Instructional Strategies Promoting STEM and Technological Literacy

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Instructional Strategies Promoting STEM and
Technological Literacy

• Maurice Frazier, Ph.D.
• Oscar Smith High School
• Chesapeake, Virginia

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Have you Ever had a Conversation Start like this

• Person 1 So what do you teach?
• Person 2 Technology Education
• Person 1 Hmmm what is that?
• Computers? Shop?
• Can the average secondary technology
• education teacher sufficiently explain
• what they teach and why?

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The Nature of Secondary Technology Education

• Support the Core Subjects
• Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and
  English/Language Arts
• Promote technological literacy and reinforce STEM
  curriculum.

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It is Important to Know the Difference

• Technology Education versus Educational
  Technology
• Technology education teachers, core subject
  teachers, and administrators need to understand
  the difference.
• Technology education is intended to foster
  technological literacy and educational technology
  supports the implementation of technology
  education.

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The Importance of STEM and Technological Literacy

• Why is it important for us as educators to
  integrate the core subjects into technology
  education courses?
• Research tells us it can be helpful in boosting
  students performance on standards assessments.
• Students can relate the material to Real World
  applications
• National technological literacy assessments are
  on the horizon.

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A Study Worth Noting

• Technology education completers (courses taken in
  sequence) scored significantly higher on their
  standardized assessments in three out of four
  core subjects than non-completers.

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Study Results

• Mathematics
• Completers- 466.9 Non-Completers- 441.7 (25
  points higher)
• Social Studies
• Completers- 502 Non-Completers- 463.8 (38 points
  higher)

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Study Results (cont.)

• English/Language Arts
• Completers- 474.7 Non-Completers- 464.6 (10
  points higher)
• Science
• Completers- 459.7 Non-Completers- 430.8 (29
  points higher)

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Curriculum Integration Ideas and Suggestions

• It is important to actively integrate material
  from the core subjects as much as possible.
• Collaborating and sharing ideas with other
  instructors that teach similar subjects is one of
  the best ways to start.

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Integrating English/Language Arts

• Speed Writing
• One to two minute daily writing sessions where
  students write about what they know and what they
  have learned about a new topic.
• Current communication devices and modes of
  communicating
• Impacts that communication devices are having on
  our daily lives

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Integrating English/Language Arts (cont.)

• Active Notes and Paraphrasing
• Students take notes and then work with a partner
  to paraphrase and dictate examples of what they
  have learned by adding their thoughts to their
  partners notes.
• Students then read what their partner has written
  to the rest of the class.

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Integrating English/Language Arts (cont.)

• Word Discovery
• Students must look up a word that relates to the
  current material that they are not familiar with.
  The student must record the definition, cite
  examples of how to use it properly, and teach a
  three minute lesson to another student about how
  it relates to what they are learning.

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Integrating Mathematics

• Measurement Scavenger Hunt
• Students walk around school and outside to find
  and measure objects that are in a given range of
  measurements that have been designated by the
  instructor.
• With that activity students integrate estimation,
  decimals, fractions, and ratios.

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Integrating Mathematics (cont.)

• Real World Word Problems
• Students develop a word problem for one of their
  class mates to solve based on the material that
  they are learning.
• The student must explain how that math that they
  used to solve the problem could also be applied
  in a job or career that relates to that subject
  they are studying.

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Integrating Science

• Environmental Impacts
• Students can use various forms of science to
  study the global impacts of technology on the
  natural environment.
• Impacts on the atmosphere and natural resources
  (Earth Science)
• Agricultural technology, pesticides, and
  fertilizers (Chemistry)

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Integrating Social Studies

• Social Impacts of New Technology
• Students can explore the various ways that new
  technology has changed local and global social
  interactions over time.
• New communication technology
• New construction and
• production methods
• New digital imaging and
• video technology

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Integrating Social Studies (cont.)

• Understanding Ethics and Responsibility
• Students explore ethical awareness and how it
  might have an impact on other people and the
  world around them.
• Ethics and the medical field
• Ethics and environmental practices
• Ethics and public privacy

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How do we Know we are on the Right track?

• How do technology education teachers know that
  they are supporting core standards?
• Is there a way for technology education teachers
  to know that they are supporting a STEM
  curriculum and promoting technological literacy?

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Suggestions for Articulating Curriculum and
Standards

• Technology education and core subject teachers
  need to collaborate. Neither group seems to know
  exactly what the other group is teaching.
• Align instruction
• Develop activities
• Reinforce standards

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Suggestions for Articulating Curriculum and
Standards (cont.)

• Workshops to stay abreast of current trends
  relating to technological literacy and
  educational strategies.
• New Technological Literacy Standards (NAEP
  Testing)
• Trends in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering
  standards
• New instructional strategies and delivery methods

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Discussion, Questions, and Idea Sharing

• What are some of the ways that you are
  integrating core subjects into your technology
  education curriculum?
• What are some ways that we can change the
  perception of technology education?
• Are technological literacy standards a good idea?

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Final Comments and Remarks
Thank you for you time and attention.
Maurice Frazier Oscar Smith High
School Chesapeake, Virginia Mfraz004_at_odu.edu