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Good science teachers capitalize on the "aha" moments and work hard to help students not only understand science, but also foster a lifelong learning in science. Why is this so important? Because science is the one subject that encompasses everything in life and helps students be curious, ask questions, and make connections as to why the world exists as it does. It is the backdrop for understanding our world, and helps us to explain and appreciate it in new ways. 1 Science is the "S' in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. We define STEM education as the preparation of students in competencies and skills in the four disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math). A successful STEM education provides students with science, math, and engineering/technology in sequences that build upon each other and can be used with real-world applications. STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. Innovation leads to new products and processes that sustain our economy. This innovation and science literacy depends on a solid knowledge base in the STEM areas. It is clear that most jobs of the future will require a basic understanding of math and science-10-year employment projections by the U.S. Department of Labor show that of the 20 fastest growing occupations projected for 2014, 15 of them require significant mathematics or science preparation. - See more at: https://www.isa.org/standards-and-publications/isa-publications/intech-magazine/2010/september/why-stem-education-is-important/#sthash.WOLuwEXC.dpuf

As always, you delivered a good definition.

This article defines STEM education and explains why it is important.

This a very good article. It is very informative.

Resources, links, legistative information

STEM defenders

I liked this so much, I was planning to post it, too.

Jamie Kasper, associate director of Arts Education collaborative, provides her own perspective or interpretation of the TPACK model.

Favorite line(s): o "TPACK gives us a model to think about the intersection between technology, content, and instruction" o "We can say the same thing about technology: while we can spend a limited amount of time learning the skills to use it, we eventually need to move beyond skills to think about technology's use in learning."

The pencil analogy she makes is fantastic. "Think about this: in the 1500s when the pencil was new, people generally did not study how to use the pencil." I agree. In 1997 when I decided to go into teaching, the tools of the classroom (overhead projector, chalk, copier) really did not need to be taught as part of the college courses. Now, mastery of the tools we have and the software and websites available is necessary to be a strong educator. I also hate to use these terms, but you are "adding to the plate" of teachers by making them learn more than we had to learn in the past. But technology also "takes things off the plate" by saving great amounts of time in the daily routine of a teacher. I used to spend hours with a calculator on grades each six weeks (yes, six weeks) figuring out grades. It also took much more time finding a parent's phone number, calling, leaving a message, waiting for the call back than simple email technology gives us today.

This definitions draws a lot on the history of TPACK with Shulman but breaks it down very nicely at the end of the article. Excerpt: "Doering, Scharber, Miller and Veletsianos (2009) reference a doctoral paper produced by Cox (2008). Through this paper, Cox identifies over 89 definitions of TPACK. Through these definitions, Cox creates an expansive definition of the true nature of TPACK: TPACK is the knowledge of the dynamic, transactional negotiation among technology, pedagogy, and content and how that negotiation impacts student learning in a classroom context. The essential features are (a) the use of appropriate technology (b) in a particular content area (c) as part of a pedagogical strategy (d) within a given educational context (e) to develop students' knowledge of a particular topic or meet an educational objective or student need. (p. 317)"

The article "What is TPACK" most certainly gave me a better grasp on the framework as well. What stood out to me the most was the following statement: "The essential features are (a) the use of appropriate technology (b) in a particular content area (c) as part of a pedagogical strategy (d) within a given educational context (e) to develop students' knowledge of a particular topic or meet an educational objective or student need." I think this statement beautifully ties all the concepts and shows how important it is to connect these concepts. This reminds me of our STEM discussions and how in order for it to be effective all four disciplines had to be integrated, not isolated. I think TPACK is making the same statement loud and clear. We need to develop ideas to connect all three components as oppose to focusing on them individually. I think the "Tpack(age)" can strike some teachers as very inspirational and others with a feeling of change and overwhelming. I am glad to see that more and more districts are starting to introduce and rely on this framework, which will definitely help it become a future trend. However, in some cases it upsets me that some teachers are so close-minded to change. Don't get me wrong-I know that in some instances it may be a huge learning curve but having an open mind to the concept can at least instigate more support for the TPACK framework (which could include funding, proper training, etc.).

Ok, think I am starting to get this Diigo site a little bit.

