The importance of financial literacy

Financial and economic literacy is about understanding the importance of making appropriate economic choices on a personal level, as well as understanding the connection that personal, business, and governmental decisions have on individuals, society, and the economy.  

I have blogged about programs that help students develop their financial literacy skills. However, it is important teachers are also knowledgeable about the various aspects of financial literacy, as well as the best way to help students attain the knowledge they need to succeed.


OVERVIEW

There is a comprehensive program that can help educators learn about the aspects of personal finance and allows them to earn micro-credentials upon completion of modules and, in some states, credits or points to use for recertification.

Digital Promise, in partnership with the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at George Washington University, has developed twenty financial literacy micro-credentials, appropriate for teachers grades 7-12, that provide open access to professional development resources for use across the content areas. These micro-credentials support educators development of their students’ personal finance skills. (If you want to learn more about the process of micro-credentialing, Digital Promise has published a great overview!)

These twenty, competency-based, micro-credentials cover the following.

• Discussing risk and return
• Credit cards
• Buying or leasing
• Saving for retirement
• Learning investing
• Understanding credit scores
• Financial decision making
• Building credit
• Saving strategies
• Student loan borrowing
• Tax basics for teens
• Protecting identity online
• Comparing banking options
• Exploring career options
• Financial management 
• Comparison shopping
• Compound interest 
• Automobile insurance

The modules in the Digital Promise Financial Literacy program include many different modes of learning to help middle and high school students attain the knowledge they need. These include digital game-based learning, online discussions, graphic organizers, learning-by-doing, simulation based learning, problem based learning, applied learning, and performance based learning.

The modules also target the higher order thinking skills as students reactivate their prior knowledge, compare and contrast, analyze, make decisions, and reflect.

THE MODULES

The content of the personal finance program is separated into manageable chunks as modules. I explored all the modules, and wanted to share one that targets content I am passionate about - identity protection. I signed up for my free account at Digital Promise which brought me to their micro-credentialing platform, BloomBoard.

The introduction to the module included an overview of the method of instruction and links to supporting research for the instructional method for this module which is game-based learning. The introduction also included a suggested implementation of the lesson as well as links to a choice of digital games to use for the lesson.

This was followed by a list of the submission requirements for evaluation and earning of the micro-credential. These are shown below and also included a downloadable document which included the scoring guide rubric.

Once I had read the background material and investigated the included online financial games, I felt confident to teach the lesson about identify theft to the students. I would allow them to complete one of the games and then to collaborate in pairs, and with the class, about their experiences and gained knowledge.

To attain the micro-credential, I needed to go back to the questions above and complete the sections discussing how I introduced the topic, upload two artifacts, and (the most important part) reflect on game-based learning and its impact on student acquisition of content. There was also an optional survey to provide the resource creators with additional information.

I was very impressed with both the content and the platform of the module. The choices included allowed me, as an educator, to determine what was best for my students. The included research information and additional resources made me feel comfortable I had attained enough knowledge to teach the topic in an way to help students learn. The assessments to earn my micro-credential were meaningful and prompted me to think and reflect on both the method of delivery and student learning.

The Digital Promise/GFLEC financial literacy program can be used across the curriculum, and, in addition to helping students attain the financial literacy skills, it provides educators with the time to reflect on methods of instructional delivery, which can help frame practice in any content area!

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This is a sponsored post on behalf of We Are Teachers and Digital Promise. 
I received compensation for this post, however all opinions stated are my own.

Put the "make" in your makerspace

When my son was in high school, our high school had really old technology. There were no CD/DVD players, just videotape machines. So, when his friends were done creating their great multimedia projects on DVD using their home computers, they would come to our house to move the project from DVD to videotape. We had everything they needed to succeed.

I consider my house  to be a giant makerspace– I have a craft room for jewelry making, basket weaving, and paper crafts; I have a sewing center with all my material and notions. I have a full wood shop at my disposal. I have two desktop computer set-ups, one with a 3-D printer and one with a mic and Adobe’s Creative Cloud for creating. I have a small dye-sublimation printer, two large inkjet/scanners, and two small laser printers. I have all types of gadgets including 360° cameras, a 3D printing pen, digital SLRs, iPads, Android tablets, a Chromebook, a Mac laptop,  and a Windows laptop. I have a slide/photo/negative scanner, a USB turntable, DVD burners, good headphones, and green screens. (The only thing  am still waffling about purchasing is a consumer-grade die cut machine.)

My vision of a makerspace is a room which includes anything a student might need to create. It should give all students access to the low tech materials and the high tech devices. Not every computer has to be a powerful machine, but there needs to be at least one “blinged out” machine with a midi keyboard, scanner, good microphone, and a whole lot of high-end audio and video production software installed on it. Every student does not need that type of computer all of the time, but there is no substitute for it when a students does need it to create and render a 3-model or high-definition video.

