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A conceptual model of integrated STEM education in K-12

Conference Paper · December 2017

DOI: 10.1109/TALE.2017.8252350

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A Conceptual Model of Integrated STEM Education
in K-12
Gary K. W. Wong
Faculty of Education
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam, Hong Kong
wongkwg@hku.hk
Abstract— Unlike traditional education experiences in which
students' focus on individual subject areas separate from other
subject areas, STEM education emphasizes on combining
different subject areas in a way that integrates them together,
connecting different disciplines together, and relating them to each
other practically and coherently. STEM education has become
such a global trend that an increasing amount of countries have
realized that humanity's future will be built on our capacity for
innovation, invention, and creative problem-solving. To
implement STEM education in schools, many countries have tried
a variety of different strategies. The situation is no different in
Hong Kong. There is a distinct lack of a coherent understanding
of STEM education and on how to implement STEM courses
inside of the curriculums. This paper will establish and propose a
framework to provide concrete references and examples to schools
in Hong Kong for integrating STEM courses into their
curriculums. This article will also discuss a variety of suggestions
related to STEM education; including the development and
training of educational professionals will be considered.
Keywords— Integrated STEM education, conceptual
framework, professional development training, K-12 education
I. INTRODUCTION
STEM Education has been a buzzword for a while now, it's
catching attention for toy makers, technology camps, tutoring
centers and now in many countries it's being given attention by
many curriculum developers. The United States of America was
the first to dip their feet and have now taken serious action and
have plans to include STEM Education into their traditional
curriculum. The United Kingdom has also taken great measures
to ensure their students have as much exposure to STEM from
as early as primary schools, while countries in Europe have their
version of STEM like Germany where they have MINT
(Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaft und Technik). The
International community has recognized the importance of
giving our children the 21st Century skills like collaboration,
critical thinking, communication and problem-solving. STEM
Education is the way to achieve this and therefore it is time for
Hong Kong to discuss how STEM education could be
implemented in our K-12 curriculum. In this paper, we provide
our literature review, a new conceptual framework based on the
Hong Kong curriculum, some examples to illustrate the model,
and our expectation on professional development training of our
in-service teachers. Finally, we will discuss the challenges and
future work.
John H. M. Huen
STEM Academy Hong Kong
Hong Kong
john.huen@stem.org.hk
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Although the US government has concerned the STEM
Education since the 1940s, few teachers know how to implement
STEM education in the curriculums, and STEM education was
a focus on different disciplines separately [1]-[3]. And in recent
decades, as more researchers have provided a more
comprehensive explanation of STEM. According to Merrill,
STEM education is "a standards-based, meta-discipline residing
at the school level where all teachers, especially science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers,
teach an integrated approach to teaching and learning, where
discipline-specific content is not divided[4]", and the teaching &
learning of STEM education should be focused on the real-life
situation, students work collaboratively [5] to solve an authentic
problem, so as to strengthen the connection between the
knowledge on textbook and the solution of problem we are
facing in the 21st century (agricultural problem, environmental
problem, energy crisis etc. ).
For Australia, when Australian Education Ministers signed
up to the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for
Young Australians in 2008, they emphasized that “schooling
should support the development of skills in cross- disciplinary,
critical and creative thinking, problem solving and digital
technologies, which are essential in all 21st century occupations
[6]”. And the United Kingdom policy has frequently mentioned
the importance of linking the discipline of technology and
engineering to the already-existed mathematics and science
courses. [7]-[10]
The U.S. has increased funding, and more attention has been
paid to STEM education. In 2003, the United States Department
of Education released 100 million dollars for Mathematics and
Science Partnerships (MSP) [11], which pays particular
attention to teachers' training of mathematics and science classes
to enable them to meet the need of teaching STEM-related
courses in classrooms. Initially introduced in 2007 by President
Bush and reauthorized by President Obama in 2010, the America
COMPETES Act [12] provides the funding for teachers' training
for STEM courses at schools and asks for the cooperation of
different organizations like National Science Foundation (NSF)
and NASA, etc. In the United Kingdom, a project based on
school curriculum with the intention of exploring the methods
of supporting engineering and Design & Technology (D&T) at
schools. The project seeks for D&T teachers' opinions
concerning their pedagogical understanding of STEM [10]. The
result of the project indicates that "teacher's perception of
STEM, their knowledge, and understanding of that knowledge,
is intrinsically linked to the effectiveness of STEM delivery their
classroom practice," hence suggests that to address STEM, the
STEM-related teachers should have sufficient teaching supply.