This is an excellent resource for me. I will able to use it to help me in many ways.

Innovation to me is the enhancement of education using customized tools. Recently, there has been great buzz about promoting SMART technologies- a collaborative leaning software that accommodates a variety of learning styles- promoting varied instruction. The SMART notebook collaborative learning software is the world's leading lesson creation software that opens options for interactive lessons that support student-centered learning. Of the vast technologies within this field I seemed to find SMART boards as a very innovative tool for classroom instruction. A SMART board is basically an interactive white board that allows teachers to project a website or image from the laptop to the white board. These SMART boards are capable of storing and saving lessons as well as turning simple lessons into more interactive and customized ones geared to enhance student learning. I think this application is more useful in disciplines such as Science because science changes all the time and has the ability to be much "active" using the web- this is not to say that it cannot be useful in the other disciples however.

I love this site! I used to use this with my MiID students when I taught science. I would teach them about reading labels, calories, what's good and what's not so good. It was always interesting to see their reaction when I would have them to select a meal from McDonald's and we would look at the calories and nutritional information.

This site provides educational movies for K-3 students. Homework Help, leveled quizzes, games and activities for kids. Exceptional resource for teachers and homeschools. I use this site very often.

After I wrote the comment, I saw the brainpop.com site and was impressed with it none the less.

I like Brainpop for starting conversation in my AP classes.

A brief 10-minute video describing the importance of STEM education and its implications. Posted by Chesterfield County Public Schools (ccpsva). 19 Dec 2008

I completely agree with Tristan, it is always awesome to see stuff that we talk about in our coursework being implemented in the field. I feel like sometimes important topics to me are forgotten when we translate them into teaching in the classroom, but this proves me wrong. And makes me feel great about the future of STEM education.

I had never heard of "STEM" until a Chesterifield CPS principal mentioned it. I had to stop her and ask what "STEM" was, which, as a scientist, was very embarrassing. I think it is great that CCPS has embraced the synergistic effect of STEM subjects functioning together. Awesome!

Noteworthy statements in this document: - "the three sets of activity types (conceptual knowledge building, procedural knowledge building, and knowledge expression) are presented including compatible technologies that may be used to support each type of learning activity" - "technologies listed in the tables are meant to be illustrative" this work is based upon : Millar, R. & Driver, R. (1987). Beyond processes. Studies in Science Education, 14, 33-62. National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the national science education standards.Washington, DC: National Academy Press. This article's citation: Blanchard, M. R., Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2011, February). Science learning activity types. Retrieved from College of William and Mary, School of Education, Learning Activity Types Wiki: http://activitytypes.wmwikis.net/file/view/ScienceLearningATs-Feb2011.pdf

It just goes to prove that active teaching is essential in all subject areas, not just those involving STEM. Students need to be taught critical thinking skills, not just memorization of facts.

This is one of the many awesome "app flows" that graphite has to offer for secondary math. graphite.org is a plethora of awesome lessons for educators of all core contents, but I especially like their math flows!

One of the newest and greatest innovations continues to be video games. In the past, educational games have never quite met expectations, but with grants and contests such as this one, hopefully the games improve and students can learn something while playing video games.

This looks like a great tool for kids today- especially considering how attached some kids are to games. Children need to know how they get sick and what is going on inside of them when they are sick. One concern I have is that the game may be giving the message that all bacteria are bad and will make them sick. This is a common misconception that has led to the over use of antibiotics and hand sanitizer. Children should be taught that although some bacteria are pathogens, most are not, and they actually help other animals (ie. Humans) carry out every day functions. Bacteria ≠ Pathogen.

About four years ago, I went to a facility planners conference and they said the most improperly used space in the school is the library. It should not be filled with stacks of books, but it should look more like a media center where you have gaming centers, areas for public wi-fi access and a small section for books, but it would not be the dominant feature of the media center. It would also not close with the school, but be an area that would be open to the general public after hours. We will probably not build another school in Spotsylvania in the next decade, but it will be interesting to see if divisions will be starting to convert what we currently see as a library into something else.

This is an article by a 3D printing company (so obviously they have their own agenda), but I did think it presents some interesting uses for 3D printers for various subjects.