Motivation in STEM Learning

Two ideas were thrown up during the brainstorming session last week to motivate students towards inter-disciplinary STEM learning.

The first was citizen science (or amateur science or crowd-sourced science).  The term implies involvement of the public in inquiry and a shared discovery of new knowledge. A project like this can involve one person or millions of people working in collaboration towards a common goal. Typically, public involvement includes collection of data, analysis, or fact-reporting.

Very diverse fields like geophysics, chemistry ecology, astronomy, medicine, computer science, statistics, psychology, genetics, engineering and others have become part of what citizens study recently. The massive collaborations that can occur through citizen science allow investigations at continental and global scales and across decades—leading to discovery that a single scientist could never achieve on their own.

Examples of ongoing and cool citizen science projects include:

Nanocrafter

When you play this game, you’ll create nanomachines using real DNA sequences and make inroads into the field of synthetic biology

NASA’s SMAP Satellite Mission

The SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) is a NASA satellite that orbits the earth measuring soil moisture levels. Citizen scientists can collect soil samples from their area to compare to data provided by the satellite

Play to Cure: Genes in Space

Cancer Research UK created this incredible space adventure game that allowed users to analyze genetic data and help develop treatments for cancer while having fun at the same time! The project has now ended, but the results are sure to have long-lasting benefits

(Source: Discover Magazine)

There is a national Citizen Science Association conference; The White House’s Open Science and Innovative Forum and a Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit.

The idea is powerful and grasps people’s imagination because it bridges gaps by harnessing the power of the masses, who are motivated by curiosity, reuniting science with leisure participation in the process.

The second was family science nights that brings together families for a special evening science event in which kids get a chance to share their learning and show it off to their parents and even discover new things with their siblings and parents. An evening like this consists of hands-on science stations with simple instructions set up in tables in a common area. Older students and teachers cover stations, depending on the activity and help families run the experiments.

Educational Technology

Educational technology takes many different forms. One way to categorize it is by who it is intended to be used by or who has agency when using it: the learner, the teacher, or the school. Think about the many different nodes on the system models (K12 or Higher Education) you made in class. Choose a node or two that were interesting to you and think about how technology for the learner, the teacher or the system (school/university) might impact that node. 

Science becomes intimidating to students, before its importance or ‘cool factor’ can even register on their consciousness. Engaging students through fun ways can include taking into account their individuality, or personalizing science by encouraging students to express their curiosity and learning creatively. Some students may even have a dual interest in science/art, or a plain stronger interest in right-brain stuff, so that learning science by doing this, may end up enhancing their learning still more.

Technology that would accompany this kind of pedagogy may range from digital art or aesthetic models or drawings/writing using software on laptops.

Eventually, students would internalize and retain Science better and take more ownership over the material, if they are involved with the process from the core. Memory-formation in Neuroscience theories is enhanced, by emotional components, so personalizing science or home-schooling students somewhat, or a combination, may bridge the gap between textbooks and pedagogy and the recipients it is meant to reach.

Looking ahead at 2032

Looking ahead at 2032

When one looks at how people think and learn one sees clear differences. Although it is conceivable that science may one day show that there is a "best way," no such conclusion seems to be on the horizon. Moreover, even if there were, individuals might prefer to think in their own way rather than in the "best way."

Situating Constructionism (Papert et. al.)

I think that with growing populations and limited resources, the need for students of the future to acquire certain new skill-sets may emerge. These may include project-based learning; inter-disciplinary skills and communication skills, for success at the workplace across disciplines.

Preliminary research by the National Research Council (NRC) suggests that teaching critical thinking skills should be possible through the process of science/math, or through literacy/writing. This is because both processes aim to establish a logical flow in argument, albeit in very different, yet converging ways. For high school and college students, learning to critically evaluate scientific research may be enhanced by reading popular science articles in responsible media (Discover magazine or the Scientific American), that aims to dissect issues by offering multiple points of view on it, while remaining unbiased.

Another idea in this context is the setting up of Third Spaces (informal learning spaces), if not Makerspaces in larger numbers so that we can be more conscious of the cross-fertilization between students of different cultures, with their unique histories and between students and their socio-cultural environments. The Third Space seems to create a learning opportunity for the sharing of knowledge either as an addition to the classroom space, or as an alternative where peer teaching can occur via a democratic discussion. The collaborative and informal angle to this creative learning could also enhance the learning process across peer groups, schools, families and communities.

A third challenge in STEM Education that I think needs to be addressed is the need for better student motivation. The lighting of a spark, so that they can tap into their curiosity and potential and help themselves. To do this, what comes to mind is something along the lines of a ‘help educators to help students’ strategy. While there are many ways to achieve this, personalized learning (for example the idea of telling people’s stories via design thinking or other creative media).