STEM education: scientific discourse and educational practices

Abstract

The abbreviation "STEM" (S – science, T – tehnology, E – engineering, M – mathematics) was first proposed by the American bacteriologist R. Colwell. But STEM has been actively used since 2011 on the initiative of biologist Judith Ramali. It is known that at first the abbreviation SMET was used, and then STEM appeared. Judith A. Ramali notes that "STEM education is teaching and learning in the fields of natural sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics." Germany, as the country that first announced the era of the fourth industrial revolution to the world, is doing a lot to implement STEM technologies in educational institutions. Germany has chosen its own acronym for STEM-MINT. Translated means "mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology". The national German MINT portal presents strategic vectors of development: digital transformation of schools, digital competencies of young people, MINT for girls, MINT technology. Germany occupies one of the first places in the preparation of STEM graduates. The initiative "MINT Zukunft schaffen" ("creating MINT-the future") is being implemented in the country, within which all indicators related to the implementation of MINT are measured: competencies, the number of graduates of this field, the percentage of women participating in this field, and the like. The experience of introducing STEM technology through an active method of designing technical toys, which is presented in Vietnamese schools, is interesting. The main focus of STEM implementation in Vietnam is the idea of developing active interdisciplinary learning based on the development of technical toys.