Stem Matters: Your Guide to Educational Purposes, Policies, Programs, and Practices

This resource is your guide to understanding STEM’s place within K-12 education, amidst the many meanings and initiatives that swirl around this buzzword in today’s schools. Authors Rodger W. Bybee and Patrick L. Brown, who have worked in leadership roles developing curricula and national standards, provide background, explanations, and guidance for demystifying STEM’s place in contemporary classrooms and establishing sustainable STEM programs and practices that prepare students for their futures. Chapters are organized around STEM’s Purposes, Policies, Programs, and Practices--clarifying what STEM means beyond the acronym, examining the role of educational policies, specifically the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), developing coherent school programs, and implementing effective classroom teaching practices. Each STEM discipline is defined alongside concrete recommendations for designing, developing, and implementing instructional materials. Across the sections, the authors focus on small, manageable changes that educators and leaders can develop with their colleagues to formulate and implement. Chapters also include personal educator stories, references to historically significant and contemporary research and examples, recommendations for leadership, and discussion questions. Whether you are a teacher leader, a member of a professional learning community, or a district administrator, this helpful guide should be a key consideration within reform processes, from selecting new programs and developing instructional materials, to providing professional development.

Rodger W. Bybee is an Education Consultant, a former K-12 science teacher, and a retired faculty of Carleton College. He was both the executive director of the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education at the National Research Council and executive director at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. He is also a Writing Team Leader for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Patrick L. Brown is the Executive Director of STEAM and CTE at Fort Zumwalt School District, and a former science classroom teacher and coordinator.