The Importance of Project Based Learning discussed at US News STEM Solutions

kristielAll Topics, fischertechnik, STEM Education

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project based learning with fischertechnikIf you are a regular reader of the fischertechnik blog posts, you’ve no doubt heard us discuss how project based learning and other non-lecture classroom formats have been shown to be most effective methods for addressing the STEM education dilemma. With this in mind, a few stories in the news caught my eye. The first, from the Homeland Security News Wire, was titled “Active learning of STEM subjects improves grades, reduces failure. The story described a research project headed by Scott Freeman at the University of Washington, which according to Freeman, was the largest and most comprehensive analysis ever published of studies comparing lecturing and active learning in undergraduate education. According to this article, the research performed by Freeman and his colleagues showed that “a significantly greater number of students fail science, engineering, and math (STEM) courses which are taught lecture-style than fail in classes incorporating so-called active learning that expects them to participate in discussions and problem-solving beyond what they have memorized. The study also showed that the effect on grades could be significant, with students involved in this ‘active learning’ model at times showing improved exam performance of a half letter grade or greater. Freeman was quoted in the article as saying:

If you have a course with 100 students signed up, about 34 fail if they get lectured to but only 22 fail if they do active learning according to our analysis. (Keep in mind that) there are hundreds of thousands of students taking STEM courses in U.S. colleges every year, so we’re talking about tens of thousands of students who could stay in STEM majors instead of flunking out – every year.”

Another article, “5 Suggestions for Better STEM education, from Students” from Mashable.com provided some insights from students gathered for a Twitter chat in conjunction with the USA Science and Engineering Festival held in Washington, DC this past April. The story, written by Adora Svitak, echoed many of the findings of Freeman and his group, as well as the views of an ever growing number of educators, but this time put forth by the very students who need such education.

Five Suggestions for Improving STEM Education

The five suggestions put forth in this article, and backed up by quotes from the student participants, were:

  1. Schools are focusing too much on memorization and not enough on problem-solving, killing student interest in STEM topics early.
  2. To provide those opportunities for problem-solving, schools need to let students conduct science research projects—early and often.
  3. Grown-up teachers aren’t the only teachers in the room—peer-to-peer learning can be leveraged for incredible gains in STEM education.
  4. STEM is about satisfying human curiosity .(i.e., schools need to provide students with compelling reasons for WHY they should care about STEM)
  5. Failure is life’s built-in educator (the important thing is to try, and to learn from the results)

Project Based Learning Effective for STEM Education

What I take from both articles is more fuel for the fire that says that to be effective, STEM education programs, and the teachers heading them, must be willing to let go of the old way of doing things.  This means allowing the students more independence in the classroom to do the research, the trial and error, and to make the discoveries on their own. It means placing less emphasis on the traditional textbook and lecture methods of instruction, and embracing more engaging pathways to discovery, such as project based learning. The old methods worked well a hundred years ago, when the goal of society was primarily to create workers who could follow orders. The new technology based world we live in requires instead workers who can ask questions and solve problems, and the only way they will be able to bring these skills to the workplace is by learning them in our schools.

US News STEM Solutions Conference Notes

STEM Solutions ShowOn a related note, we recently returned from a visiting the US News STEM Solutions Conference, also held in Washington DC in April, just prior to the USA Science and Engineering Festival. We were in attendance to showcase the fischertechnik STEM Lab Program, which as you probably know is based around the project based learning method. Accompanied by Tom White, noted educator and the creator of the STEM Lab curriculum, we had the opportunity to connect with numerous leaders in the STEM education movement, and to provide them with an in-person look at the fischertechnik construction system, as well as a tour of the curriculum itself. We always enjoy the opportunity to interact with the movers, shakers and decision makers in the STEM field, and we’re very happy to see this conference growing exponentially from where it started just two years ago. If you’d like to see a photo gallery with some of the highlights from the conference, you can view them by clicking here. (PS- you can also see a picture of the fischertechnik exhibit right on the first page).

As always, if you have any questions about anything fischertechnik related, including the fischertechnik STEM Lab Program, feel free to write us at [email protected]

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