At the beginning of this placement, I was bothered by the ubiquitousness of STEM - as a term, as a concept, as the seeming superstar of education from elementary school through higher ed. I was bothered because, I realize now, in Ohio it seems as though STEM is being used interchangeably with the concept of "21st Century Skills".
The two are different. 21st Century skills are not a separate entity from STEM; science, technology, and math skills are fundamental elements of a successful 21st century education, which encompasses global awareness, competence in communication, strong critical thinking, effective writing, and acute analytical and synthetic skills. But STEM is becoming a monolith in education talk, and I fear that it threatens to invalidate anything - any program, any path of study - that is not immediately or obviously STEM related.
See, for example, the following excerpt from the Ohio STEM Learning Network:
"The goal of a STEM focused curriculum is to drive STEM-literacy for all students as they prepare for college, work and effective citizenship. After entering a STEM school, many students have already made the decision to move on to careers in the rapidly evolving technology and science sectors, two areas where American industry struggles to keep in step with foreign competition. STEM schools are working hard to educate the future leaders and innovators of America."
Well, so are small liberal arts colleges, independant colleges and non-STEM disciplines in any institution of learning. This school is not in a position to become a STEM school, but it can be a school that remains diverse in its focus as it prepares graduates who posess strong 21st century skills. If schools genuinely adopt such a skill base and creatively integrate this base into all disciplines, graduates will be intellectually flexible, professionally capable, and therefore economically relevant - as "future leaders and innovators of America" in many ways.
Purpose
Research Question:
How can the College's Graduate/Professional Studies programs be enhanced or reconfigured in order to meet the changing needs in Northeast Ohio?
This is an attempt to capture my research process and to share my research findings with as many people as possible. My project goal is to research workforce needs and economic development projections in Northeast Ohio in order to provide recommendations for program enhancement, particularly in Graduate and Professional Studies.
I chose to conduct my project in this public manner in order to explore one aspect of the type of technologically integrated learning for which I am advocating. I have not blogged before, so bear with me.
Early posts merely reflect information gathered. As I progress, my later posts will be more analytical and synthetic. I invite any and all comments, thoughts, musings, questions, and connections. The more personal input I receive, the more meaningful my recommendations will become.
If I have learned anything in the past few weeks, it is certainly that there are many important things that I just don't know, so help me out if you see the need.
Please click on the links that are in (almost) every post to get detailed information from the source itself.
How can the College's Graduate/Professional Studies programs be enhanced or reconfigured in order to meet the changing needs in Northeast Ohio?
This is an attempt to capture my research process and to share my research findings with as many people as possible. My project goal is to research workforce needs and economic development projections in Northeast Ohio in order to provide recommendations for program enhancement, particularly in Graduate and Professional Studies.
I chose to conduct my project in this public manner in order to explore one aspect of the type of technologically integrated learning for which I am advocating. I have not blogged before, so bear with me.
Early posts merely reflect information gathered. As I progress, my later posts will be more analytical and synthetic. I invite any and all comments, thoughts, musings, questions, and connections. The more personal input I receive, the more meaningful my recommendations will become.
If I have learned anything in the past few weeks, it is certainly that there are many important things that I just don't know, so help me out if you see the need.
Please click on the links that are in (almost) every post to get detailed information from the source itself.
Labels
- 21st Century Skills (18)
- technology (18)
- professional development (8)
- Web 2.0 (7)
- personal development and technology (6)
- Liberal Arts (4)
- STEM in NEO (4)
- workforce needs in NEO (4)
- business and technology (3)
- Global awareness (2)
- healthcare (2)
- planning (2)
- regionalism (2)
- Public-Private collaboration in Higher ed (1)
- Regional education (1)
- economic development (1)
- revitalization of NEO (1)
Monday, October 13, 2008
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