In 2007, The Johns Hopkins and Morgan State Universities
[13] collaborated to implement professional development
activities for secondary science and mathematics teachers from
all the school systems in Maryland, they use the problem-based
learning as an approach to the vocational development of STEM
teachers. The focus of their training is to prepare teachers with
the knowledge of solving authentic problems which might exist
in STEM courses and create specific and interdisciplinary
STEM courses for secondary school curriculum. Their work
encourages and supports teachers to work together and integrate
STEM courses in a cross-cutting way. The teachers' training is
the key pathway to integrate STEM education at schools [14]-
[16].
Situated learning is a theory that suggests learning is
“naturally tied to authentic activity, context, and culture [17]"
Many agree with the idea that teaching and learning of STEM
courses should be integrated into situated learning, and when
"learning is grounded with a situated context, learning is
authentic and relevant [18]”.
In the research project organized by English and
Mousoulides in 2015 [19], the mathematic courses designed
based on engineering situation were implemented among 48
students from a K-6 urban school, which started with an
introductory session where students understand the real-life
problem that they need to solve, and then they solve the problem
based on their prior knowledge collaboratively with group
mates. The problem was to rebuild the damaged bridge, during
the learning process, students used the mathematical knowledge
they've acquired including calculating and measuring, etc. to
figure out the solution. The project indicates that both teachers
and students should make connections among different
disciplines in STEM education.
Kennedy and Odell note that the “current state of STEM
education has evolved into a meta-discipline, an integrated effort
that removes the traditional barriers between these subjects, and
instead focuses on innovation and the applied process of
designing solution to complex contextual problems using
current tools and technologies [20]". The STEM course of high
quality could be the integration of at least two subjects of
mathematics, science, technology or engineering, and the
knowledge involved should be applied to solve real-life
problems [21]. For the implementation method of STEM
education, Kelly and Knowles demonstrate a framework which
connects situated learning, scientific inquiry, engineering
design, technological literacy, and mathematical thinking in the
pulley system [18]. In the project, Teachers and Researchers
Advancing Integrated Lessons in STEM (TRAILS), the
framework was assessed in the STEM courses which were
implemented in the real-life situation, 45 teachers and 2000 high
school students involved in the project and the study tests and
proves the effectiveness of framework.
And for the vision of integration of STEM education in the
future, the United States has demonstrated the framework of
STEM model for advancing STEM education in the next four
years. The framework is constructed based on the standards of
the four disciplines that the United States have published [22],
[23], aiming at scaling STEM education at schools. In Australia,
per their National STEM School Education Strategy published
in 2015, they indicate the school's' partnership with university
and industry, by "sharing best practice and identifying areas to
help boost teacher confidence and capacity in the primary and
secondary years, for example in STEM subject content, data
analysis, and programming. [6]"
III. CONCEPTUAL MODEL
It must be stated that we are not suggesting that Hong Kong
overhauls its current education system and replace it with a
different curriculum. The reason for looking outside of Hong
Kong for examples of and research on STEM Education is due
to the simple fact that STEM development in Hong Kong and
research on STEM Education in Hong Kong is in its infancy.
After looking at various research and examples from across the
world and building upon the understanding of the advantages
and disadvantages, problems and solutions, and strategies for
integrating STEM into the curriculum, and then taking into
consideration the unique environment of Hong Kong such as
geography, land limitations, social values, norms, and
expectations, as well as the current education system and
curriculum; we have developed a conceptual framework for the
integration of STEM education in K-12 education.
