By Kelsey Bednar

凯尔西·贝德纳（Kelsey Bednar）

In today’s educational culture, you would be hard-pressed to find a school that did not count STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) or Project-Based Learning (PBL) as one of their core initiatives. While these educational philosophies sound different on the surface, in actuality, they are more similar than many might think. In fact, I would posit that PBL is the foundation on which STEM education can be built.

在当今的教育文化中，你很难找到一所没有将STEM（科学，技术，工程和数学）或基于项目式学习（PBL）视为其核心举措的学校。尽管这些教育理念在表面上听起来有所不同，但实际上它们比许多人想象的要相似。实际上，我认为PBL是可以建立STEM教育的基础。

Before we discuss the complementary qualities of each approach, let’s first take a look at the definitions of these educational buzzwords.

在讨论每种方法的互补性之前，让我们首先看一下这些教育专业术语的定义。

According to Tsupros, Kohler, and Hallinen,

“STEM education is an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling the development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy.”

根据ASCD的《教育领导力》杂志的Jane David所说，

“ STEM教育是一种跨学科的学习方法，在学生将科学，技术，工程和数学应用于在学校，社区，工作和全球企业之间建立联系的环境中，严格的学术概念与实际课程结合在一起具有STEM素养，并具有在新经济中竞争的能力。”

“The core idea of project-based learning is that real-world problems capture students’ interest and provoke serious thinking as the students acquire and apply new knowledge in a problem-solving context.  Advocates assert that project-based learning helps prepare students for the thinking and collaboration skills required in the workplace. “

“基于项目的学习的核心思想是，现实世界中的问题会吸引学生的兴趣，并在学生在解决问题的环境中获取和应用新知识时激发认真的思考。倡导者断言，基于项目的学习可以帮助学生为工作场所所需的思考和协作技能做好准备。”

As we read through these definitions, 3 commonalities appear:

当我们阅读这些定义时，会出现3个共同点：

1.) Real-World, authentic problems, and contexts  真实的真实问题和环境

STEM and PBL philosophies both focus on this specific facet of preparing students for life after school. In order for students to be ready to solve the complex challenges and problems that exist in our world, they have to have had the opportunity to practice doing so. This is true whether students pursue a career in a STEM field, the arts, or in the humanities. Requiring students to engage with rigorous problems that have not been contrived for the sake of arriving at one correct answer is key in building their capacity to think critically and problems solve out in the real world.

STEM和PBL的哲学都侧重于为学生放学后生活做准备的这一特定方面。为了让学生准备好解决世界上存在的复杂挑战和问题，他们必须有机会练习这样做。无论学生是从事STEM领域，艺术领域还是人文学科，都是如此。要求学生与没有做作的在一个正确的答案到达的缘故严格的问题搞的关键在建设自己的能力，以批判性的思考和问题解决在现实世界。

2.) Interdisciplinary approach  跨学科方法

One of the hallmarks of STEM education is that students no longer study and practice science, math or engineering in isolation. Rather, teachers are now asked to engage students in thought-provoking work that requires them to utilize and make connections among their learning. In similar fashion, the goal of PBL in modeling real-world problems and challenges is to get students to begin to understand that issues in the real-world are rarely connected to one single subject. Students need to be proficient with academic content and skills across the curriculum, and both PBL and STEM focus allow students opportunities to develop this interdisciplinary view of their learning and of the word.

STEM教育的标志之一是学生不再孤立地学习和实践科学，数学或工程学。相反，现在要求教师让学生参与发人深省的工作，这需要他们利用并在学习之间建立联系。以类似的方式，PBL在模拟现实世界中的问题和挑战时的目标是使学生开始理解现实世界中的问题很少与单个主题相关。学生需要精通整个课程的学术内容和技能，并且PBL和STEM的重点都使学生有机会发展他们对学习和单词的跨学科观点。

3.) Skills needed for success in the workplace  在工作场所取得成功所需的技能

While the definition provided for PBL defines it more explicitly, one of the main goals of both a PBL and STEM approach to learning is that students leave schools prepared with the skills they need in the workplace; or, to quote Tsupros, Kohler and Hallinen, the skills needed to “compete in the new economy.” Being able to apply what you know to solve problems is important, and being able to collaborate, communicate, innovate and think critically are equally necessary to ensure long-term success. Both approaches hone in on helping students develop the 21st century and future-ready skills they need to live, work and interact successfully in today’s modern landscape.

虽然为PBL提供的定义对其进行了更明确的定义，但PBL和STEM学习方法的主要目标之一是让学生离开学校，准备好在工作场所所需的技能。或者用Tsupros，Kohler和Hallinen的话来说，“在新经济中竞争”所需的技能。能够运用您所知道的知识来解决问题很重要，并且能够进行协作，沟通，创新和批判性思考同样重要确保长期成功。两种方法都致力于帮助学生发展21世纪以及在当今现代环境中成功生活，工作和互动所需要的面向未来的技能。

Based on the commonalities we can see here, it is in schools’ best interest not to treat these initiatives as separate entities, but to recognize that the changes in teaching and learning called for by each is the same. PBL provides a framework of instructional strategies and content practices which can be applied and used within STEM or any content area of choice. As teachers shift their classrooms and instructional practices toward a project-based approach, they will more naturally be able to utilize complex, interdisciplinary STEM projects as the focus of these experiences.

基于我们在此处看到的共性，学校的最大利益不是将这些举措视为单独的实体，而是要认识到每个机构要求的教与学变化是相同的。PBL提供了教学策略和内容实践的框架，可以在STEM或所选的任何内容领域内应用和使用。随着教师将课堂和教学实践转向基于项目的方法，他们将更自然地能够利用复杂的，跨学科的STEM项目作为这些经验的重点。

Kelsey Bednar is a Curriculum Manager and National Trainer at Defined Learning. Follow her on Twitter: @kdbednar

picture: Timo Kuilder