Science and Technology Educators' Enacted Curriculum: Areas of Possible Collaboration for an Integrative STEM Approach in Public Schools

Brown, J., Brown, R., & Merrill, C. (2012). Science and technology educators' enacted curriculum: Areas of possible collaboration for an integrative STEM approach in public schools. Technology and Engineering Teacher, 71(4), 30-34


There is a strong need for collaboration between Science and Technology / Engineering teachers. This article is based on (a) exploring enacted curriculum of practicing public school STEM teachers, (b) explaining findings from a practitioner-based study focused on the content taught in science and technology/engineering classrooms, and (c) offering suggestions on how science and technology/ engineering teachers can create or enhance partnerships to better utilize the strengths of their disciplines.

There are numerous areas of growth between technology / engineering and science that could be sources of integration. A few examples of integrative classroom activities include:

• Biotechnology: Sample activities can be found in Promising Alternatives in Agri-Technology: Aquaponics (Childress, 2003); Connecting Biotechnology & Society (McLaughlin and Glasson, 2003); and Wind Farm Challenge (Roman, 2009).
• Medical Technology:Sample activities can be found in Conceptualizing Nanoscale (Tretter, 2006); Rev your Engines (Blanchard, Sharp, Sc Grable, 2009); Emergency Preparedness: Balancing Electrical Supply and Demand (Rose, 2006); and Temporary Housing for the Homeless: A Pre-Engineering Design Project (Schreuders, Salmon, and Stewardson, 2008).
• Engineering: Sample activities can be found in Conceptualizing Nanoscale (Tretter, 2006); Rev your Engines (Blanchard, Sharp, Sc Grable, 2009); Emergency Preparedness: Balancing Electrical Supply and Demand (Rose, 2006); and Temporary Housing for the Homeless: A Pre-Engineering Design Project (Schreuders, Salmon, and Stewardson, 2008).

True collaboration between STEM teachers can create partnerships in school settings that merge
abstract and previously isolated principles with practical application to provide a holistic perspective
of what science is and how science is used with technology to better our lives and the environment
around us.