Our conceptual model for STEM education in Hong Kong is
based on the concept of integrating knowledge from various
curricula to solve real-world problems. The objective here is not
to rewrite entire subject curriculums to satisfy the need of
developing students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers,
but rather, to help students recognize and identify the various
ways that subject content taught by differing curricula work
together to form our world. The first step in this process is for
students to continue learning their required subject material in
their respective courses for students to build a strong base of
both knowledge and skills. It is in the midst of this learning that
the opportunity to further students' learning by providing
students with a real-world challenge, or presenting them with a
situated learning context, could occur. Through these
opportunities, students will be required to connect and combine
the different knowledge and skills that they have been learning
from varying courses to solve the problem. These opportunities
could vary in scope, size, and frequency, depending on the
content knowledge and skills that were learned. They could
range from simple, single lesson activities, to large STEM
projects lasting over a few weeks or even a whole month.
The goal of STEM projects is to provide a platform for
students to draw upon the knowledge and skills that they have
learned and to tie them together into a coherent link where they
can visibly see how one curriculum affects another or to solve a
problem requiring them to utilize knowledge and skills from
various curricula. In a city where students are highly educated,
such as the case of Hong Kong, the need lies not in how to teach
the content material, but rather, how students can make efficient
use of that material in solving problems. Thus, by integrating
STEM education into Hong Kong's curriculum in the form of
STEM projects, students will be provided with an appropriate
platform for making use of, and combining, the knowledge and
skills that they have learned from varying curricula.
Fig. 1. Conceptual model for lesson plan and development
The conceptual model of the STEM process itself is drawn
primarily from two existing frameworks: scientific inquiry, and
engineering design. The reason for this is due to the educational
benefits that each framework provides. Scientific inquiry is an
excellent framework for engaging students in observing the
world around them and encouraging an inquisitive mind. This
leads to a greater interest and incentive amongst students to
study and learn. Another critical aspect embedded in scientific
inquiry that is necessary for STEM education is the development
of knowledge and skills; the ability to solve problems through
logical thinking in a systematic manner; and problem-solving
through advanced thought processes such as deductive
reasoning. Hong Kong's current education system is more than
sufficient in providing students with the necessary knowledge
required for multiple STEM activities and by continuing with
the current system, students will be able to form a strong base of
knowledge to build curricula connections upon. STEM activities
or projects should only be introduced once the students have
acquired the necessary knowledge. This preparation could take
place over the course of a term at a single grade level, or over
the course of two or more years since much of the knowledge
and skills learned in schools build upon each other, much like a
tree that is branching out.
For example, in Math, addition, and subtraction might not be
needed to understand multiplication or division. However, in
conjunction with units of measurement, they are necessary for
doing simple calculations of measures. In this manner, addition
and subtraction, along with units of measurement, lay the
foundation of knowledge and skills that enable students to learn
about solving simple measurement equations. In turn, the
knowledge of simple calculations of measures would allow
students to find out how to measure speed and distance. This can
then be combined with Science topics such as air resistance,
friction, force, mass, and power, and Technology topics such as
characteristics of materials, technological developments, and the
development of skills in using various tools, to create a situated
learning opportunity where students need to design and build an
energy efficient model car.
Fig. 2. Illustration of how knowledge blocks contributing to STEM project
Our conceptual model begins with a scientific inquiry as
students develop their knowledge and skills base. At this phase,
there is no need for any STEM specific additions. The
subsequent step once sufficient knowledge is acquired will
switch to the engineering design model as students are presented
with an excellently formulated scenario or real-world problem
to provide them with an adequate problem to challenge them. As
more knowledge and skills are acquired over the years, more
challenging and complex STEM activities could be presented to
them. There are a countless number of excellent STEM activities
that are readily available and finding the correct one may be
difficult. Therefore, it is less about finding the best STEM
activity to fill a specific theme and more about knowing when to
introduce the best STEM activity.
