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What Do We Mean When We Talk About STEM?

Our primer for educators.

STEM might win the award for the most talked-about education buzzword of the last 10 years or so. It’s gotten to the point where, similar to the organic and low-fat labels in the food industry, STEM could mean very little if you see it on toys or educational products . So how do we talk intelligently about STEM education and where it needs to go? The first step is understanding the history of this term and what it means for schools. If you’d like a quick overview, check out this video.

What is STEM?

STEM stands for science , technology , engineering , and math . STEM curriculum blends those subjects in order to teach “21st-century skills,” or tools students need to have if they wish to succeed in the workplace of the “future.” The idea is that in order to be prepared for jobs and compete with students from different parts of the world, students here in the United States need to be able to solve problems, find and use evidence, collaborate on projects, and think critically. Skills, the thinking goes, that are taught in those subjects.

Still, STEM can be hard to define. It’s such a popular term that it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Although the science (biology, chemistry, etc.) and math (algebra, calculus, etc.) parts of the acronym might be easy to figure out, the technology and engineering parts might be less clear. Technology includes topics such as computer programming, analytics, and design. Engineering can include topics like electronics, robotics, and civil engineering. The key term when talking about STEM is integration . STEM curriculum intentionally melds these disciplines. It’s a blended approach that encourages hands-on experience and gives students the chance to gain and apply relevant, “real-world” knowledge in the classroom.

Education buzzwords and the politicians who love them …

Like most things, STEM was around before it had an actual name. But STEM wasn’t known as STEM until Dr. Judith Ramaley coined the term. While working as director at the National Science Foundation in the early 2000s, Ramaley came up with the term to describe the blended curriculum she and her team were developing. Referred to as SMET at first, which, if we had to guess, might also be the name of a Scandinavian dessert, Ramaley changed the acronym around because she didn’t like how SMET sounded. So we (thankfully) got STEM.

STEM grew in popularity due to the concerns of politicians and other leaders that U.S. students were not keeping pace with other students and would thus not be prepared to work in the fastest-growing career sectors, which generally fall under the STEM umbrella. In 2009, the Obama administration announced its plan to support STEM curriculum that would both encourage and train students to pursue careers in those fields. It would also support teachers to, well, teach students those skills. That effort has been formalized in many ways, including using the language of STEM in Next Gen Science Standards . So, teachers everywhere are expected—by parents, administrators, etc.—to provide a STEM-rich curriculum.

How do I “STEM” my classroom?

We get it. STEM sounds like a lot. There’s a big difference between teaching students to remember to carry the one and teaching them how to code. But there are simple, unintimidating, and effective ways to implement a STEM curriculum in your classroom that have nothing to do with teaching R2-D2 to dab.

If you teach younger students, create an environment that encourages observation and asking questions that begin with Why … ? or How does … ? Go on nature walks. Sing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and use it as a springboard to think about the ecosystem of a farm. Explore how simple classroom machines like staplers work. Above all, it’s important to help students get a solid foundation. Make sure they are fluent in basic skills like addition and subtraction, measurement, and identifying shapes.

For upper elementary and middle school students, consider project-based learning . Pose problems that students can relate to and that can be solved in different ways, and let students work together and provide evidence of their thinking. Most importantly, students need to be able to pull from their knowledge of different subjects as they work toward an answer. The Association for Middle School Education, for example, provides several great scenarios that promote STEM learning. For instance, if there were an outbreak of illness at a carnival, how would your students solve that problem? Or, even more broadly, how might they create a community of the future?

High school students, especially juniors and seniors, should definitely be thinking about college and beyond. Do you have a student or two who might make a great crime scene investigator? How might you bring a version of the board game Clue into the classroom? Help students use forensic science and their investigative skills to determine whodunit and the cause of death. What math skills do they need to know to come up with the analytics to predict the next NBA champion? Or have students run analytics for previous basketball seasons and compare their results to what really happened.

But I teach English. What gives?

There’s no I in team . There’s also no A in STEM— until recently . Asking questions, using evidence, and working well with others to solve problems are not skills taught only in the “hard” sciences. Excellent humanities and social science curricula teach these tools as well. And they engage students’ creativity and imagination. As such, there’s a growing movement to incorporate more arts and humanities subjects into STEM curriculum. This is a great co-teaching opportunity. How might your English class join up with science students in the previously mentioned Clue scenario? Maybe they can write a backstory. Perhaps another group of students can design and build a scale version of the crime scene. There are lots of possibilities. Above all, whether it’s STEM or STEAM, your plan should encourage cross-curricular activities and inspire students to use and gain knowledge in exciting ways. ADVERTISEMENT

Need lesson plans and ideas? No problem.

WeAreTeachers has many excellent STEM and STEAM resources. Check out some of them:

Hands-on STEM activities
Post-test day STEM activities
STEM activities with stuffed animals
Taking STEM to STEAM

How do you “STEM” your curriculum? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

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24 stem lessons you can quickly deploy in the classroom.

Collage of images representing lessons in the Quick and Easy collection.

Calling all teachers pressed for time, substitutes looking for classroom activities that don't require a lot of prep, and others hoping to keep students learning in especially chaotic times: We've got a new collection of lessons and activities that you can quickly deploy.

Read on to explore our collection of Quick and Easy STEM lessons and student activities , organized by grade band. Get everything you need to guide students through standards-aligned lessons featuring connections to real NASA missions and science as well as links to student projects, which can be led by teachers or assigned as independent activities.

