Blogs Over the next several years, 80% of the fastest growing occupations in the United States depend on employees skilled in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). To maintain our global competitiveness and leadership in these fields, our students must become proficient in STEM concepts, and more importantly, they must want to learn more. This playlist features classroom projects that students will remember long after a class is over.
See how you can make STEM come alive in the classroom:
1. STEM Design Challenge: Edible Cars: In this video students engineer cars using different types of food. Students gain experience with various STEM-related skills, such as problem-solving, working collaboratively, research, and planning and executing a design process.
2. Experimenting with STEM: The Barbie Bungee Jump: Mr. Roda’s class uses Barbie dolls and rubber bands to perform experiments and calculate the line of best fit.
3. The Heat Loss Project: A STEM Exploration: This project combines technology and engineering to explore the abstract concept of thermal energy and how it works.
4. Roller Coaster Physics: STEM in Action: Ms. Migdol teaches her students about Newton’s Laws and Roller Coaster Physics by building fun, safe roller coasters.
5. Fun with STEM: The Catapult Project: Ms. Acosta integrates science and math by having her class build and perform experiments with catapults. Students learn about simple machines, probability, input/output motion, and data analysis.
6. Applying STEM: The Brain Safety Project: Ms. Comer’s class studies neuroscience and brain injury by fashioning “helmets” for eggs. Her lesson walks students through the various components of scientific thinking when performing experiments.
7. 12 O’Quad High: Trigonometry in Flight: In this class students use math, science, and engineering knowledge to research, model, build, and fly a four-bladed “quadcopter” drone. This is project is a part of a unit on the law of sine/cosine and graphing functions.
MORE RESOURCES
1. CK-12 is a website with thousands of STEM resources for teachers and students, including study guides, photos and videos, activities, and examples of real-world applications.
2. In addition to offering some fantastic free programming with shows like NOVA and Nature, PBS also features a database of over 4,000 STEM resources for grades PreK-12.
3. The National Science Foundation provides lesson plans and other materials in a variety of research areas. The NSF also has a page for graduate STEM fellows K-12, which includes supporting materials from some of the best universities in the country. Finally, be sure to check out the Youth Radio section, where students ages 14-24 investigate and broadcast stories about science and engineering. The program has won several journalism awards.
4. The National Education Association has compiled its own list of the best STEM resources, both for curricula and professional development. A special shout-out goes to Engineer Your Life, a guide to engineering for high school girls.
5. eGFI posts a number of fun lesson plans and activities related to science, math, and engineering. They also regularly update information on STEM outreach programs such as summer camps and afterschool program.
6. Bringing Industry into the Classroom shows how some schools are working to apply real-world knowledge and situations in the classroom.
7. In Student Profile: A STEM Learner, see how students are being inspired by STEM, and how they’re passing on their knowledge to younger learners.
8. Closing the Gender Gap in STEM Education looks at the disparity in the representation of males versus females in STEM fields.
