{"id":77790,"date":"2024-03-27T10:27:33","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T14:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=77790"},"modified":"2024-08-18T01:07:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-18T05:07:04","slug":"can-stem-prepare-students-to-make-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/articles\/2024\/can-stem-prepare-students-to-make-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Can STEM Prepare Students to Make a Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin news-block-editorial-leadin has-media has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1080\" height=\"700\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/03\/Photos-9.png\" class=\"\" alt=\"Two students work on a metal structure in a stem based class\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/03\/Photos-9.png 1080w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/03\/Photos-9-900x583.png 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/03\/Photos-9-768x498.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/03\/Photos-9-500x324.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/03\/Photos-9-992x643.png 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/03\/Photos-9-1000x648.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">STEM<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCan STEM Prepare Students to Make a Difference?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">TJ McKenna explores the shortage of STEM workers and what it means for addressing pressing global challenges<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar news-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">March 27, 2024<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-comments\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#comments\" class=\"wp-prepress-component-comment-counter label has-no-comments\"><span class=\"wp-prepress-component-comment-counter-zero\"><span>0<\/span><\/span><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/authors\/sofia-romero\/\">Sofia Romero<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>As STEM increasingly drives economic growth and fosters innovation, the need for workers trained in STEM fields is rapidly increasing. But despite the billions of dollars being spent on STEM education, the supply of well-trained workers can\u2019t keep pace with the demand. And while individuals with STEM backgrounds are well positioned to work on important global challenges such as food insecurity, climate changes, or educational equity, many do not pursue careers where they can do this type of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this webinar in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/conversations-with-the-dean\/\"><strong>Conversations with the Dean<\/strong><\/a> series, lecturer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/profile\/thomas-mckenna\/\">Thomas \u201cTJ\u201d McKenna<\/a> joined BU Wheelock Dean David Chard for a discussion about getting more students interested in STEM and equipped to address some of the big challenges that can be tackled by these fields. McKenna is the director of the Center for STEM Professional Learning at Scale, which provides high quality, equitable, and inclusive STEM learning for educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"responsive-video responsive-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Helping Students Leverage STEM to Solve Big World Problems with Thomas J. McKenna\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GZGV3RNzRPo?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Highlights from the Conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>STEM learning should be active<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Science isn\u2019t just about learning ideas that other people have figured out and passively getting those ideas. It\u2019s about going outside, looking at things, trying to solve problems, trying to understand what\u2019s happening, and then share that in a public arena.<\/p><cite>TJ McKenna<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>The difference between STEM and STEAM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>We shouldn\u2019t be focused as much on what we call it as much as what we do. And we really want to be preparing students for this way of looking at the world, this set of skills you can develop through questioning things, through doing these different investigations.<\/p><cite>TJ McKenna<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>The power of STEM education<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Science is not just learning about what other people have done\u2014it\u2019s a way of figuring out your own world, a way of understanding the complexities of what\u2019s around you. That\u2019s how you create an empowered citizenry where people do feel like if a new technology comes out, like generative AI, or if there are new global challenges, there are things they feel like I know how to get the information about this and I know how to approach this.<\/p><cite>TJ McKenna <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Conversations with the Dean are a series of webinars hosted by Dean Chard that explore some of the most pressing topics in education. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/conversations-with-the-dean\/\"><strong>Conversations with the Dean<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories is-style-card has-three news-block-editorial-relatedstories\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-title\">Related<\/h3>\n\t\t<ul class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Shows a group of young students sitting at the BU terrier bench\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1500x1125.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1101x826.jpg 1101w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-459x344.jpg 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-705x529.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-909x682.jpg 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1376x1032.jpg 1376w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1761x1321.jpg 1761w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-917x688.jpg 917w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1411x1058.jpg 1411w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1819x1364.jpg 1819w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1333x1000.jpg 1333w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/11\/IMG_8415-1600x1200.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>Blog<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/articles\/2023\/boston-students-visit-bu-campus-during-stem-week\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Boston Students Visit BU Campus During STEM Week<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">November 16, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1080\" height=\"700\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/02\/STEM-graphic.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"animated picture of young boy and girl looking out all graphic representation of stem fields\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/02\/STEM-graphic.png 1080w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/02\/STEM-graphic-900x583.png 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/02\/STEM-graphic-768x498.png 768w, 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2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1080\" height=\"700\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/02\/Photos-7.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"a soccor team in green uniforms huddle together during a game\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/02\/Photos-7.png 1080w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/02\/Photos-7-900x583.png 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/02\/Photos-7-768x498.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/02\/Photos-7-500x324.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2024\/02\/Photos-7-992x643.png 992w, 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increasingly drives economic growth and fosters innovation, the need for workers trained in STEM fields is rapidly increasing. But despite the billions of dollars being spent on STEM education, the supply of well-trained workers can\u2019t keep pace with the demand. And while individuals with STEM backgrounds are well positioned to work on important [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18489,"featured_media":77810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"STEM","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[7045,4740,4962],"bu-publication":[6614],"magazine-article-category":[],"magazine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[6661,6664,6780,6776],"news-topic":[6936],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/77790"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77790"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/77790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79790,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/77790\/revisions\/79790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77790"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=77790"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=77790"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=77790"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=77790"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=77790"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=77790"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=77790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}