Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Strand

Introduction to STEM

          We all know that there are a lot of things that had been change in our lives. As the years passes by, people are discovering things in order to improve our lives and to make our works easier than before. They introduce technology to us that brought a big impact in our society. It became part of our daily life. Since our country is still developing, the government is trying its best to solve the problems we are encountering in the Philippines. They launched the K to 12 Program of the Department of Education that aims to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts, skills, and develop lifelong learners and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skill development, employment, and entrepreneurship. It also aims to improve Filipino students' mathematical, scientific, and linguistic competence. With the new curriculum, DepEd promised to offer higher quality education through tracks. Each track will give students enough time to master a field and enhance their skills. 
          The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School [SHS]).

          We are now in a K-12 Curriculum where Senior High School is being implemented. In which in this level, we should take any if these tracks; Academic Track, Technical-Vocational -Livelihood Track Strand, Sports Track Strand, and Arts and Design Track Strand, wherein in the Academic Track, there are four (4) different strands; the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS), and General Academics (GAS).

          I have a question to a variety of students who choose, didn't choose, and will choose the STEM Strand. To all of the students who choose other track and strand than STEM, "Why you didn't choose STEM?". To the students who are now STEM students, "What motivates you to choose STEM?". To the STEM students that are now in their College life, "How did you surpass STEM?". To the students that are now incoming Grade 11, "Why don't you try STEM?"

What is STEM?

      Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is one of the strands in the Academic Track of the new curriculum in our country, the Philippines that should be taken by the Grade 10 or “Junior” Students upon enrolment in the Senior High School (SHS).

        It is an educational program developed and designed to prepare Senior High School (SHS) students for college and graduate study in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This strand, the STEM aims to foster inquiring minds, logical reasoning, and collaboration skills.

           It also aims to inculcate in students various theories and concepts in Science and Mathematics. The focus of this is to provide practical learning experiences in order for students to understand the concepts better through application, controlled experiments, research and practice. This will also help to equip the students with knowledge and skills necessary in the pursuit of degree programs in engineering, architecture, medical / health sciences, and computer studies.

What will I become if I choose STEM?

          If you want to become an engineer, an architect, a pilot, a statistician, a scientist, a chemist, a biologist, an astrophysicist, a dentist, a physician, a nutritionist, a nurse, a doctor, a pharmacist, etc. then this strand will suit you.

What skills should I possess if I take STEM?

          The potential skills that you should have if you take this strand, the STEM are the following: ability to analyze, ability to work efficiently, having a good communication skills, being creative, and having a good leadership. Possessing mathematical, scientific, and technical ability is the most salient capability in this strand.

What are the subjects in STEM?

          In all of the strands, there are two kind of subjects; the specialized and core subjects. Specialized subjects are the subjects those are in the specific strand and track only. Such as in STEM, the specialized subjects in this strand are the following: Pre-Calculus, Basic Calculus, General Biology 1, General Biology 2, General Chemistry 1, General Chemistry, General Physics 1, General Physics 2, Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction, Work Immersion / Research / Career Advocacy / Culminating Activity. The core subjects, on the other hand are the ones that are implemented in all of the strands and tracks including STEM such as Oral-Communication, General Mathematics, Empowerment-Technologies (ICT), Physical Education and Health, Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik, and Personal Development.
          There are two (2) semesters in each Grade Level (Grade 11 and 12) in Senior High School, the First and Second or the last Semester. The subjects on the Second Semester are just the upgraded topics from the First Semester such as for the specialized subjects, from Pre-Calculus, it will become Basic Calculus, from General Biology 1 to General Biology 2. For the core subjects in contrast, General Mathematics will become Statistics and Probabilities, Oral-Communication to Reading and Writing Skills and many more.

Why choose STEM?

          Some of the students choose STEM because they were thinking that it is a challenge for them to take this strand. But there are some that chooses STEM to be ready for their college courses.

What is the difference between 

STEM and other strands?

          The difference of the STEM curriculum with the other strands and tracks is “the focus on advanced concepts and topics”.

Why STEM is important?

          STEM is  about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics which expands into every aspect of our lives. Science is everywhere in a fact that all the things that we see are related to science. It also allows individual to explore and discover things and its significance to the community. Science influences our ability to adapt to our environment because every human is aligned with adaptation so that they are able to adjust to their changing environment.

          Next to it is the Technology. When we say technology, it has a big role to our lives. All of the things around us are made of technology. Living without technology is meaningless. In short, living with technology makes our lives easier.

          Lastly, the Engineering and Mathematics, it is not just only numbers but it refers to the product of technology. Mathematics is in every occupation, every activity we do in our lives. When we look at the buildings, roads, bridges, houses and other structures, the one thing that I will say s that it is the tower of mathematics. It can also enhance our skills analytically and reasoning ability. It also helps us to understand the world better. It is the reason why STEM education is important, one of the factors is that it is because our world depends on it as well as it can help the economy to grow.

          Through this, we can be able to conclude that STEM Education which is the  Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics is very important because in this generation it has been part of our lives. We need to study all of this things in order for us to have a big opportunity to succeed in life especially for those who are spiring to become a doctor, engineer, scientist, and a lot more.