"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a Fire."
-W.B. Yeats
I love this quote. We are losing kids to boredom and lack of hope. They are disengaged and let's be honest, we now are competing with Youtube, Google, and everywhere else that you can find information and Entertainment. If you have a task at home and are not sure how to do it, what do you do? Where do you look? If you are like me, I search Youtube for a how-to video. My son, regardless of whether it is a video game or baseball, he is watching Youtube. STEM is the answer to increased student engagement. Our kids know how to find information, let's embrace the technology and use it to our advantage. STEM can be the kindling that lights the fire.
So where do I begin? That can be overwhelming. You Google STEM and in 1.17 seconds you receive 3.9 trillion links. I have included a few of my favorite resources for STEM plus some ideas that can get you started in your classroom, building, or district. It does not require thousands of dollars to get started. It starts with a mindset.
Don't Be Afraid to Fail and Have a "Safe" Classroom
STEM is not always going to go the way you expect. Whether you are doing a design challenge or some type of open-ended question to cover some standards and you are anticipating it going one way, it may go totally South. In a lot of scenarios, these events though are your best learning experiences for us as teachers and for the students. Let's say you give them a problem and it involves some problem solving with a mathematical equation and students select the wrong operations...The most powerful thing you can do is not immediately correct them with, "No, you need to do this..." Instead, if you asked, "Tell me why you chose to solve this way...and what is your next step?" Now, I can understand their thinking. And you know what, you may not correct them. Let them continue and see where they go. In a scenario like this, you probably are going to have some type of share out. Students then can hopefully see their own mistakes. If you have established a safe environment where students can be vulnerable, you might even come back to the student or students and share their mistakes with the class in order to teach everyone. So first, create a culture that is a safe place to fail, and then don't be afraid to. When you do fail, make sure you model and set the tone for failure as part of learning. This starts with you taking chances and leaving your comfort zone. You might plan the most engaging lesson and it is an epic failure but the kids still learn. Model dealing with adversity, adapt and overcome, and move on. This is especially important with your highest students who are often not comfortable with struggling or failing. Everything has always come easy for them. They expect A's. Their parents expect A's (this is a whole other blog post and I could on and on about eliminating letter grades). We can teach perseverance. We too often worry about students struggling then they simply give up at the sign of adversity. We sweep in as teachers to help, their parents call to talk about how their kids come home worried about struggling. Learn to deal with adversity and the ability to not give up, they will thank you later. Don't be so quick to jump to the rescue. Probe and guide with questions, but make sure they figure it out.
Open-Ended Multiple Outcomes
When you can, develop a guiding question that can have multiple outcomes based on the direction the students choose to go. Think of the following question that our 4th-grade science teacher recently posed to her students as part of the #STEMbuildsOHIO statewide design challenge.
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How can you improve your school, community, or world by reimagining an existing physical space, system, product, or service so that it is more equitable, accessible, or efficient?
Look at this question and how would you answer it. If you gave it to your class and asked them to answer, how many different solutions would you get? With a question like this, you provide voice and choice. With this question, multiple outcomes were designed. Some students to the "efficient" part of the question and decided to add solar to our building based on our monthly cost of electricity. Another group proposed biometric locks for the lockers to make it easier for students to get in and out of their lockers between classes. Another group designed an outdoor learning space and yet another redesigned our library into a maker lab because they felt it was underutilized and due to the space constraints in our building.
I know you are thinking..."Well, what standards did you cover?" Within this authentic learning, students discovered how to determine the average, some calculated the Kwh of our building and then had to determine how many solar panels they would need to cover our energy needs. They all created proposals and presented them using power points. On top of that, many used a 3D printer and Tinkercad for the first time. It was a well-rounded experience for the kids. I can also say that every time I visited the classroom and students were working in groups, not one discipline issue or off-task student. Kids were all-in to the process. Give students a choice and get out of their way, they will amaze you. Our group that presented on converting to solar has not been connected with a business partner and going to work with an engineer to develop a proposal to follow through on their idea of reducing our energy use by going solar. So the learning will continue.
While the statewide competition is coming to an end, you should still check out the challenges and resources at OSLN.org.
Makerspace
Developing a makerspace is another great tool for increasing STEM. If you don't have room, create a mobile Maker cart that will allow teachers to have a set of tools to make their classrooms more efficient when it comes to PBL or any type of design challenge. Stock it with scissors, glue guns, cardboard cutters, and some materials they can use to develop their prototypes and models.
StartSOLE or Student Organized Learning Environment is a framework for taking a lesson and being the giver of knowledge to becoming a facilitator of learning and providing an opportunity for students to explore a guided question and then present their findings to the class. This link will take you to a video that explains how to SOLE. Not only will students find their own information and answers to the guiding question, but they must then present and share their findings which all of our students need to practice. With the number of virtual meetings, it is just as important to how you present your information. If you can't present and share your information, it really does not matter what you know. Again, think of how easy it is for students to find information. StartSOLE allows you to capitalize on technology and create an engaging lesson. Rather than be Mr. Hand trying to deliver a history lesson to Spicoli (If you know, you know) and just spewing knowledge that tunes out kids, give them the tools to find the information and then present it in some format to their class. You give students a choice in how they approach and present their content. PLUS...you become the facilitator and the kids are the ones who do the work. It also allows you to create your lesson plans in about 10 minutes for the lesson. You can give groups of students all the same question/questions or spread out and have different groups responsible for different standards. At the end of the day, you have covered standards while engaging kids and allowed them an opportunity to share and present their information.
This is another free resource on implementing PBL. This site is loaded with resources for implementing PBL in your classroom and transforming your classroom from ordinary to extraordinary. PBL is engaging and provides opportunities for voice and choice. Removes the need for so much paper/pencil worksheet boredom and inspires students to think about authentic real-world scenarios.
Jason Learning is an online resource with high-quality STEM learning experiences for students of all ages. Founded by Dr. Ballard, who found the Titanic, it is rich in video content and scenarios that can lead to deep problem-based learning opportunities for kids. Now, this is a paid resource; however, it is continuing to grow and add resources. Currently, they are adding PreK and early childhood resources that one of our PreK teachers is piloting and providing feedback on. There is something for everyone and again, you students could lead the learning, do all the work, and you facilitate.
Daily STEM is an amazing resource and is organized by Chris Woods. Chris is a teacher in Xichigan who has written the book, Daily STEM (A amazing resource to get started) and can provide so many ideas for what you can do to increase STEM opportunities. Chris is also a great speaker, facilitator, and trainer who can come work with your team at your building or district. Chris is an HS teacher; however, he can help anyone make STEM a part of their classroom. STEM is not a place, it is a mindset. You can reach Chris on his website. If you want his book, you can buy it on AMAZON by clicking this link and then you have a great resource. My suggestion would be to book Chris to come work with your team, then buy his book and use as a book study prior to his visit.
Like Chris Woods, Dr. Lori Elliott is a great resource and her book, PBL Anywhere outlines the process of going from a standard to a guiding question and through the PBL process. Below you will find an infographic outlining the steps that Dr. Elliott has researched and developed for effective PBL. I highly recommend her book as well.
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