Integrating STEM in Middle School: How to Start
Written by: Kate Blaske
Welcome back to this ongoing discussion of integrating STEM at all grade levels! Previously, I’ve discussed how natural curiosity can be encouraged and strengthened in early elementary students, and how upper elementary students can be deeply invested in authentic problem solving. In this installment, I’ll talk about the transitional time of middle school (Grade 6 – Grade 8).
Middle school encompasses many transitions for students in terms of their growth and development. There’s also a huge transition in the expectations schools and teachers have of their students in these years. Every middle school building has their own planning and scheduling, but these years are when we start to treat middle schoolers like “big kids,” having lockers and passing periods, changing teachers for each class. While this can broaden students’ viewpoints and exposure to deeper content, it also starts to cause siloing, or the focus on one specific content area in each classroom with each teacher. When students walk into a room filled with math equations, and then a classroom filled with history lessons, with no crossover between the two, students are not learning that the same skills that help you solve equations can be useful in evaluating geographical patterns.
“When students walk into a room filled with math equations, and then a classroom filled with history lessons, with no crossover between the two, students are not learning that the same skills that help you solve equations can be useful in evaluating geographical patterns.”
A recent study released by Gallup in August 2024 found that 25-54% of Gen Z students who were currently enrolled in a K-12 school identify their experiences in school as not engaging, and 41% say they have not learned anything interesting at school in the last week. When disaggregated by post-secondary plans, there are statistically significant differences in the data between students who hope to pursue a bachelor’s or associate degree and those who do not. Of this same group, even when they were excited about something they learned about, only 28% report it was something that could be used in the real world.
So how do you make middle school content engaging, interesting, and applicable to the real world? This is where we refer back to my personal favorite definition from Indiana’s Priorities for STEM Education.
Middle schoolers have been building up the skills throughout school, and have the life experience to really analyze the world around them. Lean on the pre-teen and early-teen pessimism and ask them to find the problems that need to be solved. Young teachers can connect to students using pop cultural references, and more “veteran” teachers can shock their students with stories about the olden times when we didn’t have cell phones and had to “be kind, rewind”.
Use the crossover of generations as well as the crossover of content – how would the American Revolution have played out if you could take a jet across the Atlantic from the colonies to France? Write a text conversation between two people trying to find each other using coordinates on a map. Write or draw Ikea-style directions to build a Rube Goldberg Machine that utilizes all of Newton’s Three Laws, and then trade directions with a different group to see if you can actually get the contraption to work.
“Use the crossover of generations as well as the crossover of content – how would the American Revolution have played out if you could take a jet across the Atlantic from the colonies to France?”
The Uncomfortable Part
Well, middle schoolers can be their own species. Finding topics that are interesting to a large enough percentage of your students might be tricky – embrace the idea of being “old” or “out of the loop” and pull out some things that feel “vintage” to your students. My students were always shocked to learn about the pace of technology over time – what existed before smart phones? Parents used to not be able to track their kids? It took how long for Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin to get across the Atlantic from France to the colonies? Accept their eye rolls as proof that they’re listening to you and go with it!
Another uncomfortable barrier might be the need for teacher collaboration time. Some schools have already built this into their culture, but by really looking at horizontal articulation, you can compare skills and content that your students are learning and find ways to read graphs and charts in ELA or social studies, write about math, or read about earth science.
Notice that the focus here isn’t on STEM content all the time but often on skills and habits of mind: communication, disciplinary literacy, problem-solving, and creative thinking. Middle school teachers are more likely to be content experts, so share your pedagogical and content knowledge with your colleagues to integrate as much as you can. Whether you’re just starting by learning about the other content standards your students are learning or using collaborative time to build a transdisciplinary problem-solving lesson, you’re on the right track!
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