Critical thinking key objective in good curricula
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As educators, we want to prepare young people with the skills, aptitudes and attitudes that they will need for their future lives. Importantly we want our students to be able to inquire, think, investigate, and innovate so that they have the chance to become the educators, researchers, and leaders who can solve the most pressing challenges facing our world, both today and tomorrow. STEM skills are in high demand in every field and so by the time a student is ready to enter the work force, it is of course advantageous if they have enough knowledge to make valuable contributions to STEM industries.
But preparing young people for STEM in the workplace does not necessarily mean that schools have to deliver fully integrated STEM programs. Scientists and engineers get to do some pretty cool things. They challenge their brains to examine, explore, and solve real life problems. They develop hands-on projects to make new discoveries and use technology effectively. They work in teams, sharing expertise and knowledge, generating multiple ideas to complete projects. The principles of STEM — critical thinking, asking good questions, observation and exploration — are truly at the heart of every discipline and so it follows that this should be the focus in schools preparing students for a STEM orientated future.
Even when schools do not offer fully integrated STEM programs, we must make core subjects like math, science and technology relevant for students, and at the same time, foster creativity, curiosity and a passion for problem solving. We need to adopt a project-based way of teaching and learning, allowing students to understand and appreciate the relevancy of their work to their own lives and the world around them. We need to ensure a learning environment full of active classrooms where multiple right answers abound and failure is regarded as a positive step toward discovery and a successful solution. We want to feed natural curiosity and give students enough room to kick off their journey toward becoming creative, innovative, critical thinkers.
Specialist STEM programs and school partnerships with industry will of course help to raise the profile of STEM in schools. However, as with all education, great teaching is a key ingredient of any child’s success. In the STEM fields too, we also have to start with quality teaching as it is critical to creating educational experiences that are project-based, hands-on and build a love of lifelong learning. Quality teachers feeding the curiosity of young people — that will give us a strong base on which to grow STEM orientated young people.
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