Recent posts for Land Science
Physics and Poetry
Professions that depend on STEM skills are the second-fastest professional group in the United States according to New York Times blogger Motoko Rich, who references a Georgetown University study. Occupational fields like manufacturing, utilities, transportation and mining, and even sales and management are demanding that workers have a STEM background. In an increasingly technical global marketplace, it’s become a necessity to be able to communicate with engineers and computer scientists in collaborative projects or to sell a product.
So even if young people don’t plan on majoring only in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, it’s beneficial for them to have some understanding of the STEM world and ways of thinking. Students can complete a double major in STEM and another field, participate in STEM extra-curricular activities and competitions, or play epistemic games like Nephrotex and Land Science that simulate professional workplaces.
Rich sums it up best, “physics and poetry, anyone?”
Students Feel High School Insufficiently Prepared Them for STEM Majors
Today, Microsoft released a survey indicating that only 20% of students in STEM fields felt that their high school courses sufficiently prepared them for college-level work, despite the fact that 55% of them decided to pursue STEM fields when they were still in high school. The majority of students and parents of K-12 students agreed that the U.S. does a “poor job” of teaching STEM courses compared to other countries.
We continue to stress that expecting students to simply memorize and recite formulas and concepts is poor teaching. Students need to be taught the ways in which professionals in STEM fields use those formulas and concepts as problem solving tools. Students who play epistemic games are better prepared for the work that lies ahead. In epistemic games such as Nephrotex and Land Science, mentors who play the role of professionals encourage students to reflect on their actions in the game and make connections between values, skills, and knowledge in their STEM domain.
Stop Talking and Type: Mentoring in a Virtual and Face-to-Face Environmental Education Environment
Bagley, Elizabeth A. S. (2011) Stop Talking and Type: Mentoring in a Virtual and Face-to-Face Environmental Education Environment. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
http://epistemicgames.org/eg/wp-content/uploads/Bagley-Dissertation-FINAL.pdf
Where the jobs are
A recent report from the National Science Foundation shows that more and more, jobs are in science and engineering fields, which are growing at over 2% per year on average, while the rest of the workforce is growing at just over 1%. That gap is smaller in the last decade than at any time since the 1970s, but still quite substantial.
All the more reason to use games like Nephrotex and Land Science to encourage young people to consider technical careers….
Land Science: An Epistemic Game
Land Science is an Epistemic Game where students play the role of interns at an urban and regional planning firm in their state. This version features the planning firm “Urban Design Associates” located in Madison, Wisconsin. Watch the video to learn more about the game and hear feedback from students and teachers.
