高等教育對 STEM 跨域人才培育的想像與實踐－從學生的觀點探析之

Abstract

隨著科技的快速發展，STEM跨域人才的培育成為我國重要的議題。然而，近年台灣出現STEM人才短缺、質量不足的問題。為因應跨域人才的需求，國內有越來越多大專院校成立跨領域學程。雖然有不少研究針對學生的STEM職業興趣進行探討，卻較少有研究以質性的方式，從學生的觀點，了解學生的學習歷程與未來職業想像之間的互動。本研究旨在探討學生在STEM跨領域學程的學習經驗，以期為我國STEM跨域學程之規劃提供方向與指引。本研究的研究目的為探討培育STEM跨域人才學程的規劃理念與推動策略、學生選擇STEM跨域學程的原因與期待、學習歷程與經驗等，以提供學生觀點給STEM跨域學程的大學作為參考。本研究以個案研究的方式，透過分析相關文件、訪談學程師生，以多元的視角了解STEM跨域學程的推動及學生的學習歷程。依據研究發現，本研究之結論包括：學程重視學生的專業發展、強調跨域整合的能力；學程定位和學生意見，持續帶動學程制度的修正；能接觸多元背景同儕和修課的彈性，是吸引學生就讀跨域學程的原因；學程提供專題課程和修課彈性，讓學生發展其跨域自主性；學生之間的跨域互動和思維，有助於培養跨域溝通與合作的能力；跨域經驗讓學生對未來的想像更加開放；學程主任和老師的跨域理念，對於學程的發展方向具有關鍵性的影響。依據研究結果，本研究針對我國STEM跨域人才之培育及未來研究，提出啟示與建議。With the rapid development of technology, it is imperative, in Taiwan, to cultivate interdisciplinary talents in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Since Taiwan has been facing shortages and inadequate quality of STEM talent, an increasing number of colleges and universities are starting to construct interdisciplinary programs to meet the demand for cultivating interdisciplinary talents. While numerous studies have explored students’ occupational interests in STEM, few have qualitatively examined the interplay between the learning experiences and future career prospects from the students’ perspectives. This study aimed at exploring the learning experiences of students in interdisciplinary STEM programs with an attempt to obtain implications and suggestions for better planning of such programs in Taiwan. The purposes of this study include (1) to investigate the case university’s design philosophy and implementation strategies of interdisciplinary STEM programs; (2) to understand students’ motives of and expectations for choosing to study in the interdisciplinary STEM programs; (3) to look into students’ learning processes and experiences in the interdisciplinary STEM programs; and (4) to generate students’ perspectives that may serve as a reference for universities and colleges to enhance their interdisciplinary STEM programs.This study applied a case study approach, through analysis of related documents and interviews with participated teachers and students, to understand the implementation of interdisciplinary STEM programs and the learning processes and experiences of students from diverse perspectives. Based on the findings, this study concludes that: (1) the interdisciplinary STEM programs of the case university focus on the professional development of students and strive for developing their ability in cross-disciplinary integration; (2) on-going revisions of the program operational mechanism are driven by the positionality of the program and students’ opinions; (3) opportunities for students to interact with peers from diverse backgrounds and the flexibility of course selection are main factors attracting students to attend the interdisciplinary programs; (4) provision of specialized courses and flexible curriculum allow students to develop their interdisciplinary autonomy; (5) interdisciplinary interactions and exchanges among the students help fostering their skills in interdisciplinary communication and cooperation; (6) interdisciplinary experiences stimulate students to have broader imaginings for their future; and (7) the upholding of interdisciplinarity by the program chair and faculty has a crucial impact on the direction of program development. Based on the research findings, this study provides related suggestions not only for the cultivation of interdisciplinary STEM talents in Taiwan but also for future further research in STEM programs.