TY - JOUR
T1 - Integrating inquiry and mathematical modeling when teaching a common topic in lower secondary school: an iSTEM approach
AU - Manunure, Kevin
AU - Leung, Allen
N1 - The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher copyright:
© 2024 Manunure and Leung.
PY - 2024/5/2
Y1 - 2024/5/2
N2 - The world has been increasingly shaped by Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This has resulted in educational systems across the globe implementing STEM education. To reap maximum benefits, researchers are now advocating for the integration of STEM domains. In recent studies, the integration of science and mathematics has become increasingly popular. The domains are much more suitable for integration because of their fields of application and their mutual approach toward problem-solving. However, there is little empirical evidence to drive the development of a practical model for classroom implementation. This study aims to cover that gap through integrating mathematics and science concepts when teaching a common topic to two classes of Form 1 (13–14 years) students. A mathematics and a science teacher went through two cycles of lesson study, integrating and teaching the concept of density. Results show a strong synergy between the BSCS 5E instructional model of inquiry and mathematical modeling; hence the methodological approaches can be used to integrate common topics like density. Further, teacher collaboration, teacher immersion in the iSTEM practices, teacher’s knowledge, and skills of the other subject and an in-depth understanding of a problem and its contextualization, are variables that can be capitalized on to enhance the teacher’s capacity to implement innovative and integrated STEM programs effectively.
AB - The world has been increasingly shaped by Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This has resulted in educational systems across the globe implementing STEM education. To reap maximum benefits, researchers are now advocating for the integration of STEM domains. In recent studies, the integration of science and mathematics has become increasingly popular. The domains are much more suitable for integration because of their fields of application and their mutual approach toward problem-solving. However, there is little empirical evidence to drive the development of a practical model for classroom implementation. This study aims to cover that gap through integrating mathematics and science concepts when teaching a common topic to two classes of Form 1 (13–14 years) students. A mathematics and a science teacher went through two cycles of lesson study, integrating and teaching the concept of density. Results show a strong synergy between the BSCS 5E instructional model of inquiry and mathematical modeling; hence the methodological approaches can be used to integrate common topics like density. Further, teacher collaboration, teacher immersion in the iSTEM practices, teacher’s knowledge, and skills of the other subject and an in-depth understanding of a problem and its contextualization, are variables that can be capitalized on to enhance the teacher’s capacity to implement innovative and integrated STEM programs effectively.
KW - density
KW - iSTEM
KW - inquiry
KW - integration model
KW - mathematical modeling
KW - mathematics
KW - science
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85193264571&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/feduc.2024.1376951
DO - 10.3389/feduc.2024.1376951
M3 - Journal article
SN - 2504-284X
VL - 9
JO - Frontiers in Education
JF - Frontiers in Education
M1 - 1376951
ER -