Group items tagged

I like this a lot! I agree that we are moving towards virtual learning experiences more and more in today's world.

The videos cover several areas in algebra for which I know students in my school could benefit from their use.

An interesting article about why students may not pursue STEM related degrees

Interesting article. My son started off as an engineering major. But after his first semester, he decided that engineering wasn't for him and he changed his major to education. It wasn't that he didn't know about STEM. He even participated in STEM internships in high school. I think the "M" ran him away. He didn't want to deal with all the math that goes with engineering.

Segments that particularly jumped out: - "there are three main components of teachers' knowledge: content, pedagogy, and technology. Equally important to the model are the interactions between and among these bodies of knowledge, represented as PCK, TCK (technological content knowledge), TPK (technological pedagogicalknowledge), and TPACK." -"Many approaches to teachers' professional development offer a one-size-fits-all approach to technology integration when, in fact, teachers operate in diverse contexts of teaching and learning." -"three key components of teacher knowledge: understanding of content, understanding of teaching, and understanding of technology. The complexity of technology integration comes from an appreciation of the rich connections of knowledge among these three components and the complex ways in which these are applied in multifaceted and dynamic classroom contexts."

Thank you for posting this. As an old science teacher, what I am seeing is the Scientific Process being expanded upon in this article. As teachers, teaching students to be thinkers and not regurgitators of facts is very important. I would much rather a student understand the process of "if I do A to B and C happens, but I wanted D to happen, what do I need to adjust to A and B to get the result I want." Rather than spitting out D happens when you do a to B. It is also interesting to see him mentioning at the top that the arts make STEM "sizzle" when you see what is happening at UVA.

It is interesting to see how STEM is being looked at in other places. One thing in the article, that I haven't heard someone else stress, is the importance of empathy. I think that empathy would ensure that the students would maintain interest in a topic. However, the article makes me wonder what curriculum will look like in the future if we make these changes. Certainly, different children in different places will have different interests and will want to learn about different things, which is fine, but will be difficult with the current system of standards. I also think that teaching and learning will be done in different "teams" rather than traditional classes where all subjects are compartmentalized and divided. Another interesting point, in one of the videos, was how the students should do the investigation and research rather than the teacher. I think this is a fundamental part of project based learning.

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

This a very good article. It is very informative.

The writer of this article mentions a concern that her and her teacher colleagues have about preparing their students to be "independent thinkers and problem solvers" ahead of "good standardized test takers". I really feel this should be a very important emphasis with regards to effective STEM education.

Bull explained that digital fabrication provides an engaging entry point for integrating more math, engineering, science and technology in elementary schools.

I am a big fan of the Wiley Online Library. Research articles are so important (and fun). I used this article as a platform for building my own spectrophotometer for under $100 (science fair project with my step-son). You would think that it would not be very effective in the classroom, but after analyzing gelatin solutions and plotting the data using Excel we got an r^2 value around .988, which is pretty good in my book.

Yeah! I love the reliance on empirical data and statistics (R2, yes!)

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.).

Computer coding is important to including STEM in education. This skill should be included in early education and it should build with each level of curriculum.

How 3D printing is becoming more accessible to teachers; includes a link to the Smithsonian about a release of some of their data sets which will allow students to recreate artifacts for study in their classrooms.

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.

The President concluded that the future of the United States depends upon our ability to encourage young people to "create and build and invent."

For my undergrad, one of my professor's was working on a smart phone app to help with Dendrology for students currently learning the extremely boring subject. It's a really cool idea, and caused me to be very interested in a wide variety of education related apps on my smartphone. I think smart phones has the potential to take education the next mile, but much like video games they need the extra little push to help accomplish stem education.

Innovation with implications in currciulum areas of Physics, Chem, and Env. Science

I really like how the website provides "featured articles" that are very current and pertain to "hot issues" going around currently. It's great to have a wide variety of information in terms of subject so that student's can learn more; however, being able to read up on something more recent might intrigue them a bit more because they are familiar with it.

I use the website all the time for student independent research idea generation! For our students seeking to enter ISEF, Siemens, and other science competitions new & exciting ideas energize them and get them to push to the next level - find mentors and perform high caliber science.

A I just read an article about an innovation that will be awesome for military and national security. This invention will guide bullets, using lasers, to targets at a distance of almost 2 km. I know this isn't education related, but the students of today will be developing the innovations of tomorrow. I'm sure this bullet technology was engineered with a wealth of mathematics, physics, and earth space R&D.

Dyson is a unique company that has been on the cutting edge of innovation for years. First the vacuum, then the air multiplier, out of which came the hand dryer technology. Taking every-day items and applying modern technology to improve archaic designs has been Dyson's mission. A fairly successful one, I would say.