Does the equipment in the makerspace area have to directly support the curriculum? I truly believe it does. Does a makerspace have to have Bee Bots, Makey Makeys, fidget spinners, and Raspberry Pi’s? I personally don’t believe so.  I think a makerspace should be more about creating than learning. There are plenty of learning spaces in schools — they are called classrooms. A makerspace should give students access to the materials, hardware, and software  they need to plan, build, create, and produce their project. There should be cardboard, duct tape, glue, and fabric, as well as computers, printers, cameras, and scanners. Makerspaces of this type are sometimes called makerlabs.

How does one decide what this type of makerspace/makerlab should contain? How should it be designed? How do you know what is the best fit for the students in your school? I believe some pedagogical changes may also need to occur before students start using a makerspace. Teachers must be given the time to experiment andsee how items found in the makerspace work.

Once teachers are familiar with the items in the space, this should be followed by developing creative assessments that allow students to create in the way they feel comfortable creating. At EdCamp Cape Cod in August, a high school teacher told the story of a class who came to the makerspace with a rubric, and had to create their own version of the Globe Theater. Several students used SketchUp, some used drawing tablets, others used Legos, one used Minecraft, and one student even baked a Globe Theater cake (at home).  The visualizations of the theater were all different and each student had the opportunity to explain their design process to the rest of the class. But all, except the cake-baker, had access in the makerspace to the materials and technology they needed to create.

What about the “space” in makerspace? Brainstorming, iteration, and development sometimes take collaboration or at least a discussion with a peer. A makerspace should have a place for students to move away from the larger group and have a quiet discussion. Chairs and small tables should be moveable to create specialized group work areas as needed. The walls should be covered in traditional white boards for writing and drawing. In addition, students need to understand how to work effectively in small groups, which is a practiced and learned skill. Discovery Education has a series of activities, called Spotlight on Strategies, which can help students learn to work together cooperatively and collaboratively.

Creating is sometimes dirty. There should be areas that have counters and tables with laminate tops and a sink to be able to wash up the paint and glue that will invariably be left behind. Small hand vacuums are great for glitter cleanup and paper shards that are left behind.  The high tech equipment should be kept as far away from the “messy” maker materials as possible.

There should also be a closet with a door (and window) that one or two students can use when recording audio. Too many educational projects are spoiled by loud classroom noise in the background, and students really want their final products to sound professional. Having access to a good microphone, like a Blue Yeti, is also a great addition.

(Updated 11/12/18) If you have limited funds, I suggest you start with items that are low-cost and then, once there is a plan for using that technology or device in a more comprehensive way, the school can move up to the “real” thing. For example, the purchase of a few 3D printing pens, like the 3Doodler  pens, allows teachers and students to easily experience what it is like to create a 3D object. The process is the same as that of a 3D printer– the pen heats up, the filament is fed into the hot pen, and it is extruded out the tip. 3Doodler also offers educational support. When it comes to 3D printers, I believe purchasing a high-quality printer that both is easy-to-use, includes advanced features like a camera to monitor the print jobs when you are not in the room,  and is a workhorse for the many student projects that will be printed, is the best idea. Having multiple lower-cost printers might seem like it would meet the classroom needs better, but access to a shared, full-featured printer would be my choice. I recommend the MakerBot Replicator+ for your 3D printing needs. In addition to it meeting all the requirements I state above, MakerBot offers tons of support to educators with their handbooks and certification programs, as well as Webinars and in-person trainings.

Students and teachers love die-cutting objects. Traditionally, schools had rather expensive manual die-cutting tools. Each wood block had one letter or decorative object and there was a press that held the block and cut out the letters. The updated version of these die cutters include the Cricut and Silhouette die-cutting machines that are found at craft and hobby stores. They make a wonderful addition to any makerspace. If the use of cut-out shapes and characters become a necessary part of the curriculum for storytelling, letter recognition, or decoration, the next step up would be the Variquest Cutout Maker. This computer-controlled cutter can cut different sizes of the same item (1 to a page or 20 to a page) and is fast and easy to use. The cut-outs from these new die cutters can make any project look professional.

Have you developed a makerspace similar to this model? What other materials or technology do you have for students to use to create? Share your thoughts on Twitter! #kathyschrock

Augmented reality in the classroom

Last year, I wrote a blog post dealing with the use of virtual reality to support the instructional process. I started the article with an explanation of the difference between virtual reality and augmented reality, which I feel is important to include again since, this time, the post will be about the use of augmented reality technology to support teaching and learning. The Augment site includes a well-stated overview of the two technologies.

