Over the past decade, STEM education has received increasing attention and also
has been widely recognized as one of the major emphases in contemporary science
education reform movements. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics) involves the study of, and coherent integration among, various
academic disciplines, especially the four cardinal disciplines of STEM. It has been
advocated that STEM education could provide an opportunity for students to
develop increasingly important 21st Century skills, such as complex problem
solving, communication, and collaboration (Bybee 2010). Therefore, STEM
education is becoming even more important in preparing students for work in the
technologically advanced world and is vital for the nation’s competitiveness in the
global economy