Grades 9-12

Explore More

Make a Paper Mars Helicopter

In this lesson, students build a paper helicopter, then improve the design and compare and measure performance.

Subject Engineering

Time 30-60 mins

Student Project: Make a Paper Mars Helicopter

Build a paper helicopter, then see if you can improve the design like NASA engineers did when making the first helicopter for Mars.

What Tools Would You Take to Mars?

Students decide what they want to learn from a robotic mission to Mars and what tools they will put on their robot to accomplish their goals.

Subject Science

Rockets by Size

Students cut out, color and sequence paper rockets in a simple mathematics lesson on measurement.

Subject Math

Rocket Math

Students use rocket manipulatives to help them develop number sense, counting, addition and subtraction skills.

Tangram Rocket

Students use tangrams to create rockets while practicing shape recognition.

Time 1-2 hrs

Student Project: Build a Rover and More With Shapes

Use geometric shapes called tangrams to build a rover and other space-themed designs!

Time Less than 30 mins

Student Project: Build a Rocket and More With Shapes

Use geometric shapes called tangrams to build a rocket and other space-themed designs!

Mineral Mystery Experiment

Students explore the science behind an intriguing planetary feature by creating saline solutions and then observing what happens when the solutions evaporate.

Grades 2-12

Time 2 sessions of 30-60 mins

Student Project: Do a Mineral Mystery Experiment

Dissolve salts in water, then observe what happens when the water evaporates.

What Do You Know About Mars?

Students decide what they want to learn from a robotic mission to Mars.

Melting Ice Experiment

Students make predictions and observations about how ice will melt in different conditions then compare their predictions to results as they make connections to melting glaciers.

Parachute Design

Students design and test parachute landing systems to successfully land a probe on target.

Planetary Poetry

In this cross-curricular STEM and language arts lesson, students learn about planets, stars and space missions and write STEM-inspired poetry to share their knowledge of or inspiration about these topics.

Student Project: Write a Poem About Space

Are you a space poet, and you didn't even know it? Find out how to create your own poems inspired by space!

Ocean World: Earth Globe Toss Game

Students use NASA images and a hands-on activity to compare the amounts of land and surface water on our planet.

Simple Rocket Science Continued

Students gather data on a balloon rocket launch, then create a simple graph to show the results of the tests.

Spaghetti Anyone? Building with Pasta

Students use the engineering design process to build a structure to handle the greatest load and gain first-hand experience with compression and tension forces.

Student Project: Building With Spaghetti

Use spaghetti to build a tower modeled after the giant structures NASA uses to talk to spacecraft.

Simple Rocket Science

Students perform a simple science experiment to learn how a rocket works and demonstrate Newton’s third law of motion.

Soda-Straw Rockets

Students study rocket stability as they design, construct and launch paper rockets using soda straws.

Student Project: Make a Straw Rocket

Create a paper rocket that can be launched from a soda straw – then, modify the design to make the rocket fly farther!

Rocket Activity: Heavy Lifting

Students construct balloon-powered rockets to launch the greatest payload possible to the classroom ceiling.

Design a Robotic Insect

Students design a robotic insect for an extraterrestrial environment, then compare the process to how NASA engineers design robots for extreme environments like Mars.

Student Project: Design a Robotic Insect

Design a robotic insect to go to an extreme environment. Then, compare the design process to what NASA engineers do when building robots for Mars!

How Far Away Is Space?

Students use measurement skills to determine the scale distance to space on a map.

Student Project: How Far Away Is Space?

Stack coins and use your measurement skills to figure out the scale distance from Earth's surface to space.

Planetary Travel Time

Students will compute the approximate travel time to planets in the solar system using different modes of transportation.

The Ring Wing Glider

In this simple engineering design lesson, students turn a piece of paper into an aircraft wing and then try to improve upon their design.

Student Project: Make a Paper Glider

Turn a piece of paper into a glider inspired by a NASA design.

How Do We See Dark Matter?

Students will make observations of two containers and identify differences in content, justify their claims and make comparisons to dark matter observations.

Grades 6-12

Let's Go to Mars! Calculating Launch Windows

Students use advanced algebra concepts to determine the next opportunity to launch a spacecraft to Mars.

Find our full collection of more than 250 STEM educator guides and student activities in Teach and Learn .

For games, articles, and more activities from NASA for kids in upper-elementary grades, visit NASA Space Place and NASA Climate Kids .

Explore more educational resources and opportunities for students and educators from NASA STEM Engagement .

TAGS: Lessons , Teachers , Educators , Parents , Substitutes , Activities , Students , Science , Engineering , Quick and Easy

Kim Orr , Web Producer, NASA-JPL Education Office

Kim Orr is a web and content producer for the Education Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Her pastimes are laughing and going on Indiana Jones style adventures.

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STEM Education Workshop for Teachers

It seems that you like this template, stem education workshop for teachers presentation, free google slides theme, powerpoint template, and canva presentation template.

Looking for creative ways of getting new students to join a career in STEM? A workshop might be the option you’re looking for! STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, the subjects of the future! Impress the engineers and scientists of the future with this creative presentation for a workshop and prepare fun exercises, a compilation of universities and interesting degrees they can apply to and explain which selection exams they must pass in order to join the degree of their dream. Leave a couple slides to speak about women in STEM too!

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