Some STEM Questions for 2021

What with a pandemic and crazy politics in 2020, it seems I've heard a lot less lately about STEM ("Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math") education lately. There are a lot of gaps in my understanding, and what I come across doesn't all seem to add up. So one of my goals for 2021 is to understand it better.

Here's a list of questions I'd like to learn more about during 2021. They aren't the only questions, and probably not the best questions. But it's a starting point.

1. From the narrow, somewhat random examples I have seen, STEM programs seem to be mostly about Technology as meaning "computing" and E for simple engineering projects. Are science and math not getting much emphasis?

2. Do simple projects engage many students in non-computer science STEM pursuits?

3. Sometimes it seems like there's an underlying assumption that cool computer activities or building things "like engineers" will somehow pull students into being excited about learning the core science or mathematics. Is that the plan? Is there evidence that it works? Are there ways to encourage intrinsic interest in math and science subjects?

4. Where are the shortages of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians? When business leaders talk about "we can't find enough good engineers", do they mean something more than "we need more programmers"?

5. It seems that many (most?) engineering schools require students to apply to them as incoming first-year students and have strong requirements for science and math background. This would seem to limit the field, since students don't have the opportunity to explore much about engineering, or to catch up on the foundations.

6. Has the number of available slots at engineering schools been increasing at the necessary rate? If not, why not?

7. Anecdotes suggest that engineering schools have been expanding the required curriculum of engineering courses, limiting students' ability to explore and learn about other areas. As job preparation, that's understandable. But it would also seem to limiting the range of knowledge for a full life, as well as diminishing the students' abilities for making choices and decisions about human issues as they advance in their careers. Is this true? Is this also happening in the sciences? Are these pressures from industry?

8. At the same time we hear complaints about "not enough engineers", we also hear about how older engineers are forced out of their jobs because "things have changed". Change in science and technology is inarguable, but that seems like sacrificing an enormous amount of valuable experience. How much is this going on, and what alternatives might be possible?

9. Another career problem for engineers seems to be that many companies focus on a promotion track that rewards moving into management but not staying in a technical role. What are some ways to value continued technical work?

10. Has computer science pulled in many students who would otherwise have pursued other STEM paths, creating shortages in those areas?

11. We seem to have a culture where it's perfectly fine to say "Oh, I'm not a math person" and give up on it. Why is that? Can that culture be changed?

12. It would seem that not teaching evolution in schools cuts many, many students off from continued study in biology, bioengineering, biochemistry, medicine, and anything else in the life sciences. How does this affect the pipeline of students in those fields?

13. Along the same lines, it seems that politically "STEM" is popular, maybe only as long as it focuses on things like computing and building bridges. Those aren't the areas with anti-science attitudes come out. Is that why the focus seems to be on those? How do we expect to do better at STEM broadly with anti-science attitudes?

14. Math is part of all of this, but seems not to get much attention except in fights over math curricula and teaching methods. What's going on in the math corner?

15. What are some useful ways to think about "STEAM" (adding "Art" into the mix)? On the face of it, a focus on STEM that de-emphasizes learning about the arts is sacrificing a huge swath of the human experience. Not knowing something about art diminishes the engineer's creativity in designing to solve human problems. This seems to be a common argument for sufficient funding and student time for the arts, to complement STEM. And I think that many people simply react as "one of those things is not like the other". Art matters, and not just as support for engineering. I'd like to learn more about these approaches, as well as the simple idea that art in the schools matters.

I'm sure there are many more questions that should be on the list. What am I missing? Send suggestions by email to treese@acm.org or on Twitter as @wintreese.

I hope to report back later in the year.