We live in exciting times. Hawaii is home to a multicultural society rich in diverse cultural traditions and brimming with talent. The first inhabitants of these shores experienced the beauty and potential of these islands centuries ago, adapting to their environment by creating a place-based science that nurtured the opportunities they found and met the challenges they encountered. Today is no different. Modern Hawaii is intimately connected to a world seeking to nurture opportunities and meet challenges that face our “island planet” -renewable energy, clean water, sustainable agriculture, and equitable economic development. The fate of our island home and our planet requires keeping faith with the wisdom of our ancestors while applying this wisdom to ever more complex and difficult problems.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are all forms of wisdom based on our ongoing human experience. The knowledge and skills derived from these disciplines will be the source of innovative solutions to humanity’s quality of life. But just as ancient values and wisdom cannot survive without being passed on to future generations, the cumulative wisdom of the STEM disciplines cannot be brought to bear on modern challenges without new scientists, engineers, technicians, and mathematicians. STEMworks™ is dedicated to encouraging Hawaii’s students to explore careers in STEM fields through hands-on, community based service projects that are rooted in the STEM disciplines.
To be human is to be in relationship to others. Human beings accomplish great things when they learn to…
Career Exploration Module
Students get an opportunity to consider who they are, what they can be, and how to get there. This module covers an exploration of not only professional careers, but also an entrepreneurial path toward business and social change.
Professional Skills Module
Professional skills are essential for any team project. The specific skills highlighted in this module include: creating a cohesive team, managing a project, and building communication channels throughout the project.
Service Learning Module
Service-Learning is an educational methodology that brings together the needs of the community with course content through hands-on, active engagement in community service within the context of academic achievement and skill building. To achieve proficiency in civic responsibility and course understanding, students should have the ability to assess community needs accurately and reflect on the way culture and issues of fairness play out in a community context. The skills highlighted in this module include: the practice of reflection, developing a community needs assessment, and the integration of principles of equity and cultural understanding and responsiveness in the development of project goals and objectives.
STEM Module
Students will learn the steps in the science inquiry method and what each step entails. They will set up a simple experiment and use the method to test a hypothesis. The science inquiry method is closely related to the engineering design process; however, the students will learn the essential differences, similarities, and complementarities between these processes. In the area of technology, students will explore what resources are available for STEMworks project development and production. Students will research a particular technology and create a poster describing that technology or construct an artifact using the technology. In engineering, students will learn one version of the engineering design process. Students will understand how the design process works by using it in the development and production of their project. Finally, students will understand that mathematical concepts and principles form the foundation of science and engineering design as they are applied to scientific and design challenges.