Abstract:

One of the main functions of the school is to train competent students, endowed with the knowledge and necessary skills to manage with the world around them. The 21st century is a historical moment marked by the mastery of science and technology, so STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is presented as a solution to the needs of the present that will allow the training of new scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians who will be responsible for solving the immense challenges of the future in areas such as energy, health, environmental protection and national security. In short, we will be ensuring that our society continues to make fundamental discoveries and advance the understanding of ourselves, our planet and the universe.

From Primary Education, we can introduce children to challenges that invite them to question how the world works, and to help them design better ways of understanding and living in it. Thus, we will develop their ability to create, design, innovate and think critically to solve the different challenges that will find in the future.

Currently, the framework of action of the STEM disciplines in Spain is usually developed in Secondary Education. However, we must consider the need to introduce these disciplines from a younger age, taking advantage of the interest and curiosity of young children, because from primary school we must work on their motivation, associated with long-lasting effects.

If we analyse the behaviour of students, we realize that they have a sophisticated informal knowledge of mathematics, and they often ask scientific questions, such as the why of things. It is about using this natural interest to introduce children to the STEM world from an early age and to awaken positive attitudes in them.

In fact, numerous investigations have recently shown that most students develop their interest and attitudes towards school science before they are 14 years old. Therefore, great efforts must be invested to ensure the quality of STEM education before this age and that the opportunities to participate in these disciplines, both inside and outside the classroom, are diverse and stimulating.

Consequently, the attitudes of the students are essential since, in recent times, fewer young people seem to be interested in scientific and technical issues. In addition, gender disparity is especially alarming. There is a clear supremacy of men with respect to women in the STEM areas, differences that start from very early ages (OECD, 2018).

We consider it essential to incorporate STEM education in primary education classrooms as a form of inclusion and equal opportunities for all students, which allows the improvement of attitudes towards these areas. For this reason, this work includes a real didactic proposal, aimed at giving a greater importance of STEM areas of the curriculum. But not only each area treated alone, the greatest power of this approach is the interdisciplinary treatment in which it is seen how all knowledge is related (mathematics, science, technology) and how this union allows a deeper knowledge and a more powerful development of skills to solve problems.

Keywords:

Interdisciplinarity, Primary Education, STEM, Design of activities.