The M of STEM

Author: Arlene Vinion Dubiel

There has been some debate about what STEM means. Of course we know that it stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, but the question is: are these separate but related subjects or is STEM an integration of subjects? Our response to this question shapes how we in STEM education engage in teaching and learning with our students and, in turn, how our students will perceive STEM. 

The purpose of this week’s blog is to convince you that the STEM subjects are integrated and that this integration needs to be emphasized in education. But we do face some challenges in realizing this vision. What are the challenges and how can we overcome them to support our students as they engage in STEM. 

STEM in the Real World

There is a natural dependence of math and science upon one another. Certainly there are some purely mathematical fields, but for the most part, math is used in practical ways to understand other concepts. You may have heard it said that physics is applied math, chemistry is applied physics, and biology is applied chemistry. These traditional science fields deal with increasingly complex organizations of matter. And the foundation is mathematical. Likewise, Engineering and Technology utilize the principles of both science and math to build physical or digital structures for practical purposes. The STEM fields are interdependent and no one field can persist without the others.

Those employed in STEM fields know that integration of these subjects is necessary. I had the privilege of listening to a panel discussion with Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) engineers as a part of a mathematics training program for teachers last summer. These engineers explained that they did not need to know how to do the complex calculations from the upper level college calculus classes, but they did need to know whether the numbers the computer programs spit out were accurate or not. The engineers also needed to understand the meaning of the numbers – do the numbers mean the structure is safe or unsafe and under what conditions.  

I was a biomedical research scientist before becoming an educator. I worked in laboratories that studied bacterial infectious diseases. So, I did science. However, my biology and chemistry classes did not fully prepare me for what I had to do on a daily basis. While doing science, I had to engineer apparatuses and repair equipment. I utilized computers daily and had to keep up with the ever-changing technologies. And I did math - lots of math. 

There were simple algebraic problems like how much NaCl was needed to make 1 liter of a 0.5 molar solution. There were more complex analyses like figuring out when bacterial cultures were in logarithmic growth based upon the transmission of light. I had to infer meaning from the numbers that various equipment provided. And of course I had to present data graphically and use statistics to determine whether the differences in measurements were significant. While working in the lab, I did not think about whether this was math or science, I simply had to solve problems using whatever tools and methods were available. In the professional world, there is no distinction between science, technology, engineering, and math. Rather all of those subjects are utilized to solve problems and get the job done.

Science and Math Standards

“Integration of STEM subjects is a requirement to successfully achieve the standards.”

It is only in education that students engage in subjects as silos. Math is taught in math class and science is taught in science class. It is rare the subjects are integrated in meaningful ways across different classes. However, our standards, while organized as single subjects, do encourage integration.  

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were adopted by most states in 2009. We know that the CCSS pertains to math and language arts. But did you know that they also include Standards for Science & Technical Subjects for grades 6-12. On the surface, these standards relate to reading and writing, but some address quantitative information specifically. For example, RST.9-10.7 states “Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into a visual form and translate information expressed visually or mathematically into words.” This standard and its related ones for grade bands 6-8 and 11-12, emphasize that subjects do not stand-alone but rather are dependent upon each other.  

Four years after the CCSS, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were released. These standards include engineering and technology with science. One of the three domains which form the basis of the NGSS is Science and Engineering Practices found in Appendix F. Of these eight practices, one is “using mathematics and computational thinking.” “Analyzing and interpreting data” is a separate practice. As is written on page 10 of Appendix F of the NGSS, “Mathematics is a tool that is key to understanding science. As such, classroom instruction must include critical skills of mathematics.” Further, each standard of the NGSS has a list of CCSS to which the standard aligns. At the very least, many NGSS list Mathematical practice 2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. Thus, as described in the standards, integration of STEM subjects is a requirement to successfully achieve the standards.  

Science-Math Disconnect

If I’ve convinced you that STEM subjects should be integrated in education, then the question becomes, why don’t we integrate more? 

One reason is tradition. Remember the three R’s - Reading Writing and Arithmetic? This very traditional view focuses on English and Math. In elementary schools we still focus on reading and math as the two foundational topics, and rightly so. If students are challenged with reading, writing, and basic math, they will struggle in subjects that utilize these skills like social studies and science. When we get to upper grades, where students have already acquired these foundational skills, then we can focus on utilizing these skills in practical ways by teaching other subjects like science. 

