Putting the "E" in STEM Education

Science, Technology, Engineering and  Math.  Each of these areas has SOLs.  Two of these areas have SOLs which are tested—science and math.  Technology and Engineering SOLs are not tested.  Which do you suppose get more emphasis in the classroom? 

I, naturally , am an advocate for technology.  However, not for the sake of technology.  Rather, I advocate using technology to teach other areas.  Technology education should be a by-product of its use to teach math, social studies, etc.  Engineering may be different.  If we focus on engineering, the by-product might be learning in other areas.  Engineering, simply put, is problem solving.  “Children, just like engineers, are creative, innovative, and imaginative when it comes to solving problems.” (Cox-Boniol, 2012)  Why not harness the child’s natural enthusiasm for problem solving in order to teach math, science, team building,  and communication skills (required to work together and to present)?  “Hands-on activities and  project-based learning are fun and effective ways to help students learn and retain more math and science concepts.  By choosing to teach engineering, teachers can help students make the links between classroom learning, their everday lives and the wider world. (Cox-Boniol, 2012)

A teacher might start by giving students an understanding of what engineering  is and what engineers do.  Some suggestions from the authors cited above include making Hollywood connections.  For example, ask students to identify scenes in which Willy Wonka, the chemical engineer, did engineering work.  Have them investigate how engineers developed the iPod.  Have them imagine other designs for skateboards.  Show how engineers worked to design video games, cell phones, etc.  A valuable resource along these lines might be www. Howstuffworks.com.

To access design briefs, listed  by grade level and SOL, and submitted by elementary teachers from Chesterfield County, Viginia, click here.  To access many other links which lead to more design briefs and resources, click here.   A design brief is the paper you would hand out to the students explaining the assignment—here is the problem, here are the materials you have to work with, have your group create a solution.

I’ve kept this post brief, giving you time to view some of these design briefs and consider their use in your class.

Work Cited:

Cox-Boniol, C. B. (2012). Teaching Engineering Made Easy; A Friendly Introduction to Engineering Activities for Middle School Teachers (Second Edition). Springfield, OR: Engineering Education Service Center.

Children's Engineering Convention

I went to the Children’s Engineering Convention not knowing what to expect.  A few initial observations: 

·         This was a national convention, with people from all over the U.S., it has doubled in size in the past two years.

·         Mainly elementary teachers attended, this means that the convention on engineering was 85% female, which seemed a bit odd to me, but, it figures.

·         Both sessions I attended started out making a  big distinction between science and technology.  My reaction was—Who cares?  But, the feeling seems to be that teachers must come to appreciate this distinction if they are going to be convinced that engineering and technology need to be included in their instruction.

I had expected to get a blog post per session out of this—giving me eight or so posts by the end of the conference.  However, I was called home suddenly and unexpectedly when we had a little family emergency.  Therefore, I expect this will be the only post directly related to the convention. 

 

You’ve heard a lot about STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.    You might get the impression that a big emphasis is being placed there. International  standards for engineering have been developed, and there are SOLs for Technology.  However, these standards are not tested on the SOL tests, and that means they are typically ignored by teachers.  The convention seems to have been birthed to address this problem.

The term “design brief” was new to me, but perhaps it is already moving into the “buzz word” category.  During the process of becoming certified in technology integration, I stopped using the 1970s term “simulation” and upgraded to the latest jargon-- “PBL” meaning project- or problem-based learning.   In PBL, if the simulation requires engineering to arrive at a solution, then the correct terminology for the assignment itself is “design brief.”  The teachers brief the junior engineers on what it is they have to design.   

To explain this further let me tell you about a session I attended in which the session participants simulated being part of an engineering team.  The facilitator read  us an abridged version of the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (English SOL—reading comprehension).  We were informed that we were to build a windmill which was to be a freestanding 60 cm (or more) in height and would withstand the “wind” from a hair dryer.  Our materials included a sheet of paper, 12’ of masking tape, 2 straws, 4 craft sticks (popsicle sticks) and  a small  container of Play dough, and, most importantly, a pinwheel.  For tools we were given a pair of scissors, a ruler and a meter stick. 

The challenge, evaluation criteria, materials and tools are referred to as the “design brief”.  We were then to follow the “technology design loop” or the “design process”—state the problem, brainstorm a solution, create the solution we thought was best, test our solution, and evaluate our solution.    The measuring addresses math SOLs, writing up our experience addresses additional Language Arts SOLs, and plenty of science SOLs are addressed, such as 3.11, investigating renewable sources of energy.  

The assignment clearly brought out the engineer in each of us, our group had a great time solving this problem—yes, I’m pleased to say that our windmill met the height criteria and withstood the wind—not all the groups could say that.  I have always felt that the “Unit Study” approach is the best approach to teaching.  Students from different grade levels could work on this project together if need be.  Again, math, science,  technology, engineering, English, and literature were all involved.  Come to think of it, the story of the boy who harnessed the wind also involves social studies.   What a great way to stir up some enthusiasm for subjects students might otherwise think of as boring.  

I return from the convention with a changed point of view.  Prior to attending I figured I was going because I was asked to go, but, it really didn’t concern me too much, it doesn’t involve computers and computers are my job, right?  Now, I see the value of this type of assignment and figure that if my job description doesn’t  include engineering, well, it should.  During the next couple of weeks I’ve decided to do a good job of something that I had been halfhearted about—probe ware.  ACPS has purchased probe ware—equipment for measuring temperature, light, impact, and I don’t know what all-but, I intend to find out.  You will probably see future posts on my findings, and perhaps I’ll be volunteering to come into your class and demonstrate the use of some of this probe-ware of which you may be only vaguely aware now.   Hands on investigation—I’m inspired now.