How to Transform Learning in STEM…With Teaching

"We are doing an incredible job of preparing our students for the 20th century." This quote from Professor Cathy Davidson reflects the problematic nature of an educational system that was structured for schooling in the industrial age and which has not caught up to the realities of the 21st century. Traditional teaching prepares students well for the procedural work of assembly lines and tasks that are now completed much more efficiently and quickly by computers. Today's STEM workforce demands more heuristic models of thinking toward solving pressing social problems that are without easy or obvious solutions. To prepare students to innovate and flourish in the 21st century, we must transform the way they learn by changing the way we teach.