STEM experiences can help children thrive in so many ways and teachers are always finding new ideas for improving them. One of the most popular options, of course, is through enrichment programs. The benefits of STEM learning are great but they’re often capped in the classroom, meaning that more school leaders are encouraging STEM participation outside school.
Perhaps for the best, there’s no blueprint for creating a school makerspace but there are some strategies teachers could employ that might help to set theirs apart. Whether your makerspaces are big, tiny, stationary, mobile, or full of high- or low-tech tools, here are some of the coolest characteristics that the best makerspaces share—both physical features and attitudes.
Despite this prominent presence in the real world and elements of STEM in so many of today’s most lucrative careers, not every K–12 student pursues it. More importantly, many students lose almost all interest in STEM before they even reach middle school. So, in a lot of cases, educators have to be proactive to reach kids while they’re in the K–5 grades. So, how can they?
STEM education is obviously a major piece of 21st century instruction and we know how important these experiences are for students. Many of those hard and soft skills they learn throughout elementary, middle, and into high school often help them better transition into a future career. Plus, for more and more of them, that career might be very closely related to STEM.
Particularly since the pandemic began, educational leaders and classroom teachers have had to rethink a lot of their instructional strategies. And, one of the biggest focus areas has been around SEL and ensuring all students feel comfortable expressing their thoughts among their peers—something that’s done a lot to bring conversations about empathy into the classroom.
The compact and affordable Terrapin Robot Sensor allows students to add audio feedback and increase interactivity of their Bee–Bot coding activities or Blue–Bot experiments. It’s really easy to use and provides teachers with a great next step as they start expanding robotics for elementary students, bolstering SEL connections, and introducing new types of technology.
It remains unfortunate that kids can no longer use the Google Expeditions app to find engaging and immersive lessons, tours, and experiences. The good news, however, is that the Expeditions 2.0 platform from RobotLAB makes a very reliable alternative. With a variety of classroom VR kits and others with AR, these solutions work great in 21st century schools.
About three years back, Logan and his family learned that he had inherited a rare genetic condition known as TANC2 Syndrome. Instantly, most of the normalcy slipped out of his life—with near-constant hospital visits, medical tests, and physical struggles—but one thing that remained was his passion for gaming, leading to his mom helping him learn to build his own system.
Codesters is a digital programming platform that truly helps teachers keep student coding opportunities flowing. In this Rising Resources post, we are exploring Codesters and why it’s such a helpful platform for anyone who is teaching coding in the classroom. To start, it’s free for educators to sign up and it helps make coding lessons fun and challenging for students.
There are, of course, many different pedagogical approaches that can lead to effective instruction. These days, teachers might be fond of promoting a growth mindset, a maker mindset, or perhaps even instilling a collaborative mindset in children. Whatever buzzwords we toss around, however, they’re only as effective as the purposeful teaching techniques that result.