Continuing with the engineering design model, students
should then draw upon the knowledge that they have previously
learned and exercise their creativity in brainstorming ideas and
solutions. Once students finish their plans, they should construct
their models and begin testing and experimenting. During
testing and experimentation, the scientific inquiry model will be
merged with the engineering design model to record and analyze
results. Students will round out their learning through reflection
and share their findings with their peers. The cycle will then
complete itself and begin anew as students' thoughts and sharing
should result in questions and wonderings and lead into a desire
to develop their knowledge and skill base further. In this manner,
the vital role of STEM Education in Hong Kong's school system
would not be to teach content but primarily to assist students in
connecting content knowledge from different fields of study
together practically and coherently.
IV. EXAMPLES
Here we provide two examples to illustrate our conceptual
model and explain how it helps with the design.
A. Engineering design with Gear Racer
Materials: Gear Racer, Tape, Sturdy Table and a Slope is
optional.
Knowledge:
(Math P6, Unit 6M3)
(Math S2 Topic 4 Ratio and Rate)
(Science S1-3, Topic: Motion)
 (Science S1-3, Topic: energy conversion)
(Science S1-3, Topic: friction and air resistance)
(Physics S4-6, Topic: law of conservation momentum)
(Physics S4-6, Topic: force and motion)
While STEM lessons can be taught using natural classroom
resources and easy to find items, the learning process can be
enhanced using tools manufactured specifically to provide a list
of learning outcomes. One of these tools is the Gear Racer
created by VEX Robotics. It's a construction kit to build a car-
inspired robot which teaches students about the basic physics
concepts revolving around driving a vehicle. By itself the tool is
merely a small activity with some entertainment for the kids
building it. However, it can be used along with our proposed
framework to deliver an effective STEM Lesson.
First, we begin with a problem which highlights the theme
of the lesson. This issue should be a real life scenario to help the
students truly visualize the situation. The problem is real life
like, however, the solution needs to be presented as a simulation
of the real problem. Therefore, we ask the students to imagine
that their car is stuck in the mud and that they need to use their
car engineering skills to help them get out and go home in time
for dinner. We present them with some constraints; we don't
have any other force or help to get out of the hole, just the car
itself. Having set up the problem and the limitations, we
encourage a brainstorming session amongst groups of 3. This
part is necessary as it is when all the knowledge they have
acquired over the years should come spilling out, mixing in with
what other students believe is relevant while always directing
their understanding of science and mathematics to solve this
real-world engineering problem.
After the brainstorm session, the groups share their insights
with other groups. This helps with the class grow together and
benefit with everyone’s innovative ideas. The key concepts
involved in this activity are speed, torque, elasticity, friction, and
gear ratio. These will be the knowledge they should've come up
with during their discussion, and now with the teacher refresh on
what the concepts are and how are they applicable to the
problem. This then leads us to a planned building session using
the tool kit, with check point in between where the teacher
explains those key concepts using what they have built. This
means that the kids are not just left to build silently but
completely understand the process and the ‘why' as they
complete the construction.
The Gear Racer comes with two different gear ratios which
the student can manually switch between them and see the result.
As they are simulating the car stuck in a mud scenario, we only
duct tape the rear of the vehicle robot to the ground mimicking
the resistance (Mud) which the car would need to overcome.
This simulates the problem. The student can then experiment
with different gear ratios to see which one helps them escape and
experience the theory in action. This would lead to more
questions, variables and scenarios they might want to test the
concepts on and hence leading us to a problem with which they
would need to brainstorm, plan, create, test and then question
again.
B. Egg Drop
Material used: Newspaper, plastic sheets, construction
paper, card paper, printing paper, tape, glue, string, bubble wrap.
