What Does STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Mean?
STEM is an integrated, interdisciplinary, and student-centered approach to learning that encourages critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and design thinking across multiple disciplines. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
An important role of STEM education is to help students develop skills that will empower them later on in the workplace. This includes helping students develop skills that foster:
- Critical thinking
- Flexible thinking
- Data-driven analytical inquiry
- Design (interdisciplinary) thinking
- Social responsibility
- Productivity
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Collaboration
- Communication
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were nearly 10.8 million workers in STEM occupations in 2019. Information technology (IT) workers comprised half of the STEM workforce, and engineers made up about a third of all STEM employees. Although women’s representation in STEM employment has increased since the 1970s, females are still underrepresented in engineering and computer science.