In my suggestions on various discussion groups for a “Comprehensive STEM Curriculum Framework for the 21st Century”, I describe the need for a multi-dimensional view using a transformational “systems approach” to these subject areas, particularly at the high school and college levels.
The first dimension is to provide greater integration among the four STEM disciplines to an integrated “Content Information and Knowledge Space” (CIKS), in which the relationships and links between topics are made, using Horn’s Information Mapping techniques. With interactive tablet technology and “Cloud” storage resources, navigation paths through this content should become easier in this coming decade.
The “complexity” of the content information should be clearly described with a ladder of progressive “Basic Workplace Skill Sets” (BWSS) that establish the expectations of what learners should know when they graduate at any educational level. These skill sets would also include the creative and relationship abilities that would be integrated from the “Communication, Creative, Cultural, and Social Arts” (CCCSA or 3CSA) part of the overall curriculum. These might be considered to be the “action verbs” that make the “nouns of content” relevant and useful. This dimension could be measured through a [Bloom, Webb] Cognitive Rigor Matrix (CRM), to ensure that these teaching and learning activities are actually provided in the courses.
The third dimension would be to deliver those activities through various “Applied Career Preparation Pathways” (ACPP), in which students could select typical “real world” problems from a number of career paths, such as: Business, Construction, Health, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Transportation, etc. If prepared questions, projects, and resources could be made available to STEM instructors and classes, the higher CRM activities could be performed by individuals and small groups to explore areas of their own interests. These could also be activities that look at the broader social and global impacts of the STEM subjects, which was (is?) an effort of the Science-Technology-Society (STS) initiative that was a precursor to STEM.
So within this three-dimensional framework for STEM, the area of responsibility of the first direction would primarily be with the STEM faculties to integrate the content information itself. The “Arts” folks would need to provide direction and materials for the implementation of effective practices that engage the students with problem-solving and creative activities, using the content as the “objects of manipulation”. Finally, the Career & Technical Education” (CTE) instructors and the larger business and workplace communities need to provide the direction and materials for the career preparation activities and standards for the skill sets. It looks like this is everybody’s job.