Knowledge
Science:
The Material World (P4-P6)
Scientific Investigation (P4-P6)
Math:
Numbers - Operations (P1-P3)
Measures - Length, Distance and Weight (P1-P3)
Shape & Space - Circles and symmetry (P4-P6)
Measures - Area, Volume and Speed (P4-P6)
Technology:
Technology & Society (P1-P3)
Technology Materials and Structures (P4-P6)
Project Management (P4-P6)
Engineering:
Technology - Materials and Structures (P4-P6)
Technology - Project Management (P4-P6)
One of the hardest aspects of proposing significant changes
to a pre-existing system is that it's hard for many who are already
involved in the system to change their perception to envision the
proposed changes. On the other hand, many pre-existing systems
that already exist are too broad and too important to a country or
city's well-being and ability to function properly that it is
impossible to train up a recruit quick enough to fully implement
said changes. Thus, the only realistically possible method is to
continually train existing workers to be fully equipped to
implement the proposed changes while training up a new
workforce who would be at the forefront of realizing and
implementing the changes.
Hong Kong is no exception to this rule, and as such, it is
important to not only consider how to train future educators but
also to prepare current teachers on what STEM is and especially
on how it could be implemented inside of a regular Hong Kong
classroom. The easiest and best method to introduce changes is
to provide examples of how this might look like if it was
employed inside of the classroom.
Before we begin, we must take into consideration the many
challenges and difficulties Hong Kong teachers must face in
implementing STEM into their lessons. One of the biggest
hindrances for teachers in Hong Kong is the lack of space and
accessibility. Many interesting STEM projects have been done
including submarines, small airplanes, and robots.
Unfortunately, most of these are unfeasible in Hong Kong due
simply to the fact that these projects require large amounts of
space that many in schools in Hong Kong just does not have.
Even smaller and less complex constructs such as human-sized
catapults will be difficult to find space for storage.
 Another hindrance to conducting these projects is the price
tag that comes with the materials required for such complicated
constructions. Hong Kong's policy of twelve free years of
education for all makes it difficult for local schools to justify
spending on STEM projects. And although private schools and
organizations such as ESF have much larger budgets since their
students pay tuition, the competitiveness in the education sector
in Hong Kong leaves minimal extra resources for spending on
projects.
That is not all. One must also take into consideration the
society and reality of the students in Hong Kong and adapt the
STEM project to be relatable to the students. Although they are
cool, very few students would find submarines and airplanes
very relatable to their regular lives. Other factors in deciding an
appropriate STEM project would be the knowledge and skills
that the students have acquired up to that point in time and the
skills and expertise that could be taught with the STEM project.
Having taken into consideration all of the factors mentioned
above, one appropriate STEM project for Hong Kong students
could be the Egg Drop. In this project, students are given limited
resources and must develop a method to protect a raw egg from
being dropped from a large height, preferably of at least one
floor. Some conventional solutions are parachutes and protective
padding. However, students should be encouraged to explore
different and innovative designs and to be creative on how to
implement them.
The Egg Drop is an excellent STEM activity for Hong Kong
students and schools because it takes advantage of Hong Kong's
verticality while keeping the requirement for area space as
minimal as possible. Another benefit of this activity is the ease
in which the materials required can be gathered as well as the
overall inexpensiveness of the entire activity.
By going through processes such as scientific inquiry and
engineering design, students will be required to sort through
their accumulated knowledge to brainstorm ideas on how to
protect the egg based on concepts that they have previously
learned. Knowledge learned in Science lessons will be
particularly useful at this stage as they analyze the problems they
might face in accomplishing this challenge. As the students
move on to the planning and design phases, they will be required
to employ skills and formulas learned in Maths lessons to
accurately design and ultimately construct their contraptions.
Some skills that they will be needed to use would be addition,
subtraction, multiplication, as well as physical skills such as
measuring and cutting. Throughout the process, they will
practice their communication and teamwork skills as they work
together cooperatively and learn how to settle disagreements
maturely.
The highlight of the project comes when the students will be
able to observe the results of all of their hard work when they
test out their designs. Students will typically be most excited
about this step in the process. They will be able to observe and
analyze their test results as well as see other groups' designs and
discuss why they chose the method that they did and why their
design did or did not work as well as ways to further improve
their designs.
