The Next Generation of Stem Teachers: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Meet the Needs of the Future

STEM Teaching: An Interdisciplinary Approach breaks from the more historical idea of making knowledge within disciplines and seeks to engage the reader in a growing conversation that is gaining momentum and is focused on an ‘interdisciplinarity of STEM education’, which seeks to embrace and/or present emerging perspectives on the standards. Importantly, the conversation on STEM education and interdisciplinary approaches to teacher preparation may draw into specific relief the respective professional and/or disciplinary standards for each of the four STEM disciplines as each relates to fostering an interdisciplinary approach.

The importance and relevance of this interdisciplinary perspective to teacher preparation lies in the realization that STEM literacy moves into everyday lives and thinking, and not just in STEM related disciplines. This means that faculty in teacher preparation need to extend the range of STEM literacy in pedagogical strategies so that STEM teaching is enriched with multimodal literacies into teaching and learning, which in turn makes STEM knowledge more relevant and engaging for its manifest connections to solving the problems that challenge society.

Patrick M. Jenlink is Regents Professor, the E.J. Campbell Endowed Chair: Professor of Educational Leadership, and Professor of doctoral studies in the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership. His experience includes STEM teaching with emphasis in biology I & II, chemistry, physics, human anatomy and physiology and technology, as well as serving as a building administrator, school district superintendent, evaluator and research consultant on NSF funded Statewide Systemic STEM initiative in Michigan, senior researcher on funded STEM initiatives in Oklahoma with NASA and Oklahoma State University, and senior researcher for a grant funded STEM initiative in Texas, the Texas State Middle Level Mathematics Project.



Karen Embry-Jenlink is a professor of doctoral studies in educational leadership at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Dr. Embry-Jenlink has directed/served on several initiatives to support STEM educator preparation and educator and workforce development, including the Texas Middle Level State Mathematics Project, U.S. Integrated Workforce Standards, Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, College and Career Readiness Initiative Mathematics Faculty Collaborative, Talented Teachers For Training in Texas, and she appointed the ATE / NASA Education Commission on STEM Education in the Future.