In 2012, I had the opportunity to attend the first STEM
conference presented by Norwin Area School District. What began
in a high school auditorium evolved into a major conference at
the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh one year
later. Keynote speakers David Burns, Director of STEM Innovation
Networks at Battelle and Dewayne Rideout, Vice President of
Human Resources at All-Clad Metalcrafters, LLC presented
messages that were inspiring as well as motivational as they
linked to how we must teach students and prepare them for
tomorrow’s challenges. Burns explained a new way of looking at
STEM and what it represents. He stressed that in order for
science, technology, engineering, and math skills to be
strengthened, teachers must learn to present them in combination
and never in isolation. He also stated that the individual
letters of the acronym need to be redefined. S should be linked
with thinking scientifically. T for technology is a tool…never a
thing. E for engineering should not represent a n