Augmented reality is a technology that layers computer-generated enhancements on top of an existing reality in order to make it more meaningful through the ability to interact with it.

Virtual reality is an artificial, computer-generated simulation or re-creation of a real life environment…It immerses the users by making them feel like they are experiencing the simulated reality firsthand, primarily by stimulating their vision and hearing.

WHY AUGMENTED REALITY?

Touchstone Research presents an infographic that showcases how various professions use AR to support learning, access important information in real-time, and for marketing purposes. With the wide-spread use of AR, our students should be provided with the opportunity to become familiar with the the technology and use it in the classroom.

HOW DOES AR WORK?

The basic use of AR requires a few things– a smartphone or tablet with a back facing camera, an augmented reality app, and a trigger image. An Internet connection is needed for real-time overlaying of information. The triggers can be something as simple as a QR code, which launches an AR event on the smartphone or tablet, or can be a special printout or photographic images that is viewed through a specialized app. The continued development of great new apps seems to indicate that the use of the app to view a specialized trigger image may be the way things are moving in the AR arena.

One fun app that is popular in schools is Quiver (formerly ColAR Mix) which uses a printed-out and colored-in page to present the student with an interactive experience when viewed through the app. The Quiver Education app (US iOS app store: $7.99 and available on the VPP), includes coloring pages specifically designed for the education market including those for cells, organs of the body, and a specialized set for celebrating “International Dot Day“.

Here is a video demonstrating how this app works.

The EON Experience VR app (iOS and Android), uses the target below to bring the hundreds of simulations included in the app to life. Many simulations can be viewed using both AR and VR. The users simply download the data for the simulation and, through the app, points their smartphone at the target. The great thing about this is the target can be used even from the computer screen!

Marketing agencies have taken to AR to the next level to allow the user to layer furniture, paint, and much more over a live image of a room. IKEA, Houzz, and Home Depot are only some of the many companies using augmented reality to support consumers. Project Color, from Home Depot allows you pick a paint or stain color and virtually paint your home’s walls, as demonstrated in the video below.

[Commercial] The Home Depot – Project Color App ‘Virtual Test Drive’

AR is even used in real-time at this kiosk in a Lego store which shows the customer the completed Lego project by simply holding up the box of Legos to the mirror.

WHY USE AR IN THE CLASSOOM?

Adding interactivity to a classroom learning experience always enhances student engagement. To be able to view and manipulate a object being learned about can lead to deeper understanding and further exploration and questions. Drew Minock, in an Edutopia article, outlines some ways augmented reality can support instruction. Here are a few of them.

• Book Reviews: Students record themselves giving a brief review of a novel that they just finished, and then attach that “aura” (assigned digital information) to a book. Afterward, anyone can scan the cover of the book and instantly access the review.
• Word Walls: Students can record themselves providing the definitions to different vocabulary words on a word wall. Afterward, anyone can use the Aurasma app to make a peer pop up on screen, telling them the definition and using the word in a sentence.
• Lab Safety: Put triggers…all around a science laboratory so, when students scan them, they can quickly learn the different safety procedures and protocols for the lab equipment.

There are some great educational AR apps to support teaching and learning available.

• DAQRI Anatomy 4D showcases the human anatomy in augmented reality. (iOS | Android)
• Science AR has the teacher printing out the trigger Science AR posters which come alive with animation as students use the app to view the posters.
• Amazing Space Journey allows students to take a trip through the solar system. Available for iOS and Android.
• Star Chart projects the night sky with all the constellations, planets, and other facts while viewing the sky through a smartphone or tablet. (iOS | Android | Windows)

In addition to students using an app to view material created by others, by using an app called Aurasma, students and teachers  are able to create their own “auras” with links to information for others. (iOS | Android)

Creators take a photo or create an image, which then serves as the AR trigger, which in Aurasma is called an “aura”. Using the Aurasma app, students or teachers link that aura to online content, which may be a video, an image or photograph, or a Web site. When viewers use the Aurasma app and scan over those auras, they are presented with the online content in a floating window.

If you have a subscription to Discovery Education Streaming, you can create auras that showcase video clips from the collection and items from the other multimedia collections including image and photos. Students can also create an aura to share their projects which utilize any of these same assets from Discovery Education Streaming.

There are also some fun AR apps that allow the creation of place-based AR pop-ups. Two that are easy to use for teachers and students are Metaverse and Traces. Users can create quests, descriptors for places, and much more. Imagine the incoming freshman walking around the school and learning all about the building, or a student creating an AR overview of the local businesses as a service learning project. If you are familiar with PokémonGo, you will realize how engaging these pop-ups would be for students to create and share! 

