Re-positioning science instruction for the 21st century: Development of instructional materials for integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics approach for secondary school students

Abstract

Researchers have achieved consensus on the need for a paradigm shift in the process of education in the 21st century. Shift from learning what is convenient to quality learning and functional education is needed now and for the future. This will help learners develop skills and competencies relevant to the 21st century digital age. However, teachers lack the knowledge and instructional materials to implement innovative instructional approach for the digital age because they were mostly trained to implement the traditional model of instruction. Hence this paper attempts to re-position science instruction for the 21st century through the use of an Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Approach (ISTEMA) instructional material for secondary school students. This approach is expected to enhance learners’ acquisition of relevant skills needed for careers in the 21st century digital age. This paper further seeks to establish the gap between the observed classroom practices and the expected in the 21st century and how this instructional material will help bridge the gap. The conceptual framework for developing ISTEMA is based on instructional design and learning theories. The ISTEMA to instruction which is a learner-centered five-phase model was developed based on the consensus of features for integrated instruction from the research literature