Schuylkill STEPApril 2014

Evelyn Wassel, Ed.D.

Technology Tools for STEM

Education

PLEASE DO NOW…

Look at the lesson plans on the table. Write 5 lines in response to the following questions:

At what grade level(s) do you think students should be expected to participate in this lesson?

How are science, technology, engineering and math addressed in this lesson?

Share with a partner

Lesson in Action

Source: Joey Rider-Bertrand, IU13

What is STEM Education?

STEM Education is an intentional, integrative approach to teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Students become adept problem solvers, innovators and inventors who are self-reliant by asking questions, investigating, making informed decisions about how they live their daily lives and engage in their vocations and communities.

STEM

ScienceTechnologyEngineeringMath

Source: Joey Rider-Bertrand, IU13

What is included?

Students from all cultural backgrounds

Students from any gender or gender identity

Native English speakers and ELLs

Students with disabilities

Students of any achievement level

…STEM IS FOR ALL

Source: Joey Rider-Bertrand, IU13

ALL means ALL!

You cannot do “school as usual”

Grouping and leveling courses is not the answer. Look at your data. Has it worked?

Curriculum must be deliberately designed to meet the needs of ALL learners.

Teachers must expand repertoire of instructional practices, strategies and techniques.

Source: Joey Rider-Bertrand, IU13

Goals of the Session

Why teach STEM?Free Tools to Enhance ScienceFree Tools to Enhance MathSTEM Tools

Source: Joey Rider-Bertrand, IU13

Why Teach STEM?

Projected job growth in STEM related jobs over next 10 years will be 17%.

Projected job growth in non-STEM related jobs over next 10 years will be 9.8%.

Educational/Societal: STEM Literacy for all students, inclusion of STEM as part of a typical liberal arts education, develop educated consumers of information and products.

United States Department of Labor

“Our nation needs to increase the supply and quality of “knowledge workers” whose specialized skills enable them to work within STEM industries and occupations. Our nation’s economic future depends upon improving the pipeline into STEM fields (2007).”

United States Military Academy: Intellectual Domain

• Think and act creatively

• Demonstrate the capability and desire to pursue progressive and continued intellectual development

• Listen, read, speak and write effectively

• Be scientifically literate and capable of applying scientific, mathematical, and computational modes of thought to the solution of complex problems.

• Understand and apply information technology concepts to acquire, manage, communicate and defend information, solve problems, and adapt to technology.

• Apply mathematics, science, technology, and the engineering design process to devise technological problem solutions that are effective and adaptable.

STEM, Literacy and PA Core

3.5 Reading Informational Text

• Students read, understand, and respond to informational text-with emphasis on comprehension making connections among

• Ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence

8.6 Writing • Students write for different purposes and audiences.

• Students write clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content

Math Practice PA Core Standard#1

Make sense of problems and

persevere in solving them

Check their answers to problems using different methods and continually ask themselves, “Does this make sense?”

Explain correspondences between equations, verbal descriptions, tables, and graphs or draw diagrams of important features and relationships, graph data, and search for regularity or trends.

#2Reason abstractly and

quantitatively

Reason inductively about data, making plausible arguments that take into account the context from which the data arose.

STEM, Literacy and PA Core

STEM, Literacy and PA Core

Math Practice PA Core Standard#3

Construct viable arguments and

critique the reasoning of others

Justify their conclusions, communicate them to others, and respond to the arguments of others.

Compare the effectiveness of two plausible arguments, distinguish correct logic or reasoning from that which is flawed, and—if there is a flaw in an argument—explain what it is.

Determine domains, to which an argument applies, listen or read the arguments of others, decide whether they make sense, and ask useful questions to clarify or improve the arguments.

Reason inductively about data, making plausible arguments that take into account the context from which the data arose.

What’s in Your Toolbox??

Share with a partner tools that you have used to promote literacy in STEM classes.

Be prepared to share out…

Vocabulary

Students should be able to:“interpret words and phrases within a text”“write informative/explanatory texts to

examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately”

Write “discipline specific content”

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3sXseN80gSM/RzuENHFgVVI/AAAAAAAAAFw/cS92DeIbjr4/s320/standards+comic.jpg

How to Promote Vocabulary

Have students use words in sentences rather than copy definitions.

Essential vocabulary sheet

Have students demonstrate mastery in short or extended writing pieces.

Term What does it mean to you?

Picture Where can I find a definition?

What Could Students Read?

News sourcesNonfiction books

Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve JobsCheryl Strayed’s WildMalcom Gladwell’s OutliersMary Roach’s Stiff

Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers

Do you believe outliers are important for research? Give examples from the book to support your position.

Do you think Asians are prewired to do better in math than Americans because of their language? Cite examples from the book to support your position.

What Could Students Read?/ Write?

http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/lesson-plans/?page_id=474?&passid=83

http://pbs39.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/echo07.lan.stories.lpeveryday/storytelling-tales-of-everyday-life/

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/epo/educators/ThinkScientifically_1.pdf

What Could Students Read? Write?

LDC Tasks

Topics “What to do about climate change?” “Is genetic science moral?” “Has the Internet changed society for better or worse?”

Products Brochure Poster Short story Rap Monologue Letter to editor

Reading in Math

Math textbooks contain more concepts per word, per sentence, and per paragraph

Writing style is compact, little redundancy

Textbooks are written above grade level

Reading in Math

Proficient at decoding, comprehending, words, numbers, and symbols

Examples, graphics or exercises take first priority over words

Overlap between math and everyday English vocabulary

Teachers struggle with…

What are the specific skills or knowledge that students need in order to read content material effectively?

What learning environments promote effective reading and learning?

What strategies can be used with students to help them become more effective readers and independent learners?

McREL

Students struggle with…

Organizing ideas as they read.Making meaningful connections.Persevering through reading material

Mathematics Tackling vocabularyDecoding symbolsReading at the text levelUnderstanding text organization

McREL Draft

Communication Standard

Students will acquire the ability to read, write, listen to, and speak mathematics.Page 5, Crossroads in Mathematics

26

This is why we need to talk about math.

Actual student answer to a math problem

Tying It All Together…

How can the opening lesson on Iditarod be extended to a STEM lesson?

http://padlet.com/wall/STEMIditarod

References

Information for slides 3,4,5,6,7,10 from 2013 SAS Institute – created by Joey Rider-Bertrand, IU13

STEM, Literacy and the Common Core Standards by Shannon Reed, 8/21/12

CASH In

Cognitive-Intellectual

Affect

Strengthen/Share

Helpful