INTERESTING  IDEAS

There are many other ways teachers and students are using augmented reality in schools. Here are two creative examples that I discovered.

Northwest High School has made  the use of Aurasma an integral part of their school culture. (Aurasma was purchased by HP in 2017 and was re-branded as HP Reveal, and then closed down in 2019).

This educator provides a unique way to use Aurasma and Powerpoint to create interactive experiences.

There is also a new type of reality called “Mixed Reality” or simply MR, which combines some of the aspects of both VR and AR. Dr. Simon Taylor, the Co-founder of Zappar which has created ZapBox, an MR solution, states “in MR, virtual  objects or environments are anchored to things in the real world providing a new and intuitive way for users to interact with virtual content”. This started as a Kickstarter project and is now available for a very low cost.  Watch the video below to get a feel for the exciting new projects that are coming to schools soon!

Do you currently use AR apps in your classroom? Which ones are your favorites and why? Are you having students create auras to share their work? And what are your suggestions for developers for mixed reality projects which would be useful for the classroom? Share your thoughts on Twitter! #kathyschrock

Using fidget spinners to target literacies

Fidget spinners were the end-of-school-year passion for students. A fidget spinner is a small device, usually with three “arms” and a ball bearing center. The basic spin has the user holding the fidget spinner between the thumb and forefinger of one hand and spinning it with the other hand. The ball bearing in the center allows the spinner to spin for a long time. My $17 heavy metal spinner spun for over five minutes and I was anxiously watching the clock the entire time!

I can understand why fidget spinners were banned from many classrooms. First, the distraction of one student having one and spinning away, and students who did not have one being mesmerized by their classmate’s spinner might be a problem. Secondly, someone watching the clock to time their spinner or trying fidget spinner tricks could also be distracted from learning. In addition, fidget spinners usually cost between $2 and $10 but some, like the SunnyTech Silver Fidget Spinner, can cost as much as $460! Although the high-end fidget spinners are not found in most classrooms, there is also the worry the more expensive ones might “disappear” from a student’s desk, so teachers would rather they stay in the backpack or locker and out of the classroom.

However, as with any new trend, what about embedding it in the curriculum? Get a classroom set of fidget spinners and see what creative ways students and you can come up with using them to support teaching and learning. The cost to get involved is under $50 for twenty-five students, and you can always label them “physics support devices” on the purchase order!

There are plenty of educators who have embraced the fidget spinner and are using it to support a lesson or unit.

LESSON IDEAS

Fidget spinner STEM challenge

Carla, a preschool teacher, reminds the reader that one of the best ways to teach science is to make each lesson personally relate to the student.  With that in mind, she ordered a pack of fidget spinners for the classroom. Carla then developed a series of STEM challenge cards. These STEM challenge cards combine the principles of science, technology, engineering, and math with fidget spinner tricks. The packet contains activities for preschool students, elementary students, and some blank cards so your students can create their own challenges for the class.

Fidget spinners in the classroom STEM project

Erin Flanigan’s blog post includes a wealth of information about the use of fidgets spinners to support the STEM curriculum. Her project has students…

• observing their spinners
• developing a spinning technique
• investigating the length of time of their spinner stays spinning
• finding the average spin length
• graphing the spin times
• comparing and graphing class data of all of the spinners
• responding to critical thinking questions
• looking at how human error can influence the data
• using what they learned to design their own spinner
• creating a slow motion video of their spinner (because) slow motion videos can help students observe motion and understand more of the science behind how things work

Fidgeting for physics: Spinner science in six steps

Matt Richard and Meg Richard provide an explanation of the how a fidget spinner works and the physics principles behind it in this Teaching Channel post. They also provide activities for middle and high school students which include both the use of a fidget spinner, as well as the creation of one, coding related to fidget spinners, and the scientific method of discovery!

Teachers turn craze over fidget spinners into academic lessons

This Education Week blog post article showcases Amy Garay, a third-grade teacher, who utilizes fidget spinners with her students to support some science and mathematics standards. She has them reflect on why some spinners spin faster or longer than others and if the circumference or weight make a difference. Amy has students make predictions, conduct test trials and then graph the results. Also included is an engineering design lesson by Nolan Wrage, a middle school engineering tech teachers, who has his students design and 3-D print their own fidget spinner.

Hack your classroom with fidget spinners

Dan Bowen provides an overview of thirteen ways to use fidget spinners in the classroom that range from using it as a time to using the spinners to teach probability. Sound ideas that you can embellish for inclusion in a classroom activity.

