Opportunities and challenges of STEM education

In recent years, the ubiquitous calls for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has increasingly encouraged educators and policymakers to promote STEM teaching and learning in classrooms. We reviewed research studies on integrated STEM in science education; most of the research findings showed a lack of concrete conclusions about the influence of integrated STEM. For instance, little is known about how and to what extent integrated STEM learning experiences may foster student creativity, support the development of higher order thinking skills, or impact their epistemological beliefs and views about science learning. Moreover, the review found only a few studies that looked into issues about the preparation of STEM teachers in their initial teacher education and professional development programs on integrated STEM. More research about the effectiveness of various teaching practices (e.g., instructional design, teaching strategies, etc.) is needed to help preservice and in-service teachers develop expertise for teaching integrated STEM.