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The termSTEM, used to describe science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, has come to prominence in Canada over the last decade, raising questions about its meaning. Here we examine its history in the United States and the sociopolitical commitments that have, in parallel, guided science education in Canada. The divergent nature of these histories suggests that STEM may be best viewed as a boundary object, highlighting its value as a collaboration gathering point. This can allow science educators to engage with STEM in ways that are meaningful without necessarily accepting associated definitions and priorities. L'acronyme STEM, pour parler des sciences, technologies, ingénierie et mathématiques, est devenu populaire au Canada au cours de la dernière décennie, et a soulevé des questions quant à son véritable sens. Nous analysons ici son histoire aux États-Unis, ainsi que les engagements sociopolitiques qui ont parallèlement influencé l'enseignement des sciences au Canada. La nature divergente de ces deux parcours suggère qu'il vaut mieux voir le mot STEM comme un objet limite, et souligner sa valeur comme point de rencontre et de collaboration. Ainsi, les enseignants des sciences pourront participer de façon significative aux disciplines STEM sans nécessairement accepter toutes les définitions et priorités. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory qualitative study focuses on one Grade 5 (ages 10-11) class who participated in an instructional sequence designed to scaffold their abilities to think critically about models and then to use various models to help them understand the particle nature of matter. Data showed that the extent to which the children exhibited a naive or evolving understanding of models varied with the features of the model under consideration, as did their understanding of the particle nature of matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study examines the motivational structure of a group of male students ( n = 10) in a grade 11 General Science class at an independent single-sex school. We approach the concept of motivation through the integration of three different theoretical approaches: sociocultural theory, future time perspective and achievement goal theory. This framework allows us to stress the dialectical interdependence of motivation, as expressed through individual goals, and the socially and culturally influenced origins of these goals. Our results suggest that the boys internalised the administrative description of the course as meeting a diploma requirement, which they expressed in their perception of the course as being for “non-science” people who “just need a credit.” However, we also found situational changes in students’ motivational structure towards more intrinsic orientations when they were engaged in topics with personal everyday and future relevance. These situational changes in students’ goal structures illustrate that our participants did not internalise classroom and school goal messages wholly and, instead, selectively and constructively transformed these goal messages depending on their own motivational structure and beliefs. These results stress the importance of teachers scaffolding not only for conceptual learning but also for student motivation in science classes, especially those that purposefully teach towards scientific literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]