Science with fidget spinners

Any Cohen provides a wonderful overview of fidget spinners and how to use them in this Science Budding blog post. She also provides some lesson plan ideas, adaptations of existing lesson plans on the Science Buddies site, and links to additional STEM content that could be enhance the usage of the fidget spinner.

What the fidget spinner craze can teach you about viral marketing

This informational articles intended for Internet marketers, explains the “viral loop” process in business and gives tips on how to find these trendy items. This article would be a great addition to a high school marketing, business, or entrepreneurial class.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

There are a number of other neat things about fidget spinners on the Web.

• Two Thingaverse downloads for the 3-D printer creation of fidget spinners– one and two.
• A lesson plan, including standards, for the design and building of a fidget toy. The lesson also has instructions for the teacher and reflection questions for the students.
• Links to some online tools that may come in handy when using the fidget spinners as part of a lesson.
  • Online fidget spinner simulation
  • iOS fidget spinner | Android fidget spinner
  • Online timer and stopwatch
  • iOS timer/stopwatch | Android time/stopwatch
• A link to an instructional video showing the creation of a fidget spinner out of chocolate. ***Start at about :55 seconds in, and review the video before using it with students since it does have some language.***

What are your thoughts about the use of fidget spinners to support teaching and learning? Do you have any special ways you have students use them in the classroom? Please share on Twitter! #kathyschrock

Promoting inventiveness in the classroom

We are all familiar with invention—the process of creating something new and useful. But what about the creativity factors that play a large role in this process? The creative bridge between invention and innovation is called inventiveness. How can you lead your teachers or colleagues to promote inventiveness in the classroom?

The Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa includes a great overview of inventiveness in their “Invent Iowa Curriculum Guide”. Invent Iowa, started in 1987, was created to help teachers promote the invention process in their classrooms as well as allow students to showcase their inventions at state and local conventions. The Invent Iowa guide states inventiveness includes four components.

1. Fluency– the ability to brainstorm
2. Flexibility– the ability to think in new and different ways
3. Elaboration– the ability to add details or missing parts
4. Originality– the ability to create things that are new

In this program, the grade 3-8 students are encouraged to use a series of problem-solving steps when during the invention process.

• They begin by identifying or finding a problem that might be solved or lessened with an invention.
• They then gather information about related inventions.
• Before an inventor begins creating, he/she explores the idea in-depth.
• Finally, the student inventor imagines their invention idea and begins creating it.

As the student inventor explores their idea in depth, he/she needs to answer the common thinking questions to prompt them to think of all the aspects – who, what, where, when, and why. There is an additional question the inventor needs to think about, and that is “how” – “How can I make the invention?” “How can I get investors?” “How can I market the invention?”
The Invent Iowa Curriculum Guide includes a rubric which can help the classroom teacher develop the timelines and task goals with the students. It includes the problem, the solution, the explanation, the uniqueness, the benefits, the inventor’s log, and the invention itself. The higher order thinking skills of evaluating, analyzing, and creating, as well as the importance of reflection, comprise a large part of this process.

The curriculum guide also provides some tips for teachers for instilling a climate for inventiveness in the classroom.

• Create challenge and motivation
  • Stimulate student questioning
  • Asking questions calling for creative thought
  • Discuss the “unknowns”

• Encourage students to challenge their assumptions

• Provide freedom for exploration
  • Establish trust and openness
  • Defer judgment whenever possible

• Use affirmative judgment

• Permit liveliness and dynamism
  • Encourage student involvement and ownership

• Encourage playfulness and humor
• Allow for examining differing ideas and viewpoints
• Minimize conflicts
• Encourage risk-taking, rather than “safe” responses and conformity
• Provide time for thought and action

However, to spur the creativity and have students adopt the inventiveness mindset, there some interesting ways for the classroom teacher to foster creativity in the classroom. Kristin Hicks, in an Edudemic blog post, provides five ways to bring this about. Her thoughts and ideas deal with student choice, and include:

1. Allow students choice in the format of their assessments. Even have them mix and match formats, for example, a video with a recorded podcast review.
2. Try to set aside some time each day for students to follow their passions. Create a “genius hour”.
3. Use technology to broaden your idea of assignments. For instance, use Google Maps along with a novel, have students interview experts on Skype and follow experts on Twitter or in a Reddit group to gather their information for a research paper, etc.
4. Make sure your tech toolbox includes some unconventional tech tools. Have students create a TED talk about a chapter in the science book, have them draw an XKCD-like comic strip, or create a Fakebook page for an explorer. (I have tons of categorized online tools on this page for you to investigate!)
5. Encourage discussion among students, using the Socratic seminar method, so students are not afraid to take a risk, learn how to formulate good questions, and how to respect the opinions of others. (Take a look at a recent Kathy’s Katch blog post I penned, Civil Discourse in the Classroom, to investigate more about helping students learn to value someone else’s point of view.)

