Collaborative technologies: Cognitive apprenticeship, training, and education

This paper is a conceptual thought experiment that discusses the need for efficient, interactive and inter- operative, application- and learner-centered collaborative technologies that use cognitive apprenticeship, training, and other types of education and sociological techniques to recruit more non-traditional learners to become STEM professionals. The problem of poor to no interest in STEM courses and career paths by non-traditional (female and minority) science and engineering learners is well-understood. The authors recommend using holistic systems engineering design approaches to develop collaborative technology (CT) that can be used to change academic, private, and public engineering work cultures; to derive new ways of increasing the numbers of non-traditional STEM learners; and also to use CT to teach STEM to non-traditional learners according to their preference. The authors conclude that multi-disciplinary work teams that include educators, social science systems engineers, and history of science and technology systems engineers who have support from the highest levels of management, could be used to resolve the identified problems.

1. INTRODUCTION STEM Education Discourse for Under-Represented Groups

Our present approach to recruit non-traditional groups to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education does not seem to work as well as desired [1]–[5]. In Figure 1, we have illustrated the ‘pipeline’ metaphor to clearly demonstrate the need for future receivers or employers of scientists and engineers to become involved earlier to ensure that higher numbers of non-traditional STEM learners do not get 'turned-off from wanting to pursue STEM career paths; hence, the turning off of the faucet. We emphasize the need for private, academic, and public scientists and engineers to treat our pipeline problem like a science and/or engineering problem that requires their fullest attention, to bring about a solution to the reason under-represented groups are not selecting STEM. Figure 1-4: STEM Learner Pipeline, Collaboratory, Systemic Thinking and Stovepipes