Throughout the whole process, there will be plenty of
opportunities for students, as young as Primary Four, to learn or
reinforce a broad range of knowledge and skills such as shapes,
area, speed, length, weight, properties of materials, structures,
and measuring. More advanced students such as Secondary
Three could learn or experiment with concepts such as gravity,
air resistance, aerodynamics, and force.
Most importantly, students will be able to see the
connections between the different fields of study visibly and
practically as they utilize their scientific knowledge to analyze
and brainstorm a solution; their technological knowledge in
designing a plan; and mathematical skills as they make accurate
calculations. And after everything has been completed, the
students will have more questions about their observations
which could lead directly into new topics or concepts.
V. DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Teachers' understanding of STEM education, together with
their ability to implement STEM-related learning activities are
essential to the integration of STEM courses in their classes.
Hence to increase teachers' awareness of implementing STEM
education at schools, a series of the teachers' training are
suggested to be conducted among educators:
• In the beginning, several talks focusing on the concept
and learning models of STEM education should be
organized, and some real-world examples to build up
why STEM education is important should also be
presented to the audiences, to increase their awareness of
importing STEM into their courses. Besides, several
surveys should also be given to school teachers to help
researchers gain a closer understanding of teachers' need
and the challenge of the integration.
• Several completed STEM lesson plan and learning
activities should be provided to school teachers for case
studies. During the case studies, teachers sit in groups
and discuss the cases with instructors, to gain the
understanding of how the cases are related to STEM
model.
• Based on previous two steps, teachers are going to work
in groups and try to design a STEM lesson with activities
based on what they’ve known.
• Begin with showcases of each cluster, and each one is
asked to comment and reflect how the teaching can be
enhanced. Then, discuss and present cases on how
assessment could be done in STEM by sharing different
examples around the world.
• Some suggestions should be given from scholars on how
the school-based curriculum could be designed based on
the real situation of schools. After that, another survey
should be conducted to understand teachers’ perception
of STEM education.
In Hong Kong, the authors together with other fellows from
STEM Academy have set up a training course for the in-service
teachers in Hong Kong to be prepared for designing their school-
based STEM curriculum, with the expectation of increasing
teachers' awareness and abilities to implement STEM education
in courses.
VI. DISCUSSIONS
After reviewing the literature, STEM education is being
given increasing attention in the recent years. An increasing
number of countries have come to realize that STEM education
would improve their country's competence in meeting the needs
of the workforce in STEM-related fields; by equipping their
students with the 21st-century skills like critical thinking, logical
thinking and problem solving [5]-[7]. Therefore, should we and
more importantly can we have STEM education in Hong Kong?
Its importance is quite well showcased in the research done by
many experts [24]-[26] therefore it should be implemented
however the process will not happen without its challenges. This
paper has focused much on how to tackle the implementation
and provide a conceptual model of what an integrated STEM
education across K-12 might look like, but it also calls for
further studies to test the effectiveness of the framework in
practical use. It is important that schools/teachers start to take
the initiative to explore ways to enrich their student’s
educational experience through integrated STEM education.
The paper has provided well-established examples of lessons
that teachers can directly pick up and get inspired. The examples
are shown to be of two kinds, one where simple resources can
be used and another where specialized commercial products are
utilized to boost the learning potential in the classroom. Both
examples follow the framework and display that the important
part of STEM education is not the tools but the framework that
is used to teach.
To scale STEM education in Hong Kong, teachers should be
equipped with skills to integrate STEM courses in their
courses[11]. There it is recommended that teacher goes through
professional training to gain a better understanding of STEM as
well as the strategies of course designing. This requires a series
of examples of STEM courses designs which have been tested
through practical use and are suitable for schools ranging from
kindergarten to secondary grades. This calls for there to be a
platform where all teachers can come to and share their
experiences, lesson ideas, challenges and success stories. This
will encourage more schools to pickup up STEM education and
know that it is possible and that it is worth their time to invest in
implementing it into their curriculum. The platform will have to
be supported by experts and academics from each of the
respective fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics who are passionate about including STEM
education in Hong Kong classrooms. The platform will then be
fully equipped to support schools and teachers who wish to make
their first step into bringing STEM Education to their students.