I also am a fan of Stacey Goodman’s methods of encouraging divergent thinking in his classroom. His expected results would lead to a climate of inventiveness, too.

• Problem-based learning: Instead of giving the students the problem to solve, have them create the problem questions based on their own knowledge and passions.
• Setting norms: Develop activities that encourage students to defer judgement. If students know they will not be immediately judged, they are more likely to offer divergent ideas.
• Inquiry and observation: Have students spend time observing, hold back on expressing their likes and dislikes, and follow-up with statements or questions such as “I noticed…”, “Why…?”, and “How…?”.
• Encouraging play and managing failure: Develop activities that encourage students to play and experiment, followed by reflection and iteration until they are satisfied with the result. Help them learn not to be afraid to make mistakes.
• Use art strategies: Goodman is an art teacher, and he presents some art activities in the article that would easily work across the content areas to promote inventiveness.

Another succinct overview of the components that can help lead to creativity and inventiveness has been developed by Tanner Christensen.

After looking at both the Hicks and Goodman criteria, I don’t believe inventiveness is tied just to the invention process. I think it is a natural part of the creative and divergent thinking processes, too. For some fascinating reading, the Creative Something blog, written by Tanner Christensen, explores the science of how creative thinking works to help his audience “use it every day to create, empower, and motivate”. Isn’t that what we want for students?

Allowing students to pursue their passions, in a way meaningful to them, is a process that can be mentored and practiced in the classroom. By giving students both time and practice in questioning, collaborating, researching, designing, iterating, re-designing, and reflecting, we will be empowering and motivating them to apply the process of inventiveness both in and out of the classroom!

How do you target the inventiveness process in your classroom? Share with the rest of us on Twitter! #kathychrock

Resources to support STEM

I like this definition of STEM from WhatIs.com:

STEM is an educational program developed to prepare primary and secondary students for college and graduate study in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In addition to subject-specific learning, STEM aims to foster inquiring minds, logical reasoning, and collaboration skills.

I prefer this definition because, in addition to including the curriculum content areas, it emphasizes inquiry, reasoning, and collaboration skills. Not being a science, mathematics, or engineering technology teacher, I won’t be recommending sites to support the curriculum side of STEM in this post, but I will cover the career readiness and skills needed to excel in a STEM career.

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ENGINEERING AND INVENTIVENESS

At the 2014 ASEE Annual Conference, Glancy, et. al., presented a paper entitled “Examination of Integrated STEM Curricula as a Means Toward Quality K-12 Engineering Education“. In this document, they outline the components of a quality K-12 Engineering Education curriculum.

• Process of design:
  • Problem and background: identify the problem and research it
  • Plan and implement: brainstorm solutions, judge the importance, and create a prototype
  • Test and evaluate: create hypotheses and design experiments to test the prototype; reflect and redesign
• Apply science, engineering and mathematics knowledge: utilize all three disciplines  for  interdisciplinary study
• Engineering thinking: independent and reflective thinking; learn from failure
• Conceptions of engineers and engineering: understand what an engineer does
• Engineering tools and processes: become proficient in engineering processes, techniques, tools, and skills
• Issues solutions and processes: understand the impact of their solution on the issues and vice versa
• Ethics: think about the ethical situations in the practice of engineering
• Teamwork: participate as a contributing team member
• Engineering communication: Learn how to effectively communicate understandings to others

I have been conducting some workshops surrounding the theory of inventiveness, which targets many of the same aspects as the curriculum above. The University of Iowa holds an “Invent Iowa” event each year, and they simplify the inventiveness process.

1. Inventiveness involves the ability to brainstorm. (fluency)
2. Inventiveness involves the ability to think in new and different ways. (flexibility)
3. Inventiveness includes the ability to add details or missing parts. (elaboration)
4. Inventiveness includes the ability to make things that are new. (originality)

Take a look at their curriculum guide when you get a chance. It is outstanding!

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LITERACY AND STEM

In addition to the use of the disciplines of math, science, and mathematics, there are other projects that tie in literacy as a component of STEM. The PictureSTEM project “includes instructional units for K-2 classrooms that use an engineering challenge and picture books as supports for learning science, mathematics, engineering, computational thinking, and reading”. For instance, the kindergarten lesson has students making paper baskets for transporting rocks. The unit utilizes the picture books “If You Find a Rock”, “I Get Wet”,”Pattern Fish”, “The Most Magnificent Thing”, and “Rocks, Jeans, and Busy Machines”. The students learn about the properties of paper when wet and dry, learn about rhyming words and pictures as well as patterns for weaving, build a prototype basket, test it, and communicate the results to the class.