Another reason is that there is sometimes a disconnect between the science and the math that is being taught. Math and science standards for grade levels are sometimes aligned to allow for integration. For example, fourth grade is usually when both angles and the phases of the moon are taught. To understand why we see the phases of the moon, you need to know the angles between the sun and moon with the Earth as the vertex. And this science content can help to give learning angles some meaning. However, pacing guides for each subject may not allow for the content to be taught at the same time resulting in a disconnect between the topics.

When we get to upper grades, we are organized into departments and rarely have opportunities to connect with teachers of other disciplines. Several years ago, I had the privilege of working with two middle school teachers who taught across the hall from one another. They engaged in a year-long professional development course on inquiry-based teaching and learning. The teachers were able to co-plan lessons where students would generate data in their science class and analyze it in their math class. The resulting lessons and the students’ reactions supported the power of integrating science and math.  

Integrating Science and Math

Aside from advocating for changes to our educational system to allow for teachers of different subjects to co-plan and collaborate on integrating content, there are things we can do as individual instructors to promote integration by providing examples in our own classroom.

As a science instructor for preservice elementary teachers I would force them to engage in a pure mathematics lesson from Physics by Inquiry text by Lillian McDermott. In the process of teaching about the concept of density, it was important to know that the number had a meaning. Density is an important concept for pure substances that is often taught with the equation D=M/V. It is a simple equation and can be used quite competently by many students. However, if students fail to understand the meaning of mass and volume, they will not fully grasp the concept of density, resulting in missed calculations.

My preservice elementary teachers did not like this lesson in math (“I thought this was supposed to be a science class!”). But it forced them to really think about the meaning of the numbers. This section contained questions that went something like this: “Each pound of bananas costs 30 cents. We bought 4.3 pounds of bananas. Give an interpretation, if there is one, of the following numbers” (p. 54). The two numbers are then put together using simple arithmetic and students had to think about what the numbers meant and to interpret meaning, if there was one, of the resulting calculations. Only after students struggled would I provide them with a sort of short cut that science teachers know: use the units like grams and milliliters to ensure the calculations are correct.  

Another way I would add math into science was when I taught chemistry at Sweet Briar College. I knew my students needed to be solid with their algebra skills to engage in the problems on buffers and electrochemistry, so I created an algebra worksheet for general chemistry that instructed students to isolate x. I knew the students would not be successful on exams if they lacked the algebra skills necessary to work with the chemistry formulas and this was my way of ensuring they had the math skills to be successful.

These are examples of putting math into science classes, but what about putting science into math? Usually this is done with word problems and with task-based instruction. Word problems give numbers meaning and help with understanding why certain calculations must be done. If those word problems have a basis in science or engineering, then that is integration.

Resources for Integrated Lessons

Going a step further, there are resources available for science and math teachers that purposely integrate both subjects. If you are interested in climate change, the Teacher’s Climate Guide has a series of exercises using mathematics as a way to understand climate change. Some of these exercises reference data and problems from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA in turn has its own set of lesson plans found under Practical Uses of Math And Science (PUMAS). This set of lessons has a few gems if you look. For example, Launch Speed asks the question “How fast does a steam catapult have to travel to launch an aircraft” from an aircraft carrier.

The M of STEM is the foundation upon which science, technology, and engineering are built. But we must acknowledge that these other subjects give math meaning and that integrating the STEM subjects is necessary for students to be able to solve complex problems in the real world. So, promote the integration of STEM subjects, whether it is in your classroom, with other like-minded instructors, or by advocating for systemic change in our educational system. It is our responsibility to meet the standards of our chosen teaching field to reach across the silos.

Under the belief that the STEM subjects need to be integrated, check out some of the resources to find ways to purposely integrate subjects in your own classroom. Seek out other like-minded instructors to co-plan integrated lessons. And promote integration of subjects by sharing what you know of real-world problem solving that utilizes various subjects.

Ready To Jumpstart Your Math Redesign Momentum?

Create effective, equitable & quantifiable change in your math program built on the good work you've already done