main aim of this approach is to choose really interested students and nurture them for this field. Here students are told how the scientific and mathematical theories can be employed to solve engineering problems in a practical way and how research and innovation can be achieved by this. In the USA, it begins at the very young age through elementary school where students are taught the very basics of these four areas and are encouraged to pick this if they are heartily interested in. In middle school, the course is rigorous and every student is told the scope and post-STEM occupation and research.