Integrating Social Studies Education with Mathematics: Pre-service Teachers’ Use of the Pyramids of Giza to plan a STEM Lesson

Abstract

Pre-service teachers (PSTs) often struggle to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content effectively due to lack of training on how to plan a STEM lesson in meaningful ways as well as which subjects to integrate. This dilemma often results in an avoidance of STEM methodology altogether. This paper describes a productive method for training PSTs to successfully teach STEM lessons by using Social Studies content to integrate with Mathematics and Science and to provide context and connection to real-world applications. Along with providing a STEM lesson, the article demonstrates the critical role Social Studies can play as the “glue” for some integrated lesson plans.