ERIC Number: EJ1417418
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0826-4805
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1790
Available Date: N/A
Towards a Socio-Constructivist Didactic Model for Integrated STEM Education
Radu Bogdan Toma; Iraya Yánez-Pérez; Jesús Ángel Meneses-Villagrá
Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v55 n1 p75-91 2024
As science education shifts toward integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) approaches, guidelines for designing teaching and learning episodes that integrate curricular content and procedures from multiple disciplines become increasingly in demand. The existing plethora of conceptualizations of STEM makes difficult such an endeavor, leading to ill-defined lesson plans focused on only two--mainly science and technology or science and mathematics--out of the four STEM disciplines. The question addressed, therefore, is how the integrated STEM approach could be translated into classroom practices that integrate the four STEM disciplines in a way that is consistent and coherent with elementary education curricula. This manuscript advances a theoretically informed didactic model for the design and implementation of integrated STEM in elementary education. The article discusses how the model uses socio-constructivist principles to establish intentional and explicit connections between STEM disciplines via scientific inquiry, engineering design, and computational thinking practices. The model is rooted in learning theories developed by Piaget, Vygotsky, Ausubel, and Bruner and could serve as a roadmap for educators and researchers designing integrated STEM lessons. Future empirical research testing the model is warranted.
Descriptors: STEM Education, Integrated Curriculum, Elementary Education, Elementary School Curriculum, Curriculum Design, Curriculum Implementation, Models, Inquiry, Constructivism (Learning)
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A