Comparative Analysis between STEM and Maker Education in the Digital Age

Abstract

With the ongoing knowledge age, equipping students with 21-st century learning skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving ability, innovation and creation, collaboration, empathy seems to be more important than filling their heads with the right answers. In this context, STEM Education and Maker Education have been appearing, and they have been accredited as the future- oriented education models. Their promising benefits, unique features, open- ended learning and teaching process have been acknowledged by a growing body of literature. However, problems and challenges confronting them have made the outcomes of their current implementation are less satisfactory and far from reaching their original purposes. Thus, to help STEM Education and Maker Education to get out of the muddy water of these chaos, this paper innovatively and creatively proposes integrating STEM Education with Maker Education by using Design Thinking as intermediary. This paper starts with the comparative analysis of STEM Education with Maker Education with regards to origins, characteristics, teaching and learning process, theoretical grounding, objectives, aiming at identifying the room of their integration. After teasing out their relations, to gain a deep insight of how to integrate these two education models, the challenges and problems beset with STEM Education have also been reviewed. Moreover, after much more time has been dedicated to running a search of literature, it is found that Design Thinking holds the promise and potential that connects STEM Education with Maker Education in a seamlessly integrative way. Based on this fact, this paper discusses the possibility and feasibility of utilizing Design Thinking to build an integrated education model that comprises several elements essential to them. To facilitate the wide application of this model, the corresponding concrete measurements and steps have been presented in this paper, as well.