Integrating STEMM in higher education: A proposed curriculum development framework

Abstract

Educational systems around the world are trying to grapple with the need for experts in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM), who have expert knowledge and can work in collaborative teams to find solutions to local and global issues, including the current pandemic related to the Covid-19 outbreak. Employers seek disciplinary experts as well as people who can act as connectors for groups and ideas and who share and communicate them effectively. Integration of the STEMM disciplines within teaching programmes is in its infancy in higher education, but there is recognition for providing extraordinary experiences for learning that develop collaboration and synthesis of divergent ways of thinking, including crossing disciplinary boundaries. A framework is presented for supporting the design of integrated STEMM course work in higher education. It includes authentic, student-centered, evidence-based, inquiry, problem-based learning through situated, immersive and experiential approaches that can support the deliberate development of skills for integrating thinking, problem-solving and for creating humanistic solutions for local and global issues. This framework can be used as a guide for designing new teaching programs that use transdisciplinary approaches for STEMM in higher education. Refinements of the framework can be generated through rigorously evaluating implementation in specific contexts.