How to Turn Ordinary STEM Students Into Innovators

We are heading into summer, and like most teachers, I am starting to reflect on my year, and beginning to plan for next year. 

If you have read any of my other posts, you know this year was a BIG learning year for me! 

One of the things I started out the year gung-ho to do, and was not able to incorporate as much as I wanted, was to introduce my students to stories of other young people doing big changes. I had visions of my middle school students finding a deep passion that drove them to create inventive new ways to solve the world's problems! (no, I am not a first year teacher, just super optimistic!) This idea slowly crashed back to Earth, but I have not let go of it, so I am brainstorming ways to more fully incorporate awareness and critical thinking skills in my students next year. 

I feel that one of the biggest ways to get students to think outside of the box and find their passion is to expose them to other young people doing big things. Many of my students are urban, and have not had much exposure to anything other than their own neighborhoods. And Fortnight, but that is a whole other post.....

As I watch the Facebook and YouTube videos of incredible kids, I notice that their stories start out very similar- the young person had an experience that jarred them out of their everyday life. They experienced something that touched them deeply, caused them to start to look into it and thinking of solutions. They noticed a problem, and decided to solve it.

So, how can I offer that to my students? How do you manufacture a life-changing experience? 

One of the things I have decided to do is expose my students to more stories. I have been collecting short (and some long) videos on different topics that are related to our main unit topics. I have some articles as well, but my school is 1:1 iPads, so the students are used to having visual content to analyze, so I feel that will make the most impact. This would be a bi-weekly or possibly monthly assignment that students would need to reflect on, possibly do additional research, and then give a quick presentation on the video and the impact that the young persons solution had.  

I am also working to make sure all of the projects we do have a wider audience than just the classroom, so I will encourage students to think about how their projects can make a difference. This could be from a social activism angle or an environmental angle, as long as there is something the students must take into consideration when designing or creating their projects. Their project could look at addressing a problem within the unit topic, or even just making sure all materials used are recycled/re-purposed. 

I am really looking forward to adding more inspiring content into my curriculum next year! How about you? What did you want to do this year that maybe fizzled out, but that you plan on revisiting next year? 

Creating STEM: an Electricity Unit

This term in my 8th grade STEM classroom, we are moving into physical science. I am focusing on teaching an Electricity and Circuits Unit, and a Simple Machines Unit, with the final project for the term to build carnival and table top arcade games for the end of the year celebration.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have never taught a STEM centered class before. (That is probably about to become REALLY apparent, lol...) This year has been a lot of a hot mess- I have been trying to find my bearings, but I am starting to feel pretty confident, so what follows is my own personal musings on how I am planning my units, lessons and projects. Feel free to disregard at will...

Let me first say, that I have not applied any standards to my class this year. Not state standards. Not NGSS. This year has been all about design, engineering and learning how to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. Because i teach STEM, I am kind of outside the normal realm of academics in our school. I plan to spend some time this summer looking at the desired outcomes of my lessons and aligning them to NGSS. But ain't nobody got time for that right now- I am doing my best to stay one step ahead of the students.....

When designing units, I look at what I want my students to be able to do, or a project I want them to complete and think about what skills/knowledge they will need to have. Often, during the middle of a project, I will realize there are better ways to do what I am doing. Sometimes I will adjust; most of the time, I take notes for next year...

My overall end goal/desired outcome for this unit was that students would be able to use basic circuitry  and knowledge of simple machines to construct carnival games and table top arcades.

These kids have had STEM since 5th grade, but this may be the first class where they were truly thrown out on a limb and told to figure it out (you know, GRIT) so it has been an interesting learning curve (for everyone).

I started with basics- making paper circuits, and then beginning a circuits challenge, and ending with creating an electronic game. Some of them had done paper circuits before in earlier grades, but luckily, they remembered nothing, so we were starting from a clean slate.

I started with paper circuits to give them an gentle introduction to circuits and electricity flow.  By completing the basic series and parallel circuits with batteries, aluminum foil (none of your fancy copper tape, THANKYOUVERYMUCH) and Christmas lights, they were expected to come to an understanding that electricity will always flow along the metal (or I called it the path of least resistance). So if they did not leave a break in the foil and insert the light, no luck-no light! I also wanted them to start making a connection to the number of batteries and the number of lights (Mrs., it works really well with one light, but more than one and it doesn't work/gets really dim! REALLY? Fascinating....) My final expectation for this challenge was that they would have a working knowledge of series and parallel circuits.

This was an interesting challenge- some of them got it right away, some struggled to the end.

After the paper circuits, we moved on to something a little more common- using batteries, lights, switches and copper wire to create circuits. I created a 10 part Circuits Challenge that started with  simple instructions and amount of materials (for example: create  a series circuits using 1 battery, 1 light and 1 switch) and got increasingly harder, until they were building mixed circuits. For each of the challenges, they had to diagram the circuit, build it (and get it working), experiment with it (such as opening and closing switches or unscrewing a light bulb) and then record observations. Some of the circuits had them adding more components, and then observing the changes. 

This was an amazing exercise in grit for some students! As the challenges got harder, there was a lot of frustration, followed by triumph and success. Some got a few challenges along, then realized they were mixing up series and parallel (middle school student heartbreak). There was a lot of interesting observations, especially when adding switches into the mix. 

