Question

As you have been witnessing, historically science has been an elite road traveled by the rich, religious leaders, and the privately educated. Today, we are seeing a movement in STEM and STEAM to promote scientific endeavors in the public school system and in the community. In fact, you have just finished a community based science project. Your job is to compare and contrast the ways in which science was disseminated throughout the culture in the renaissance to today. Your ultimate question to answer is...

Is our education system serving scientific thought and the creation of new scientists and scientific discovery?

Hint: You may wish to look at what STEM and STEAM programs are and what the NGSS standards are for public education.

Requirements:

Four different sources using APA citation

500 words or less

A complete thesis statement

Evidence and Analysis that prove your point of view

Accurate quotations from your sources

Source :

https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/evolution-of-stem-and-steam-in-the-united-states/

https://theconversation.com/explainer-whats-the-difference-between-stem-and-steam-95713

https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/ngssstandards.asp

https://www.ed.gov/stem

Answer 1

Thesis

America's educational system's transformation to include science as a part of the curriculum in all phases of education as improved the overall quality of the science curriculum. This study focuses on whether or not it is enough to make America a global leader in bringing out more scientists and more scientific discoveries.

Evidence

"[Science] is more than a school subject, or the periodic table, or the properties of waves. It is an approach to the world, a critical way to understand and explore and engage with the world, and then have the capacity to change that world..."

— President Barack Obama, March 23, 2015

This quote proves the level of interest that the government has in the development of science-based studies. Similarly,

STEM - focusses on science, technology, engineering, and math and STEAM - investigates the same concepts, but does this through inquiry and problem-based learning methods used in the creative process.

NGSS - Next Generation Science Standards focus on having a benchmark and maintaining standards of education on a grade level. This too is a level up from our previous science study structures.

Analysis

During the colonial times, science was limited only to the rich and the religious - mostly in private study sessions. Free education bill by Thomas Jefferson helped the general public gain access to education. This was the beginning of people getting the education as a basic right. As wars approached, there was a dire need for applied sciences such as electricity, aviation, and photography. Even then the learning system was the only fact-based. When Russia launched Sputnik, it became a matter of pride. National science programs focus on bringing in more people to qualify and apply science for the betterment of America's global identity. Around the 1990s, Standards and Benchmarks came into existence that sparked the need for more rigorous and high-quality science education.

The statement by then-President Barrack Obama in 2011, “This is our generation’s Sputnik moment.”, marked how important it was for America to focus on its technology initiatives, to stay relevant and have better economic and national security is saying of the need for better educational reforms. This resulted in millions of dollars in funding for teaching and other research activities that STEM became a nationwide standard for improvement.

The fact that science and engineering graduates in numbers have gone up, that STEM fields are well paying and that careers related to STEM are booming with more people than ever taking up science, is a great evdence that the STEM curriculum has paid off and is continuing to do so.

STEAM, inspite of controversial beginnings is the right step forward, because it is more foccussed on innovation and creativity. Both these wualities are essential in order to survve the coming ages, which are powered by science and it's innovations.

Citations:

Gunn J., 2017, The Evolution of STEM and STEAM in the U.S., Retrieved from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/evolution-of-stem-and-steam-in-the-united-states/

Vovers J., Silk M., Leeuwen W B., 2018, Explainer: what’s the difference between STEM and STEAM?, Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/explainer-whats-the-difference-between-stem-and-steam-95713

CDE, 2013, NGSS for California Public Schools, K-12, Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/ngssstandards.asp

USDE, 2015, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math: Education for Global Leadership, Retrieved from https://www.ed.gov/stem