A Study On The “Afterschool STEM Programs” In America

International competition is talent competition.Scientific and technological talents play an important role in improving national economic status,comprehensive national strength and international competitiveness.In recent years,the international community has always attached importance to the cultivation of innovative scientific and technological talents.Based on the international community's emphasis on and the US lack of Scientific and technological talents,the United States proposed to improve all the American STEM literacy,training STEM talent.It pays special attention to enhance the STEM literacy of vulnerable groups such as minorities and women,which led by the government,combined with the strength of enterprises,communities,universities,science centers and other organizations to develop STEM Education.In the context of the international competition is increasingly fierce,STEM talents need continue to increase and the school STEM education is not optimistic,the United States“Afterschool STEM programs” came into being.Based on the theory of Taylor's curriculum and pragmatism,this paper makes a concrete analysis and explanation of the background,core objectives,main contents,curriculum implementation,curriculum evaluation and highlighting characteristics of US “Afterschool STEM Programs”.Then based on the purpose of practice,summing up the inspiration to China,to explore the development of China's afterschool science and technology curriculum.The study consists of seven parts:The first part is the background of the “Afterschool STEM programs”,mainly from the STEM talent training and the status of American STEM education.Government attaches great importance to the development of STEM education which provides favorable conditions;training STEM talent and improving students' demand for STEM are the urgent need for its production;the not optimistic status of STEM education in schools is also necessary.The second part discusses the core objectives of the “Afterschool STEM programs”.This part mainly analyzes the formulation and specific content of the goal of“Afterschool STEM programs”.With the evolving policy of STEM education in the United States,and the needs of learners,the goal of “Afterschool STEM Programs” has been formulated.In terms of specific content,it aims to develop students' interest in STEM fields,improve students' STEM academic achievement,and fill the needs of vulnerable groups for STEM education.The third part is the main content of the programs.The “Afterschool STEM programs” consists of subject-based programs,such as the science-based “Bird Sleuth K-12”,technology-based“Digital Harbor”,engineering-oriented "DesignSquad",mathemat ics-based "Afterschool Math Plus",and so on.At the same time,including computer science programs,integrated STEM programs and programs for instructors.The fourth part is the implementation of the “Afterschool STEM programs”,including the implementation of the subject,the implementation process,teaching model,the implementation of security,and the implementation of cases.The implementation of the subject includes the government,schools,community organizations and other stakeholders.The implementation process includes three stages:the planning and design,the implementation of the certification,the assessment and reflection.The teaching model is based on project-based learning and problem-based learning.The implementation of the safeguards includes policy guarantee,financial security,research support,teacher support.In addition,this study specifically analyzes 4-H STEM programs,techbridge programs,GUTS programs.The fifth part analyzes the evaluation of the “Afterschool STEM programs”,including the evaluation content,method and tool,and summarizes the achievements and problems.The “Afterschool STEM Programs” adopts the method of qualitative evaluation and quantitative evaluation,and uses the Dimensions of Success(DoS)Observation Tool,Assessing Women and Men in Engineering Project tool(AWE),CAISE's evaluation toolkit to evaluate the student's learning result and the teacher's quality.It is obvious to students:STEM academic achievement,knowledge and skill is promoted;student graduation rate and the possibility of pursuing STEM career is promoted;STEM education of vulnerable group student is compensated;the lack of school-based STEM education is compensated.But there are some deficiencies:less narrow range of benefits;lack of funding;lack of quality teachers,and so on.The sixth part analyzes its main features:it focuses on the practicality of the programs and the fairness of education.The programs content is comprehensive and practical.In terms of programs implementation,it shows the diversification of the main body,the vitalization of technical support and the projection of teaching strategies.Evaluation tools are diverse,and the evaluation results are effective and instructive.Finally,the seventh part,that is,through the analysis of the present situation of the afterschool science and technology curriculum in our country,and compared with the experience of American “Afterschool STEM Programs”,to explore the enlightenment of the United States “Afterschool STEM programs”to China.