These days, discussions about quality education and setting kids up for success invariably include the importance of STEM. But what is STEM" Why does it matter" And how are private schools prioritizing STEM to help students become the leaders, innovators and game-changers of tomorrow in an increasingly information and technology-based world"
What is STEM"
The acronym STEM stands for ?science, technology, engineering and mathematics.? The four core disciplines include countless school subjects from coding and robotics to chemistry, algebra, biology and even economics. STEM learning involves integrated interdisciplinary teaching that makes absorbing information fun and interactive: instead of focusing solely on textbooks, theory and memorization, students immediately put what they?re learning into practice through hands-on experiments, projects and activities. ?What parents should be looking for in a STEM program isn?t what students are learning with, but how they are learning. How are they accessing the curricular content" How are they interacting with others" How much are they able to exercise their curiosities"? says Glen Herbert, the marketing and communications lead at Rosseau Lake College in Rosseau, Ont., where students? STEM education involves a mandatory canoe trip to help them understand their place in the natural world. ?People don?t generally associate canoe trips with STEM,? he says, ?but they should, because [canoe trips] refle...