Schools are full STEAM ahead on STEM programs

Posted

Both the Wantagh and Seaford school districts are embracing science, technology, engineering and math — a group of academic disciplines known as STEM — or those subjects plus the arts (or STEAM), despite a recent national study showing declining interest in science- and tech-related careers among teenage boys.

In a survey conducted on behalf of Junior Achievement and Ernst & Young, 24 percent of boys ages 13 to 17 said they were interested in a career in STEM, compared with 36 percent in 2017. Polls of teenage girls also revealed a fairly low level of interest: 11 percent, about the same as last year.

Many students who took part in the study expressed more interest in careers in which they would help others directly — in the medical, dental and public service fields.

But even if students may not pursue science-related careers, administrators from both districts said those classes remain important, as young minds develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

The Seaford School District recently hired Tom Lynch, a former director of science, engineering and technology for grades six to 12 in the Roslyn School District, as its first executive director of instruction technology and STEM. According to Superintendent Dr. Adele Pecora, Lynch’s quarter-century of education experience and postgraduate study of technology systems management complements the district’s plans to expand its STEM programs and its Personal Learning Digital initiative, which gives students laptop computers for educational use.

Along with touting the district’s robust lineup of courses and activities, Lynch argued that the national study did not apply to Long Island, a region where STEM is thriving. “On Long Island, STEM is big,” Lynch said. “You’d be hard-pressed to go to any school district’s website and not find something about a STEM program in any part of the elementary or secondary level.”

Currently, New York state public schools are introducing a new statewide science curriculum. Lynch explained that this approach to science in education shows students the skills needed to tackle certain subjects, such as physics and biology, that can also be applied outside the classroom.

“They are making a concerted effort to have students see connections between the science they are learning,” Lynch added, “and how it impacts them and their environment.”

In Wantagh, Dr. Marc Ferris, assistant superintendent for instruction, said that his district’s STEAM initiative is meant to make students think logically, yet creatively. He contrasted it with a more traditional education program, in which, year after year, students cram information and regurgitate it onto multiple-choice tests.

“It’s not necessarily about memorizing definitions,” Ferris said, “but to really understand them — the concepts behind these things. And to do that, you need to put these kids into situations.”

One such situation in a typical STEAM lab tasked children with saving stranded Lego figures on an island. Ferris explained that in that lesson, students were given materials and put into groups, but were not given any further instructions.

“Some kids build a bridge, and others build a catapult,” he added with a laugh. “But then, through that problem solving and even being willing to fail — learning through failures — you come up with some things that the teacher may not have even thought of.”

Those failures, Ferris acknowledged, might not sit well with children or teenagers who are experiencing something in the STEM realm for the first time and want to be “good at it.” They may conclude that they are either good at bad at a subject, and move on based on that initial judgment. Whether the focus is an academic subject, a technical skill or even a sport, Ferris said, the district’s ultimate goal is to teach its students that struggling is a part of learning — and succeeding.

“If kids are taught that failure is OK, and that you can use failure to succeed,” he said, “then you might see more kids go into the STEM field.”