The Novel Engineering project, for students in grades 3-8, provides students with the opportunity to “use existing classroom literature – stories, novels, and expository texts – as the basis for engineering design challenges that help them identify problems, design realistic solutions, and engage in the Engineering Design Process while reinforcing their literacy skills”.

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CAREERS AND STEM

Another area of STEM programs should provide students with the overview of the careers available in the many fields encompassed by the STEM disciplines.

• KidsAhead: in addition to articles and activities, this site includes a section on jobs in science and math in areas from crime scene investigation to extreme weather to the animal kingdom
• Cool Science Careers: this Rice University site provides simulated exploration of STEM careers and includes handouts for the teacher to use with the students
• The Occupational Outlook Handbook: this wonderful reference source compiled each year by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides students with in-depth information about hundreds of jobs. It is a great place for students to browse and learn about STEM occupations.
• Discover Enginering™: this comprehensive site includes information on the reasons to love engineering, the career outlooks, engineering careers, and what engineers do
• STEM Career Websites for Students: the Science Pioneers site, a non-profit organization in Kansas City, offers tons of links to more specific STEM career sties for students.
• Discovery Education Streaming has over 1300 videos and clips for grades K-12 dealing with STEM careers which explore the role of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in their jobs. In addition, there are curated content collections at each grade level range dealing with STEM careers that include videos and images.

Many private organization sites often provide a list of careers that support their particular mission. For instance, the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League), which supports the use of amateur radio worldwide, includes a comprehensive list list of related careers on their site. In addition, they provide a look at what amateur radio as part of a STEM curriculum looks like in a real classroom.

Do you conduct multidisciplinary lessons or units that include the STEM disciplines and other disciplines? Do you have a resource or a method to share to get teachers and/or  students excited about careers in STEM? Please share on Twitter! #kathyschrock

Celebrating Earth Day every day

Earth Day 2017’s campaign is Climate and Environmental Literacy, which they hope leads to student attainment of these literacies by 2020. The Earth Day Network site has a downloadable toolkit for educators who are planning an event, as well as a place to register their project and locate other projects in the area. The site also includes downloadable lesson plans to support the teaching of climate and environmental literacy topics during the week of April 22-27, 2017. These lesson plans target both the NGSS and Common Core science standards. There is also an overview of the importance of green schools including data and statistics on their site.

However, teaching specific Earth Day topics during a “special week” reminds me of the Hour of Code  that is worked on in schools during its own “special week”. I feel, if we want students to become stewards of the planet or coders for life, as educators we have to include these topics and related lessons across the curriculum and throughout  the school year. Students need to internalize best practices by getting a chance to explore many different avenues and aspects of these topics.

Think of yourself when you attend an educational conference– you go to sessions with speakers with great ideas, take hands-on workshops,  and collaborate with other educators for a few days. If you don’t continue to explore the things you learned or continue to communicate with your new conference PLN, you often don’t think about what you learned or  see how it relates to projects you are creating throughout the school year. Learning should be a constant event for both teachers and students.

GREEN SCHOOLS

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is one of the most recognized of green building certifications. There are many schools that are LEED Certified, whether this occurred during new construction or renovation. The LEED Certification for K-12 Schools takes into account the health of the students, the ability of the environment to become “an interactive teaching tool” by embedding environmental lessons across the curriculum, and the variety of different types of spaces in a school.

Even if your school is not trying to get LEED certified, the idea that the school environment can become a teaching tool in the area of environmental stewardship is a great one! Following are some resources to help students attain environmental literacy skills by using the school building.

BULLETIN BOARDS

All schools have bulletin boards, and having one or more environmental-themed boards, changed out monthly and attractive and applicable to students, can help students learn some important environmental lessons. In addition, adding student “voice” to the bulletin boards engages them even more!

Here is one I like!

PROJECT IDEAS AND LESSON PLANS

The Ian Somerhalder Foundation offers a quick overview of twenty-one green project ideas ranging from using only recycled paper in the school to setting up a rain barrel and using it for watering the plants outside the school.

The Population Education site offers even more projects that can be implemented to “green up” a classroom. My favorite idea is:

Data, Data, Everywhere: Practice graphing and data analysis skills by creating a “green data wall”.  At the end of each week, count up the number bottles and cans in your recycle bins and weigh recycled paper.  Create a graph in your classroom to track your recycling efforts over time.

I would also suggest students use the data they collect to create infographics to inform and persuade others to “go green”. Students could also create informational infographics for their school similar to this one which was created for businesses.

