STEM Education
More
and more districts today are gearing towards incorporating a STEM teacher within
their schools. Sometimes, STEM is
taught in isolation, which has proven to be less successful than co-taught
within a curriculum; however, the important piece is that there is an initial
shift in doing so. The purpose for
this shift is because the United States is “falling behind” economically in the
areas of math and science.
Countries such as Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, and Poland have
surpassed the United States in these concentrations. This is unfortunate; as the corporate world’s new reality
includes much of both. “Overall,
the purpose of STEM…is to help students become more interested and engaged in
their mathematics and science classes in school so they have the opportunity
for a future STEM career.”
The
University of Central Florida is one of the top schools that specialize in
technology. To begin this
movement, UCF hosted a series of seven two-day STEM camps, and was found to be
beneficial. These camps targeted
students on free and reduced lunches, as well as students with high-incidence
disabilities. Some camps were
focused on the minority gender in this concentration—female—and there were also
camps for any or all that were interested. The article then goes on to discuss the best ways to go
about setting up a STEM camp, including the following considerations:
1. Administer a Pre and Post-Assessment to monitor student progress. Not only is the information beneficial for the teacher and student, but depending on where one receives his or her financial support—it can also be used to help obtain sponsors, to demonstrate growth in these areas,, assuming all goes well.
1. Administer a Pre and Post-Assessment to monitor student progress. Not only is the information beneficial for the teacher and student, but depending on where one receives his or her financial support—it can also be used to help obtain sponsors, to demonstrate growth in these areas,, assuming all goes well.
2. Find funding.
As mentioned previously, if it is difficult for a school to obtain
funding, the article encourages
one to seek sponsorship from local or national foundations, such as The
National Science
Foundation.
3. Determine focus. Students should be able to take what
they are learning in STEM and connect it back
into the general education classroom.
Creating a relationship between the classroom, STEM, and
the real world is key in order for student success.
4. Determine the format for which
the classes should be taught.
Consider modifications that may be
necessary for students. What type
of technology is needed?
5. Carefully select and construct
learning activities that are meaningful to students. Strive to avoid worksheets
and long lectures.
6. Use technology!
Consider videoconferencing, Web cams, and pre-recorded video clips.
7. Over plan for the “quick finishers”.
7. Over plan for the “quick finishers”.
8. Reach out to experts and
collaborate! Consider hosting
guest speakers and those willing to volunteer
as an aide for disabled students.
9. Gather data and reflect at the
end of the camp. What can be
improved for next time?
10. Stay organized!
Above
are just some of the many suggestions STEM Education suggests to consider,
prior to hosting a STEM camp. “To
properly prepare students for our society, they must be exposed to STEM
content. A great way to increase
the exposure is to conduct a STEM camp.”
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