STEM Literacy

It's hard to attend a staff meeting, a PD session, review goals or instructional practices without the word "literacy" coming up.  And rightly so! While the word literacy has traditionally been associated with the ability to read and write, the definition we embrace more fully is that literacy is about a person's ability to use language in its many forms (reading, writing, speaking, & listening), manipulate numbers, analyze images, engage technical skills, communicate effectively, pose questions, gain and apply knowledge in any range of disciplines.  STEM literacy takes those ideas and considers them with a lens akin to what we see in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Recently a cohort of 17 middle school teachers began their journey toward earning a STEM teaching & learning certificate through Winona State.  In the first session, teachers explored the meaning of STEM literacy, and while definitions range, it comes down to the ideas outlined here: STEM literate individuals are able to use concepts from science, technology, engineering and mathematics to understand complex problems and to innovate with others to solve them. A STEM literate person considers how STEM can improve the social, cultural, economic, and environmental conditions of their local and global communities. Building STEM literacy ensures we have both the scientists and global citizens we need to thoughtfully build equitable and sustainable futures. https://www.oercommons.org/hubs/stem-literacy 

As educators, we have quite a task in front of us, to help shape those "...global citizens we need to thoughtfully build equitable and sustainable futures"!  While the group of middle school teachers are digging into this journey, it's important to recognize that a cohort of McKinley teachers completed a STEM certificate program just under a year ago, and as a district we continue to move forward in our understanding of STEM teaching & learning and what it will mean to bring this lens to ALL students.
STEM thinking means systems thinking, helping students to critically think about the relationship between parts and the whole.  It helps eliminate the practice of teaching content in isolation and, instead, encourages interdisciplinary connections.  Whether you call it STEM, STEAM, or ESTEM - the connectedness and integration of concepts from a variety of perspectives is key.  The OMS cohort is attended by teachers of many disciplines - special education, English language learning, math, social studies, science, language arts, and music.  That in itself is evidence of the interdisciplinary nature and applicability of STEM literacy.  We look forward to what this deep dive into our own learning will do for our students.