Finding innovative ways to engage students in meaningful, hands-on activities can make all the difference in the classroom. Let’s explore the immense potential of incorporating planting activities into classroom lessons, particularly for STEM education. As an educator who stumbled upon the joy of gardening during the pandemic, I can attest to the transformative power of cultivating plant life. There are numerous benefits of bringing gardening into the classroom, especially how it can foster a deep understanding of environmental care and its impact on our future.
Cultivating Knowledge: The Transformative Power of Planting Activities
Topics: Lessons, Science Lessons, tips for teachers, edtech, steam lessons, STEM education
STEM Lesson Idea: Using Virtual Learning to Drive Environmental Change
Many teachers are struggling with how to address STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) topics in this time of social-distancing and remote-learning. Even for schools that are meeting in person, many of the hands-on lesson plans that teachers might have previously utilized are incredibly challenging under distancing and cleanliness guidelines. After all, who really has time to sanitize every block in a base-ten-blocks set between students? No one.
Topics: STEM Lessons, STEM, STEAM, distance learning, virtual classroom, steam lessons, STEM education, hybrid learning, Virtual STEM kits
Using Technology to Teach Art, Engineering, and Design from a Distance
Distance and hybrid learning environments are particularly tricky for engineering, design, and art teachers. Unless you can send packets of activity-specific supplies home with your students, you have to be flexible and work around the resources available in each student’s home, which can vary greatly. You can’t always rely on students having paints, construction paper, or popsicle sticks readily available. Even what were once household staples like paper-towel rolls may not be available in some eco-friendly households that only use reusable cloths. So how can educators provide a complete STEM course with these variables in mind?
Topics: STEM Lessons, STEM, distance learning, distance teaching, steam lessons, STEM education, hybrid learning, MyStemKits, Tinkercad
If you want to learn modeling, MyStemKits STEAM Design Challenges are definitely the way to go about it. The activities guide you step-by-step through the process of creating a variety of objects, while equipping you with the skills necessary to build your own unique constructions. To supplement that collection of resources, MyStemKits has assembled a general “tips toolbox” of things to consider and strategies to employ for successful 3D modeling.
Topics: STEM Lessons, STEM, STEAM, steam education, steam lessons, 3D printing, STEM education, Robo3D, MyStemKits
Neil Armstrong and landing on the moon. The space shuttle Challenger. The International Space Station. Pictures of ice from the Mars rovers. These are the different things that come to my mind when thinking of space exploration and education. These are topics that have probably been discussed, researched, and studied in classrooms everywhere. But how often is space exploration a part of student learning?
Topics: STEM Lessons, STEAM, steam education, steam lessons, STEM education, Mimio MyBot, MyStemKits
Eons ago, when I was in elementary school, we did a unit on fossils and their importance on understanding how prehistoric plants and animals lived. I was fascinated and for a brief moment in 4th grade, I wanted to be a paleontologist. I would stare at all of the pictures of the different fossils and dream about going on a true-blue dig and discover something cool like a fossil from a mammoth or saber tooth tiger. Of course, I never did become a paleontologist instead choosing to teach because that feeling of excitement when I learned something new was one I wanted all young learners to experience. But I do wonder if my teacher had the technology to make different fossils for closer study maybe I would have chosen the paleontology path.
Topics: Education Technology, Lessons, STEM Lessons, STEM, STEAM, steam lessons, 3D printing, STEM education