The Official STEMscopes Blog

Morgan Christiansen fully commits herself in every aspect of her life. Her daily runs, her nearly decade-long marriage to her high school sweetheart, and her seven-year track record teaching science and math to fourth graders all reveal her characteristic devotion. Two years ago, she found it was time to step away from the classroom and stay at home with her son. But her devotion to teaching didn’t end there—it just took a different form.

The world as we know it is changing every day. With emerging technology shifting more and more toward the digital sphere, required life skills are constantly evolving. Some say the jobs of tomorrow have not yet been discovered, and research shows that 80 percent of all future jobs will require a certain degree of STEM literacy.

No task is too complex or unfamiliar for Bonnie Smith, who joined our team of STEMscopes Science teacher writers at the start of this year. While she’s been with the Texas team for just seven months, Bonnie quickly stood out for her creativity, attention to detail, and willingness to take on new challenges. We are so thankful for teachers like Bonnie, and we’d like to show our appreciation by taking a closer look at her background and accomplishments in this month’s Teacher Writer Spotlight. 

With new innovations emerging daily, technology seems to be evolving at the speed of light, and increasingly jobs require that we keep up with those changes. Research already shows that 80 percent of future jobs will require technology skills and STEM literacy.

Is being good at math necessary to finding a good job? Increasingly so, this is the case. While a discrete math skill (e.g., knowing how to use the quadratic formula) is not the key to getting a job, having a solid foundation in data interpretation, analytical skills, problem-solving, and quantitative thinking is.