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The Best Laid Plans: Educational Innovation In Elementary Teacher Generated Integrated Stem Lesson Plans, Christina M. Sias, Louis S. Nadelson, Stephanie M. Juth, Anne L. Seifert

Teacher Education and Leadership Student Research

Students need to be prepared for the 21st century by developing the literacy skills necessary for participating in the age of synthesis—an age that requires a progressive set of skills and knowledge. The authors identified nine educational innovations that are perceived to be effective for preparing students for the 21st century age of synthesis society. They coded a collection of 39 teacher-generated Grade 3–5 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) lesson plans to document the extent to which the teachers included these nine educational innovations their STEM lesson planning. The authors found practices such as project-based and student-centered learning (which …