Inquiry Based Learning in STEM Education
One of the major problems that exists in education today is a need to alter teaching practices to meet the changing demands of our modern world. One way that globalization is directly effecting education is in the creation of a greater emphasis on STEM education. Teachers must find a way of instructing students that makes them more successful in studying and developing professionally in the areas of science and technology. This relies on inquiry based instruction. However, the basic premise of inquiry based, or vocationally focused education runs counter to the classroom setting, and its cultural tendencies to be a teacher-led space. In order to solve this problem, teachers must adapt their learning styles to allow students to lead their own instruction, lean by inquiry, and actively problem solve.
According to Legemann, education is driven forward by the concept of vocation, or the individual findings one’s place, in society, form a professional standpoint (359). Hansen specifically notes that “interest in STEM appears to be gaining momentum; a 2008 survey report reveals the rapid growth of STEM schools in recent years. “ (5) As such, inquiry based learning through STEM education allows students to pursue a variety of careers that are growing, at current, as a direct result of the changing sciences and technologies in our world. It is estimated that as much as much as 80% of the jobs that will be available to students graduating in the next decade will be directly tied to the skills and topics covered in STEM education, and addressed by inquiry based learning (Hansen 377). Further, STEM education, when managed in a pedagogically appropriate way helps to promote gender equality in vocation and education, especially as it relates to the current imbalance between men and women entering vocations in the science and technology fields (Hansen 377).
This ability to focus on skills that are useful in the real world, or vocationally valuable, is tied closely to Lagemann’s concern that vocational interests have significant educational value, or power (364). He claims that education should be designed with usability, or matter of vacation, in mind. STEM education, through inquiry, does exactly that. By focusing on a set of skills, that center on asking questions, and seeking solutions, students are taught a set of usable skills, rather than simple facts. They exit their STEM high school experiences with problem solving skills, that have trained them to ask meaningful questions, and seek answers in order to establish a set solution, rather than simply memorizing and completing a process, without trying to improve it.
Inquiry based learning vs Traditional Instruction.
There was a time when rote education, was enough. However, today, the growing pressure, internationally, to perform well as it relates to math, science, and education, has created an atmosphere where’re it is essential for students to be able to ask questions, and think critically, about problem solving rather than simply memorizing what a teacher presents to them. This leads to one of the major problems with STEM education. According to Hooks, “progressive, holistic education, “engaged pedagogy” is more demanding than conventional critical or feminist pedagogy” (15). It demands more than the traditional classroom setting can provide, in that engagement, inquiry and problem solving cannot be taught by teacher instruction, but rather, must be lead through teacher facilitation. As such, it is now, more than ever, important to understand the application of Inquiry Based Learning as a pedagogical approach to STEM learning.
Instructional Goals and Needs
STEM education can be described as instruction in the science, math, and technology field, which is interested in pushing students to ask questions. Hansen describes STEM as a unique field of education that focuses on altering the typical teacher-centered learning approach, to create an inclusive curriculum that focuses on a student’s ability to problem solve, and explore questions in order to use discovery learning to implement solutions (376). This can, in time create students who leave the educational setting prepared to participate in the workplace, and to offer innovative solutions to the problem at hand.
This concept of STEM education as focusing on inquiry based learning is consistent with the goals of education used in America, as they were established by the state of California in 1979. This set of school goals state the education must ultimately create students with “career and economic competence, citizenship and civil responsibility, and competence in human and social relations” among other features (Sizer 263). Developing these competencies relies on an educational system working to shift from a teacher–centered to a student-centered learning approach that allows students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers.
Competences gained through STEM and Inquiry based learning
The US department of Labors Scans report identifies a number of key competencies that those entering the labor force specifically need, including “using information, identifying and organizing resources, working with others, interpreting information, and understanding complex interrelationships” (Mezirow 272). Similarly, the Australian government has stated that both employers and academics seek those who can analyze information, communicate ideas, plan and organize activities use mathematical ideas and technology, work in teams and problem solve (Gonzi and others, 1995 as cited in Mezirow 272). In keeping with these ideas, inquiry based learning, as applied in STEM education specifically teach students to “think critically, analyze and solve complex real world problems, find, evaluate and use appropriate learning resources, work cooperatively, demonstrate effective communication skills, and use content knowledge and intellectual skills to become continual learners” and productive workers (Savery 11). These skills are specifically necessary for students to become “autonomous, socially responsible thinkers,” which is required for individuals to be productive and responsible employees in the 21st century context (Mezirow 272).
It is, therefore, important to define what students learn, through inquiry based learning, also called Problem Based Learning (PBL), and how it is applied as a teaching message. The teaching approach requires students to take responsibility and control over their own learning (Savery 12). This requires teachers to act mainly s facilitators of student learning, rather than as instructors that dole out specific learning, or control instruction (Savery 13). As a result, students base their decision making on prior knowledge, and then seen new knowledge as they work to find an acceptable solution. As a result, the individual learner takes on the responsibility for their learning, and the new information that they discover, research, and take command of, in order to develop the solution that they seek (Savey 12). This approach is tied to engaged pedagogy, or the concept that students should grow intellectually and spiritually through education, as they take mastery of unique learning, or “praxis” which involves taking action, and then reflecting, or order to make a change (Hooks 254). More specifically, according to Hooks, education cannot be a “banking system” in which students consume and memorize, or store, a list of facts, but rather that they must develop knowledge through active involvement or engagement (254).
This approach also means that the most meaningful lessons are more free-form, so that they require problem solving and critical thinking. Problems in the real world are complex. They require students to approach something “ill-structured” and search a way to meaningfully organize it, and solve it (Savey 13). More specifically, if it were simplistic, it would not be a “problem” and so it is only by being asked to question and work through “ill-structured” scenarios that a student truly gains the ability to problem solve in a vocational way (Savey 13). This ultimately requires collaboration, self-direction, and analysis, in order to find the best solutions (Savey 13-14). The hardest part of this process, from a pedagogical point of view, is in managing how to move from instructor, to facilitator, allowing student inquiry, rather than teacher instruction, to drive the learning in the classroom (Savey 15).
The 21st century, and the employment market in the current global market economy faces the educational world with new and distinct challenges. More than ever before, it is essential that students have the tools that they need to be innovative and productive members of the economy. As such, it is important for teachers, especially those in STEM educational fields, to develop their inquiry based skills. These skills, as have been demonstrated, are valued by both the educational and the employment sector, and are actively demanded by government leaders. As such, it is key that a pedagogical approach be developed to meet these goals and objectives, and to develop students vocationally. The problem of ineffectively providing STEM education will continue as long as educational approaches remain oratory, and instructionally based. Teachers ned to amend their teaching approaches, focusing more ion engagement and inquiry, in order to meet the specific needs of the changing global educational setting, including preparing students for the STEM based world.
Works Cited:
Hansen, Michael. "Characteristics of Schools Successful in STEM: Evidence from Two States’ Longitudinal Data. " The Journal of Educational Research 107. 5 (2014): 374-91. Web.
Hooks, Bell. “Engaged Pedagogy. ” Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013. 253-258. Print.
Lagemann, Ellen Conlidiffe. “The Challenge of Liberty” Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. Boston: Pearson Learning Solution, 2013. Print.
Mezirow, Jack. "Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice. " Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. Ed. Mid Michigan Community College. Boston: Pearson. 2013. 268-274. Print.
Savery, John R. "Overview of Problem-based Learning: Definitions and Distinctions. " Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning 1. 1 (2006): 1-16. Web.
Sizer, Theodore. “What High School Is. ” Exploring Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. Boston: Pearson Learning Solution, 2013. Print.
