Start, focus, or extend your integrated STEM education journey with an authentic interdisciplinary perspective!
In response to calls for active STEM learning that builds students' agency and sense of belonging, teachers and leaders are being encouraged more and more to equitably implement integrated STEM instruction. This practical guidebook is designed to help educators create integrated STEM learning experiences that are inclusive for all students and allows them to experience STEM as scientists, innovators, mathematicians, creators, engineers, and technology experts!
Addressing the STEM status quo and promoting inclusiveness in STEM fields, the authors center their work around the Equity-Oriented Conceptual Framework for STEM Literacy, which provides high-quality integrated strategies to connect students′ lived experiences to STEM learning. Simplifying STEM provides a ground-breaking model of the four Integrated STEM Practices (ISPs) to ensure coherent and aligned teaching across disciplines through authentic opportunities to meaningfully engage students.
Learn how to simplify STEM with these four equitable practices to inspire deep learning
- Use critical and creative thinking to seek solutions
- Collaborate and use appropriate tools to engage in iterative design
- Communicate solutions based on evidence and data
- Recognize and use structures in real-world systems
Including a STEM planning guide as well as instructional strategies and assessments for standard alignment, this is an essential resource for any educator seeking to empower their students with meaningful STEM learning experiences. The book includes an online implementation toolkit to give educators opportunities for powerful professional development built on collaboration and connection.
Christa Jackson is a Professor of Mathematics Education, Science Education, and STEM Education at Saint Louis University. Christa is the Founder and Director of the Institute for STEM Collaboration, Outreach, Research, and Education (iSCORE) at Saint Louis University.
She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Mathematics, Science, and STEM Education. She holds a BS in Elementary Education from Evangel University, a M.S.Ed in Natural Science, Secondary Education from Missouri State University, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Mathematics Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her research focuses on the instructional strategies and teaching practices teachers use that afford opportunities for students from diverse cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds to learn rigorous, challenging mathematics and STEM while simultaneously fostering productive mathematical and STEM identities. She also focuses on the development, use, and implementation of STEM curriculum as well as understanding the influence curricular materials and standards have on teachers' practices. Christa has received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, and Department of Education and has published in several journals including Journal of STEM Education, School Science and Mathematics, Teacher Education & Practice, and Mathematics Teacher Education and Development. Christa served as one of the lead writers for Catalyzing Change in Middle School Mathematics: Initiating Critical Conversations. Currently, she is the President of School Science and Mathematics Association and is an Associate Editor for Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12 and for Investigations in Mathematics Learning.
Sarah B. Bush is a Professor of K-12 STEM Education and program coordinator of the Mathematics Education Ph.D. track at the University of Central Florida. She teaches primarily graduate courses in mathematics education. She is the Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Noyce Track 3 grant focused on Catalyzing Change, Empowering STEM Teachers with Earned Doctorates: A Noyce Program for Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teachers. She is also the UCF Principal Investigator of a collaborative NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education grant. Bush's research focuses on mathematics education, transdisciplinary STE(A)M education, and teacher professional learning. Bush is a current member (2019-2022) of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Board of Directors. She served as lead writer and task force chair for Catalyzing Change in Middle School Mathematics: Initiating Critical Conversations. Additionally, she served as chair or member of nine NCTM committees and task forces, including as Program Chair for the 2017 NCTM San Antonio Annual Meeting and Exposition. Bush was the recipient of the 2021 School Science and Mathematics Association Award for Excellence in Integrating Science and Mathematics and 2018 recipient of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Early Career Award. She is a former middle school mathematics teacher and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Louisville.
Thomas Roberts, PhD is an Associate Professor at Bowling Green State University. His teaching is based primarily in elementary mathematics and integrated STEM education. His research agenda focuses on issues of equity within integrated STEM education, specifically focusing on students' perspectives of integrated STEM, teacher learning to provide high-quality learning experiences in integrated STEM contexts, and how historically excluded populations in STEM have access to and experience high-quality integrated STEM learning experiences. Thomas is a member of National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, School Science and Mathematics Association, and is on the Board of Directors of International Technology and Engineering Educators Association. He served as a co-editor of the Investigations in Mathematics Learning special issue on the role of mathematics within integrated STEM. He
currently serves as an Associate Editor for School Science and Mathematics, Chair of the Editorial Review Board for Technology and Engineering Teacher and is on the editorial board for Journal of Urban Mathematics Education. Thomas has published in a variety of outlets including The International Journal for STEM Education, International Journal for Science and Mathematics Education, the fourth edition of the International Encyclopedia of Education, Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PreK-12, Technology and Engineering Teacher, and The Elementary STEM Journal.
Dr. Kristin Cook is the Science Educator and Associate Dean of the School of Education at Bellarmine University. She received her doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction specializing in Science Education and Environmental Sciences from Indiana University. Dr. Cook's scholarship includes over $2.6M in externally funded projects, published books including Step into STEAM: Your standards-based action plan for deepening mathematics and science learning, numerous manuscripts in top-tier journals, and international, national, and regional presentations. Dr. Cook is actively involved in the Association for Science Teacher Education, serving in an elected position and winning the Innovations in Teaching Science Teachers award. A former biology teacher, Dr. Cook serves as a professional developer and consultant for K-12 science and STEAM-focused school reform. Dr. Cook's research focuses on engaging students and teachers with the community of science through the exploration of socio-scientific inquiry and transdisciplinary STEAM instruction.
Cathrine Maiorca is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Oklahoma State University. Her research interests include s model-eliciting activities, effective STEM teaching and learning practices for every student, integrated STEM education in both formal and informal settings, preservice teachers, and students' dispositions toward integrated STEM and mathematics education. Dr. Maiorca currently serves as the president of the Elementary STEM Council. She also serves on the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators Connections Editorial panel and is a Department Editor for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Ear to the Ground. Dr. Maiorca was awarded the 2020 School Science and Mathematics Association Early Career Award. She is an active member of the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, School Science and Mathematics Association, the Research Council on Mathematics Learning, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Margaret Mohr-Schroeder is a Professor of STEM Education and Senior Associate Dean in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky (UK). She received her doctorate in curriculum & instruction specializing in mathematics and science education from Texas A&M University. Since her arrival at UK in 2006, she has been involved in over $17 million in federal and state funding, helping to expand research and broaden participation in STEM Education. One of her external awards was recognized by NSF as a Top 5 model for broadening participation. She is a co-editor of the first Handbook of Research on STEM Education and co-editor of STEM 2.0. Her research interests include the transdisciplinary nature of STEM education and how they can be applied to innovative preservice teacher education and K12 school models. Further, she investigates ways to broaden participation in STEM, especially for underrepresented populations and the effects these mechanisms have on their STEM literacy. Through this work, she has gained perspective on how to create opportunity and access to STEM activities to populations who normally would not have the opportunity and has witnessed and
studied the significant impacts these mechanisms have. She is President-Elect of School Science and Mathematics Association, the world′s oldest STEM organization. She is also President-Elect of the Kentucky Association for Colleges of Teacher Education - a policy and advocacy organization in Kentucky.
