Special Report

Figure It Out: How to Teach Students to Be the Ultimate STEM Problem Solvers

May 4, 2022
Sophomore Byron Barksdale, part of the aviation program at Magruder High School, takes a look at the exposed engine of a plane during a visit to the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Md., on April 6, 2022.
Sophomore Byron Barksdale, part of the aviation program at Magruder High School, takes a look at the exposed engine of a plane during a visit to the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Md., on April 6, 2022.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Schools around the country are integrating the teaching of problem solving and entrepreneurial thinking into STEM instruction in some very creative and relevant ways. Many of them are also simultaneously figuring out how to encourage more girls and students of color to pursue studies in STEM areas, showing the kids how their participation could lead to lucrative careers down the road.

This special report highlights what those approaches look like in action (or should look like) for elementary and secondary students; how curriculum and instructional priorities are changing to make this happen; and why such changes are so important at this moment in time.

The report also features exclusive EdWeek Research Center survey data from teachers, principals, and district leaders.

The Lemelson Foundation supports Education Week’s coverage of STEM, problem solving, and entrepreneurial thinking. Through its work, the Foundation seeks to increase access to Invention Education and entrepreneurship programs to cultivate the next generation of impact inventors, and strengthen the supporting environment needed for invention-based businesses to thrive.

Coverage of STEM, problem solving, and entrepreneurial thinking is supported in part by a grant from The Lemelson Foundation, at www.lemelson.org. Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.