What Is STEM?

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) is a program based on educating students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to learning.

School systems today strive to improve education in STEM. This goal is an area where educators can use outside help developing and improving students’ knowledge when they actively contribute, design, and build hands-on projects. In many ways, the young mind is excited and motivated building projects. They develop an in-depth understanding of what is required and how it works. The authors believe this is the best way to learn and remember these concepts, which results in a solid STEM foundation for students.

A question not often understood is how the scientific method is different from an engineering approach. Understanding the difference between science and engineering can be seen in the original Star Trek series. Mr. Spock was the science officer, and Montgomery Scott (Scotty) was the chief engineer. Their jobs and how they approached new scenarios or problems really provide a great explanation about the differences and similarities between science and engineering. Let’s examine some examples.

Mr. Spock used the term fascinating when describing a new event or phenomenon. The role of science is to expand knowledge and investigate new events. This fascination with new and unique areas is key for a scientist. Scotty, the engineer, on the other hand always had to fix the warp engines, the transporter, or some other critical system. The normal role of an engineer is to develop and implement solutions to problems. In one of the episodes, Scotty indicated he would rather read his engineering journals to learn about how others solved problems than go on shore leave!

Science

Researchers use the scientific method as a tool to understand questions in their area of interest. Based on the information they have initially, they develop a hypothesis and then methods to test the validity of the hypothesis. When sufficient test data are gathered and analyzed, the researcher either accepts or rejects the hypothesis. In many cases, positive or negative results point to the next step or direction of exploration and contribute to the general body of scientific and engineering knowledge.

Engineering

The primary goal of engineering is to evaluate alternatives and choose the optimal solution to minimize or eliminate specific problems or issues. Solutions are not necessarily new, but may be repurposed concepts applied to different problem areas. Other aspects of engineering include planning the work, selecting components to meet requirements, and following through on managing and completing a project. Often projects or systems fail because the planning, scheduling, and logistics of activities are not adequately engineered for an optimum solution. These skills are important and necessary in any job.

Science and engineering use many of the same tools and techniques, but it is important to understand the distinction between scientific experimentation and the engineering process of developing optimal solutions. For one thing, they both use the language of mathematics to describe percentages, results, probability, and other physical parameters. However, science’s goal is to expand knowledge which is different than engineering’s goal of selecting an optimum solution and proceeding with solving the problem. One other difference is a scientific test often gains new knowledge, whereas an engineering test often demonstrates how a system performs a function. In many ways, they are synergistic as science often provides new tools and ideas for engineers to use to solve problems.

In the authors’ minds, the roots of some key technological advancements that exist now can be traced back 50 years to the original Star Trek TV show. For example, in the show, they used tricorders to gather data about aliens, equipment failures, medical problems, and a host of other out of this world challenges. They had communicators that allowed them to contact crewmembers all over alien worlds. Finally, they had the replicators that allowed them to produce any type of food they desired. Today we don’t have tricorders, but we do have some examples that 50 years ago would have been amazing. Today there are personal computers, cell phones, 3D printing, and incredible sensors based on the early transistors of the 1960s. The Arduino and the Raspberry Pi, two examples of new technology, can be built into devices similar to the incredibly versatile Star Trek tricorders.

Both Mr. Spock and Scotty realized they needed each other (science and engineering) to accomplish the goals of exploration and keep the Enterprise flying safely through space. In today’s complex world, integrating science and engineering is key to researching problems and developing solutions.

In the following chapters, the authors will demonstrate all of the components of STEM needed to research scientific questions, use new technology (Arduino and Raspberry Pi), employ engineering techniques, and use mathematics to quantify the scientific data. As Star Trek boldly went forth to explore new worlds, the authors hope the students of today do the same!