STEM Learning Pathways, Pipelines, and Ecosystems
Cross-section of a plant stem viewed under a microscope.
If you’ve been in the STEM learning space for some time, you’ve probably come across the terms “STEM learning pipelines,” “STEM learning pathways,” and “STEM learning ecosystems.” While similar in their aim to guide learners from one STEM experience to another, there are definite differences between the three. Let’s discuss each.
“Pipelines” tend to be most used in relation to workforce development. However, this term is now a little out of vogue with STEM learning policies and programs. This decrease in popularity may be because, over time, folks have realized that - unlike a pipeline - STEM learning often takes twists and turns, with different on and off ramps for everyone. You might engage with STEM learning for some years, take a break, and then find a new opportunity later on. The language of “pipeline” doesn’t recognize that everyone’s STEM journey is different and not necessarily linear.
“Pathways” is a newer term that describes a similar linear journey to pipelines, though with more flexibility. Perhaps over your STEM journey, you follow one path and then it branches off into another. As described by Bell et al. (2013), “cultural learning pathways are conceptualized as a series of linked actions where individuals are positioned - or position themselves - in ways that deepen their participation in a practice amidst a myriad, and often competing, set of different systems of competency” (p. 122). This is a more commonly used term that recognizes the different experiences learners will have in their STEM journeys.
“Ecosystems” is also a newer term and emphasizes the interconnectedness of STEM learning experiences. You might see it referencing the organizations that operate STEM learning within a geographic area, or perhaps in reference to the experience of a single learner who bounces between opportunities, being referred to other opportunities by different STEM learning organizations that work in partnership with each other to achieve larger goals. This term is the most relationship-oriented, and adopts the scientific term of ecosystem to describe how different “organisms” (in our case, organizations, learners, etc.) interact and influence each other.
In a study of STEM learning funders (Dunifon, 2024), it was found that the term “pathway(s)” was used most frequently to describe programs, followed by “ecosystem(s)” and “pipeline(s).”
Evaluating pipelines, pathways, and ecosystems may look different, depending on the values that underlie their design and the strategies that each employs. For example, evaluation of STEM learning ecosystems might look more at the relationships between organizations and opportunities, or the routes that learners take within the ecosystem between opportunities. Comparatively, evaluation of STEM learning pipelines and pathways might focus more on retention in STEM fields (be that in informal learning opportunities, in formal STEM degree-granting programs, or in STEM careers).
In our next feature, we’ll imagine three strategies that you might explore to evaluate STEM learning ecosystems.
References:
Bell, P., Bricker, L., Reeve, S., Zimmerman, H., & Tzou, C. (2013). Discovering and supporting successful learning pathways of youth in and out of school: Accounting for the development of everyday expertise across settings. In Bevan, B., Bell, P., Stevens, R., & Razfar, A. (Eds.), LOST opportunities: Learning in out-of-school time (pp. 119-140). Springer Nature.
Dunifon, S. (2024). An Examination of Evaluation Policies and Funding Priorities in Informal STEM Education Funding Organizations [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Pittsburgh.
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