ABSTRACT

In order to prosper as a society, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education needs to be a focus for all stakeholders and at all levels. The acronym of STEM was itself coined by the National Science Foundation in the United States in the mid 1990s. The big ideas of science are both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary and thus provide a conceptual basis for STEM initiatives in education and beyond. By choosing real-world scenarios and challenges as teaching contexts, STEM education is an exciting way of enhancing children’s natural curiosity in science and showing them the relevance of science to their future. There is a global policy push for space to be found to accommodate and integrate STEM learning and teaching into classroom activities. STEM education is certainly much more than the integration of digital technologies into practice. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.