Alexandria Gool

May 3rd, 2017

5th Hour

The S.T.E.M Impact Project

What is STEM? STEM means just that Science, Technology, Engineering and Math,

and the core knowledge and processes within each of those disciplines. The very fundamental

basis of STEM is to improve the young minds of our youth and create a strong future working

force. Understanding what it means and how important it is will only boost your adrenaline to

want to learn and explore more into the core subjects. Rather than teach the four disciplines as

separate and discrete subjects, STEM education integrates them into a cohesive learning

paradigm based on real-world applications. STEM education is the term for all fields of study

and practices that are used to invent and create high-tech products and services that are so much

a part of our lives today. At the High School level, the STEM curriculum includes courses such

as algebra, calculus, biology, chemistry, and computer science. STEM education can also be used

when addressing education public policy. Policy makers support STEM Education as it drives

global innovation and U.S. competitiveness.

Engineering draws on all of the STEM fields and applies them to solve problems and to

create innovative devices, structures, and software applications. The fundamentals of

Engineering include; buildings, designs, machines, and structures. It is important because we

would not have houses, hospitals, shoes, or roadways without engineers. Every single job field in

the world, began with just one person that had a vision of something better for themselves and

others, STEM is no different. We all may not know who the first scientist, technologist, engineer,

or mathematician was but we can see that their contributions have had long lasting effect. Some

may ask, how did they get people to get into their ideas and practices? But in order to constantly

create new practices and inventions, all fields must keep reinventing themselves, or constantly

increase the number of participants so the odds of new ideas being introduced is high.
Engineering is one of the fastest-growing, most rewarding career areas in the world. Engineers

are the people who make things work, who imagine, design, and create. There are many kinds of

engineers; aerospace engineers, who make flight possible-to another state or all the way around

the world. There is an agricultural engineer, which a person who helps feed our country by

making plants and animals grow bigger and stronger. Civil engineers design and construct

highways, bridges, and tunnels, even the roller coasters we love to ride at major amusement

parks. Then there are electrical engineers: the people who tame the force that gives us light, heat,

and power. You also have the mechanical engineers who build machines and the chemical

engineers who develop a world wide range of products. Opportunities for young engineers are

plentiful and pay above-average wages. To earn the rewards of being an engineer, you have to

put in place some essential early building blocks, starting in school. There are several paths you

can follow to become an engineer after you graduate from high school.

The Fundamentals of Technology would be computers, cell phones, laptops, tablets,

machines & tools doctors use for their patients, tools business owners use, and us as human

beings use. Technology is a body of knowledge devoted to creating tools, processing actions and

extracting materials. We use technology to accomplish various tasks in our daily lives. We use

technology to extend our abilities, and that makes people as the most important part of any

technological system. Technology is also an application of science to solve a problem. This is

important to understand because without technology, we would not be more advanced than we

are now. We have developed quicker ways to find data whether it's health wise, business wise, or

personal. We apply technology in almost everything we do in our lives; we use technology at

work, we use it for communication, transportation, learning, manufacturing, creating artifacts,

securing data, scaling businesses and so much more. Without technology we wouldn't have ways

to communicate, solve problems, attain lifelong knowledge & skills, and access, manage, design,

and create information to improve learning in all subjects. Technology is human knowledge

which involves tools, materials, systems. If technology is well applied, it can benefit humans, but

if it is wrongly applied, it can cause harm to human beings. Many businesses are using

technology to stay competitive, they create new products and services using technology, and they

also use technology to deliver those products and services to their customers on time. A good
example is mobile phone companies like Apple & Samsung. They both use high end technology

to create new smartphones and other electronic devices to stay competitive. This competitive

edge is gained through employing advanced technology.

Some basic Fundamentals of Science would be questions, hypotheses, experiments,

results, and conclusions. Science is the knowledge or study of an object. New discoveries are

being made everyday by different type of scientists. Science actually uses technology to conduct

experiments. Scientists have many tools available to them when attempting to describe how

nature and the universe at large works. It is important so that we understand why or what caused

this to happen, to solve problems, make new discoveries, and disprove false information about

previous studies.

Fundamentals of Mathematics would be weight, height, statistics, measurements, time,

ratios, space, and distance. This is very important to understand because mathematics is tied to

everything we know and do. For example like the time zones, our height or how much we weigh,

and the length of an object. The overall relationship between Science, Technology, Engineering,

and Mathematics is that it all connects with one another.

STEM actually play a major role in our everyday lives. Our toothbrush, television sets,

DVD players, laptop/computer, tablet, and our cell phones all fall into the stem category.

Methods of Exploration and Problem Solving: STEM means the ability to frame problems and

solve problems. STEM involves certain teaching methodologies, like problem-based and project-

based learning, also referred to as active learning strategies. Even though the United States has

historically been a leader in these fields, fewer students have been focusing on these topics

recently. According to the U.S Department of Education, only 16% of high school students are

interested in a STEM career. Currently, nearly 28% of high school Freshmen are interested in a

STEM-related field, says a department website, but 57% will lose interest by the time they

graduate from high school.

Career Focused STEM is about helping students understand and explore the world of

careers and how STEM is infused to a variety of career options, not just the well-known careers

like scientists, engineers, and computer programmers. For example, there are Skilled Trade
careers that falls into the STEM category. Skilled Trade careers are those labor jobs which

require specific training, such as a carpenter, a setter, or an electrician.