1. STEM Education offers a chance for students to make sense of the world rather than learn isolated bits and pieces of phenomena

2. There is a growing movement in the U. S
There is a growing movement in the U. S. to teach the integrative subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

3. “For a society so deeply dependent on technology and engineering, we are largely ignorant about technology and engineering concepts and processes, and we have largely ignored this incongruity in our educational system.” (Bybee, 2000)

4. Schooling is not relevant to many of our youth today:
In the U.S. this year, Approximately 1.25 million kids leave school without a high school diploma … that’s about 7,000 students a day! (National Dropout Prevention Center, 2009)

5. The National Science Board in 2008 reported that the U. S
The National Science Board in 2008 reported that the U. S. is currently experiencing a chronic decline in homegrown STEM talent and is increasingly dependent upon foreign scholars to fill the workforce and leadership voids.

6. The Council of Graduate Schools (2007) noted that graduate school admissions to some post secondary STEM programs are down by 30% over previous levels.
In some areas, only 16% of students in science and engineering disciplines were citizens of the U.S.

7. A recent report of the U. S
A recent report of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of jobs in STEM occupations will grow by 47%, three times the rate of all other occupations, by (American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 2005)

8. STEM can help with solving some of these problems
STEM can help with solving some of these problems. “Our educational system can be enhanced to appropriately function for a new world reality” (Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat) The world may be flat but our educational system is as mountainous as ever. (McComas and McComas, ITEA, 2009)

9. Shocking data:
4% of American college graduates in 2003 majored in engineering.
13 % of European college graduates in 2003 majored in engineering
20 % of Asian college graduates in 2003 majored in engineering

10. Some U. S. Efforts to Support STEM Education:
International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA)
National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
Federal and State Efforts
Engineering Education for the Innovation Economy Act (Pending)

11. How to transition from Isolation to Integration
Four subjects taught separately
1subject integrated with others
2 subjects out of 4 integrated
Full Integration of 4 subjects

12. Major Assessment Areas
2012 NAEP in Technological Literacy
5/13/09
Major Assessment Areas
Technology & Society
Design & Systems
Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
Interaction of Technology and Humans
Effects of Technology on the Natural World
Effects of Technology on the World of Information and Knowledge
Ethics, Equity and Responsibility
Nature of Technology
Engineering Design
Systems Thinking
Maintenance and Troubleshooting
Construction and Exchange of Ideas and Solutions
Information Research
Investigation of Problems
Acknowledgement of Ideas and Information
Selection and Use of Digital Tools

13. A wealth of natural resources, innovation, and hard work provided the mechanisms that transformed our nation during the 20th Century. National and international transformations during the 21st Century will be driven by those who want to invest in and advance comprehensive STEM educational programs (Daugherty, 2009)