Center for Digital Education: Transforming STEM Learning Through Technology in Elementary Education

Only 29 percent of American fourth-grade students, a third of eighth-grade students and barely 18 percent of 12th-grade students perform at or above the proficient level in science. To address the situation, the Obama administration made science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) one of its top priorities, with three overarching goals:

• Increase STEM literacy so all students can think critically in science, math, engineering and technology
• Improve the quality of math and science teaching so American students are no longer outperformed by those in other nations
• Expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and minorities

The STEM pipeline starts in elementary school. What happens in these early years can have a profound impact on a student’s later development to shape hopes and dreams as adult career professionals. You can teach difficult STEM topics to elementary students more easily by using multiple technologies and interactive collaborative tools in the classroom. The instructional challenge is translating STEM topics into interesting and engaging grade-level appropriate curriculum and assimilating it into a day where every instructional minute is counted.

Multilayered rich content that is standards-aligned and accessible to all students — not just gifted and talented from STEM fields — is the first step. The second step is designing the delivery of the content that best suits the teacher’s instructional needs and captures students’ attention.
By incorporating varied technology that enhances rather than competes for attention at the early grade levels, you can maximize instruction and do more hands-on teaching. Technology that works with you can foster teamwork and collaboration by opening up new ways for students to edit one another’s work, building not only technological confidence but educational confidence as well.