By reviewing the literatures, STEM education has been paid
increasingly attention in recent years, since an increasing
number of countries have gained the awareness that STEM
education would improve the country's’ competence facing the
future challenge by equipping students with 21st century skills
like critical thinking, logical thinking, problem-solving skills,
etc., and at the same time meeting the needs of workforce in
STEM-related fields. To promote STEM education in Hong
Kong, this paper proposes a framework which can guide schools
to implement STEM courses in curriculums based on their
situation.
And this paper calls for further case studies to test the
effectiveness of the framework in practical use. Several STEM
courses are suggested to be designed and implemented in the
school curriculum in this context to provide concrete examples
for teachers' reference and further studies. And this paper
uncovers the pedagogies involved in the STEM courses or
students' level of motivation during STEM activities. The related
researchers are suggested to be conducted in the following
studies.
VII. CHALLENGES AND FUTURE WORKS
This paper demonstrates a framework for the STEM
implementation agenda, which could fit the schools ranging
from K-12 in Hong Kong. However, a fuzzy understanding of
teachers' perception of STEM education will cause the challenge
of implementing the conceptual model of the framework at
schools. Hence, further research should be conducted to collect
data from teachers' perspectives toward STEM education,
including their understanding and attitude toward STEM, and
the STEM-related knowledge they've acquired: for instance, the
key strategy of implementing STEM activities, as well as how
to design the courses, etc.
Teachers' understanding, as well as their attitude toward
STEM education, is essential to the implementation of STEM in
school curriculums. And increasing teachers' awareness of
importing STEM-related activities in their courses is also one of
the challenges considering the current situation. Hence, the
practical examples of STEM course design which had been
assessed in daily courses should be provided for teachers'
discussion and observation. However, there still lack such kind
of examples and researches which prove the effective STEM
implementation in Hong Kong. So this paper calls for further
analyses and case studies to provide some examples which fit
Hong Kong's curriculum situation.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the author demonstrates a conceptual model to
enhance the connection between the knowledge that students
learn in school and solving real life problems. Instead of
rewriting the whole courses to meet the need of students'
increasing level of thinking, this paper suggests implementing
STEM-related activities into the existing education curriculum.
The framework indicates that STEM learning activities can be
applied at a single grade level, and they can also be conducted
among different grades and let students build up their knowledge
base through situated learning. For the STEM course itself, an
integration of scientific inquiry together with engineering design
has been demonstrated to help the readers gain a coherent
understanding of some detailed suggestions for STEM
implementation. Students acquire the basic knowledge from
scientific inquiry and increase their level of thinking through the
process of engineering design.
To effectively implement STEM education in school
curriculum, teachers' professional development is
recommended. This paper indicates that the program of teaching
staff' training should include:
 1) Scholar talks that focus on the concept and conceptual
model of STEM;
2) Several practical examples which were designed based
on the framework for teachers’ case study;
3) Teachers’ hands-on activities of STEM course design;
4) Teachers’ communication based on their designs;
5) Experts’ professional suggestion.
Finally, some of the ideas of STEM integration have been
mentioned to call for further discussion: more STEM courses
which draw upon the framework should be designed and tested
for practical use; and more data should be collected for detailed
analyzation, including Hong Kong teachers and parents'
perception of STEM education, students' performance, and their
achievement of learning objectives; the establishment of the
platform where schools, teachers, scholars and other
organizations can communicate and share their experiences with
each other; and more survey should be conducted in order to gain
a better understanding of schools and teachers' own needs about
STEM learning activities in regard of various curriculums in
Hong Kong.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The project is supported by the STEM Academy Hong
Kong, more information about the organization can be found
from www.stem.org.hk. We also appreciate for the staff from the
Koding Kingdom (HK): Catherine S. D. Zheng, Rishabh
Rastogi, and Tobijah Cha.
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