Scholastic offers some larger-scale projects that help students realize the importance of the environment with these ten topic overviews.

The Oregon Green Schools site offers a huge list of 125 different ways for students to help their school go green. The list is broken down in the categories of Waste Reduction, Recycling, Composting, Water Conservation, Energy Conservation, Hazardous Waste, Green Procurement, Transportation, and Communication.

The Greening Schools site, a joint project of the Illinois EPA and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center  provides a huge list of lesson plans for all grade levels in their comprehensive collection.

Do you celebrate environmental stewardship all year long in your classroom? Do you have other ideas for using resources found at your school for embedding environmental literacy skills across the curriculum? Please share on Twitter! #kathyschrock

Traditional literacy ideas and resources

This article originally appeared in the Discovery Education blog "Kathy Schrock's Katch of the Month" in March 2017 and is re-posted here with permission.

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I have identified thirteen literacies I feel our students need to succeed.  One of the skillsets is the “traditional literacy skills” of reading and writing. Because March is  NEA’s “National Read Across America Month“, I thought I would concentrate on identifying resources for the traditional literacy skills of reading and writing.

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Reading and Writing Non-Fiction

One of the students in my Wilkes University/Discovery Education Masters program, Lisa Francis, recently wrote the following:

In English, there is a great push on understanding non-fiction and difficult materials. There is also an emphasis on creating arguments and persuasive writing. I believe that students could embed media to understand these elements of reading and writing. For example, students could interview their peers on a non-fiction topic in order to make an argument or counter-argument. This exercise could eventually lead them to follow the same kind of structure in their writing, but it allows them to work with a medium they already know – technology and video.

One article dealing with the use of multimedia to support non-fiction reading is this one from Reading Rockets. In addition, Reading Rockets also offers a great overview of literacy instruction with digital and media technologies. The articles are older, but the main points are still very appropriate today.

Discovery has an online series called Spotlight on Strategies (SOS). These integration strategies provide the teacher with the background and implementation strategies, as well as a video, for teaching and learning across the content areas. Many of the SOS strategies are used by teachers in support of literacy, and teachers who are using them in unique ways are highlighted on the Discovery blog “My SOS Story“. Here are a few of those SOS stories that can help in the area of reading and writing non-fiction.

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Science SOS:  The Question Is

“The Question Is” is a teaching strategy that requires students to reverse the common order of question-and-answer. The teacher provides a content-related answer and students write a variety of questions that could work with the answer.

SOS Story: Sarah Yuska

Sarah Yuska, a 7th and 8th grade science teacher, explains how she used this SOS strategy. “Students were asked to read a section in their textbook that outlines all of the functions of the organelles. It is a very dense section, and I knew the students would not be able to absorb all of the information in one evening. It can also be very confusing, especially for those students who have some differentiated learning needs. I knew if I could get them up and moving while trying to recall the information they read the night before, it might make more of an impact than sitting and taking notes.”

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Science SOS: Six Word Story

The “Six Word Story” is a teaching strategy that allows students to practice summarizing and selective word choice. Students use an image or an article as the basis for a story that conveys a big idea using only six words.

Jen Cucchiarelli has her first grade students conduct bat research and then write a six word story. There is no better way to help students pick out the most important ideas than using this strategy!

SOS Story: Jen Cucchiarelli

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ELA SOS: A-E-I-O-U and Half the Story

“A-E-I-O-U” is a teaching strategy that asks students to interpret information from images or videos they have viewed and write down their thoughts next to five descriptive categories: A-E-I-O-U. Afterwards, students pair-share their favorite parts.

“Half the Story” is a teaching strategy that uses images to encourage students to process information and make connections. The teacher zooms in on a selected image, to show only part of it, and asks students to make predictions about the topic of study and explain their reasoning.

SOS Story: Marvin Rainey

Marvin Rainey, a PreK-3 school principal, uses various SOS strategies to engage students in reading. He states, after mentoring a first year teacher, “The students are smiling with excitement because the learning process is fun and filled with innovation.”

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Interactive Online Traditional Literacy Resources

Karen Ogen, a DEN GURU, has a wonderful collection of interactive Web resources on her Interactive Sites for Education pages. These support many content areas for grades K-5, including reading and writing, which is found here:  http://interactivesites.weebly.com/language-arts.html

The Read, Write, and Think site from NCTE, includes many interactive sites for grades K-12, in the areas of organizing and summarizing, inquiry and analysis, writing poetry, writing and publishing prose, and learning about language. These online interactive may be found here: http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?resource_type=16

What are your go-to interactive Web resources to support reading and writing?  Share with us on Twitter! #kathyschrock