The desired outcomes of the Circuit Challenges was to fully understand flow of electricity, the importance of connections, and the function of switches and their effect on current. During the process of building the circuits, they had to learn how to test for current, using multimeters, and calculating voltage requirements. 

After they completed the Circuits Challenge, they were tasked with creating an electric game. For this final project, they had to create a working electric game, with 12 activated points. Many opted for making an "Operation" style game, or a matching quiz game. I have several who created sports games and mazes- I even have a mini-golf game! 

This unit was a lot of fun for my students. It even got a number of students really involved and thinking critically, as well as problem solving and trouble shooting. 

It also got them really excited about our final unit of the year- Carnival Games! We will be exploring simple machines, with a final project to create a working carnival game for our end of the year carnival! I cannot wait to see what they come up with!

Beginning a STEM class- My Journey

I recently posted about my excitement in teaching a STEM program using the PBL method.

Since we are now in our second semester (third term) of the year, I figured I would check in with how it has gone so far and what I have learned during this experience.

Luckily, I have been very open and honest with the students as I have been building my courses, and they have been able to put up with the craziness with good humor.

So- how do you start a STEM class from the ground up?  I would like to share with you my beginning of the year planning, what happened, and what I plan to fix for next year. This is obviously not the end-all-be-all of STEM class planning, just my process.

Beginning of the year-

My original idea was to break the year into each of the major branches of science, with the end of the year dedicated to a genius project. It looked a bit like this:

First term- earth science/environmental science
Second term- life science
Third term- physical science
Fourth term- genius project

Actual year so far-

First term-I did start with an life science/earth science unit on ecosystems. I had them create a biome, complete with plants and animals adapted to it. I had them create infographics on invasive species. Come to find out, this was almost exactly what they were doing in their regular science classes.......

Second term- this one was dedicated to my passion- saving the Earth! We did a research project on recycling in our school, made recycling bins, (attempted) to make bioplastic, and they created presentations to be given to the administration to make a change in the school- either increased recycling program, switch from plastic to biodegradable plastic in the cafeteria or install water refill stations for the broken water fountains. At this point, they are thoroughly burned out on Earth-saving, and I am learning that they do not have enough skills to really complete the work I want them to do.

Third term- we are working on electricity/energy, circuits and possibly coding. I have dialed it waaaay back- their activities are much more guided and my expectations of their work has come down a bit. I am giving more time for them to complete projects, much more guided worksheets to try to dig out deeper thinking answers and I an not expecting them to be able to research or to have intrinsic motivation to search for answers.


Plans for next year-
I have learned that my STEM class will actually be more about teaching them 21st century skills than about strict science. I am moving to have all of my classes have a more "internship" type quality, where the students are stepping into a role in a business, and will be taught the skills needed. This means I will move toward more of the basics- researching, problem solving, presentations, group work and peer reviewing, critical thinking, global and personal awareness, and a sense of being able to do something that makes a difference. I will try to line up authentic audiences for the work that my students do, so that they get a real sense of accomplishment beyond a grade. Here is how my plan for next year is shaping up so far:

First term- introduction to engineering and design (grit, problem solving, global and societal roles)

Second Term- Life/Earth science- we will work on an environmental impact projects, and human impact/ resource use (researching, global and self awareness/responsibility, critical thinking)

Third term- Physical Science- electricity and energy, circuits, simple machines, engineering (problem solving, critical thinking, presentations, real life applications)

Fourth term- I am still planning on Genius projects, but we will see.......

As we move into the second half of the year, I am becoming more comfortable with my plans and designs. I am getting better at guiding the students to create the kind of work I want, and that I know they are capable of. I am also getting better at not being a main science- I am getting used to not having pressure behind anything I do, or having to meet standards, or give out tests, which was a big one!

I can honestly say I am very excited for next year! I can't wait to share my end of year reflection with you- Stay tuned! Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in building a STEM curriculum in the comments below!

Teaching STEM using PBL in 2018

Well, it has been a bit since I posted! This year, I started at a new school, teaching 8th and 9th grade STEM, along with an Urban Gardening class. While I am super stoked to be at my new school, as you can imagine, I have been a little overwhelmed!

When I was hired on, I kept trying to get a handle on what I would be teaching. 

"You will be teaching 9th grade Life Sciences/ Biotechnology- but it isn't biology!" 

"Teach your passion!"

"Just teach STEM!"

Here's the kicker- because my class is in addition to the regular science classes, I have to basically avoid the major topics for those grades!

For example, I was going to do a study on GMO and genetics with my 9th graders- nope, they are doing that in their other science classes.

I started my 8th graders with an ecosystems/ invasive species unit- surprise!- they are learning the exact same thing in regular science! 

I also decided to teach STEM using project based learning (PBL) method. 

I have never done this before. I don't know anyone else who has done this before. 

There has been a bit of a learning curve...

So, for the first half of the year, I have been focusing on putting together meaningful learning activities about topics that I feel strongly about- environmental impact and personal action. 

I have also been learning as much as I can, as fast as I can, about teaching STEM, PBL and grading based on standards and rubrics. 

Now that I have a plan for the rest of the year, I am looking forward to sharing with you everything I have been learning, as well as working on new products for my TpT store!

My resolution for 2018 is to write about once a month on the various going-ons of the classroom and about my journey into STEM and PBL. I will still be sharing recipes and fun kids activities as the come up as well.

Thank you so much for coming along on this adventure with me! Stay tuned for my next post about STEM!