HISTORY:

previously Math, Engineering, Technology, and Science (METS) is the academic discipline of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This term is typically used when addressing education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve competitiveness in science and technology development. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns and immigration policy.Education systems and schools play a central role in determining girls’ and boys’ interest in STEM subjects and in providing equal opportunities to access and benefit from quality STEM education.

The acronym arose in common use shortly after an interagency meeting science education held at the US National Science Foundation chaired by the then NSF director Rita Colwell. A director from the Office of Science division of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists, Peter Faletra, suggested the change from the older acronym METS to STEM. Colwell, expressing some dislike for the older acronym, responded by suggesting NSF to institute the change. One of the first NSF projects to use the acronym was STEMTEC, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Teacher Education Collaborative at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which was funded in 1998.

EMTEC PT VIDEO

Defining STEM

STEM Education in California

To be successful, California’s efforts to improve schools and raise student achievement must include advancing our students’ understanding of STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Through STEM education, students learn to become problem solvers, innovators, creators, and collaborators and go on to fill the critical pipeline of engineers, scientists, and innovators so essential to the future of California and the nation. The STEM Task Force calls upon policy makers, business leaders, philanthropists, educators, and all Californians to take the actions necessary to realize this future vision:

California leads the world in STEM education, inspiring and preparing all of its students to seize the opportunities of the global society through innovation, inquiry, collaboration, and creative problem solving.

The growth of jobs in California requiring STEM proficiency is on the rise. In California, there were approximately five people searching for every available job. Meanwhile, there were 1.5 STEM jobs available for every job seeker (Change the Equation, 2012).