Spotlight on STEM

After writing my "ASCA Was Spicy" post and sharing my STEM presentation, I was delighted to be contacted by Marissa Zych, a student at Rochester Institute of Technology.  Marissa is working to increase awareness of nonprofit organizations that support STEM initiatives for younger students. I am so excited to have her guest post and share some information and resources with school counselors that we can use at our individual school levels!   

Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela

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The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math subjects, most commonly known as  
STEM, have been the focus of many school districts and education initiatives in recent years. As the statistics surrounding STEM continue to grow more alarming, nonprofits and educators are working together to build a base that provides students the groundwork needed to succeed within these fields.

Currently, nineteen nations have high school students performing better in science than those within United States, and 36 percent of high school students within the US are not ready for college-level sciences. To further expand upon these discrepancies, 36 percent of students that declare a major within the STEM specialities do not obtain a degree within these fields, and only one-third of bachelor degrees obtained in the United States are within the STEM fields, compared to China (53%) and Japan (63%).

                                                                                                                                              
Though these statistics are startling, teachers and nonprofits alike are focused on creating resources to increase proficiency within these fields. Nonprofits nationwide provide much-needed complements to the regular school day activities and lessons. These programs have the ability to continue to expand upon the education that students obtain within school, providing resources and continued growth within specific subjects that would otherwise be unattainable. For many kids, they can even help provide the motivation to finish high school and find their passion for continuing education.

There are a multitude of nonprofits that build upon what is taught within the classroom and assist teachers. Based in Chicago, IL, STEM CampUS is a week-long immersion summer camp that brings together students interested STEM careers. Students are able to meet with Teza Technologies employees, and participate in a mentorship program with STEM professionals. This program is created by After-School All-Stars, whose mission is to provide comprehensive after-school programs that keep children safe and help them succeed in school and life. STEM CampUS was created with the support of Teza Technologies CEO Misha Malyshev, and this nonprofit is focused on providing an immersive high-school transition program, while also bringing together students interested in the STEM field together to experience and explore STEM careers.

Another nonprofit that assists students interested in the STEM field is AspireIT, a nonprofit founded by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). NCWIT uses a peer-to-peer model to educate young women in computing to help correct the imbalance of gender diversity in technology. This outreach program connects high school and college students with young students interested in learning the fundamentals in programming and computational thinking.  Check out their video below!

AspireIT Promo Spring 2014 from NCWIT on Vimeo.

Though the AspireIT program targets high school students, NCWIT also offers resources for K-12 education, such as e-Textiles-in-a-Box. This resource helps teach young students about electronics and computing, while also providing a fun activity.

There are a plethora of additional resources that aid teachers within the classroom. To educate students about what life is like for a girl within the STEM fields, look to Engineer Girl. This comprehensive website showcases why one should become an engineer, while also outlining specific skills and resources needed to work in these fields. Their current "Featured Interview" is on Kalyani Mallela, an electrical engineer at Starkey Hearing Technologies. In addition, NASA created a webpage that celebrates the women that work there. Women @ NASA provides personal stories and the path that these women took to get to NASA. All of these websites provide resources that can be used within the classroom to highlight STEM fields and the people within them, and allow students to learn about real-world application of these subjects.

Within the education field, nonprofits target a variety of subjects to allow for growth and advancement specifically within certain sectors. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are a key target to many nonprofits. Utilizing the base that the education system constructs, nonprofits allow for continued education and provide advancements within specific fields. With these resources, one hopes that we can continue to increase the proficiency in science throughout the United States.

                                                                                           ~ Marissa
*Marissa can be reached at marrisazych866@gmail.com if you would like to contact her with any questions. Infographic above from teacherconvoy.com.
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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom in STEM

Who doesn't love that catchy refrain "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom will there be enough room" in the children's classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom? The book  is one of those beloved stories that many children have on their bookshelves and most primary educators read to their students at some point in the school year. Back in the fall I got two grants for STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)  projects at my school, which included delivering some STEM lessons in the classroom. I decided to kick off my 2015 STEM lesson series in Kindergarten using Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  You may remember this 2014 STEM lesson I wrote about here.

My goal of the STEM lesson was to encourage creativity, teamwork, and problem solving while introducing the career of engineer.  I started off with this great YouTube video from a MIT student.

Although it used a lot of higher level vocabulary words and concepts, it kept the students' attention with its humor and engaging topic of creating a volleyball launcher. After all, what Kindergarten student wouldn't want to play with something like that?! The video did a great job of reviewing the design process and could easily be used all the way through 5th grade, if not further into middle school. To ensure it worked with Kindergarten students, I paused periodically throughout the video to explain what was happening and ask my Kindergarten students comprehension questions as they learned about becoming a design engineer for the day. 

Next, I read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  We did choral reading for the refrain to incorporate some literacy elements. After completing the story, we identified that the main problem was the letters falling off the tree. Then, we put on our imaginary design hats to become design engineers for the day! We got to work with the following steps to design our own letters that would NOT fall off of our tree (yes, there was a tree cut from my yard to bring that "wow" factor to the lesson--see below). Students worked in pairs to complete the project.

1)  Assigning the letter:  Each pair received a picture of an animal  (like the one to the right) and had to figure out the initial sound and letter to begin their project.

2)  Planning:  Each pair received a planning notebook for students to create their letter prototypes.  We talked about drawing "bubble letters" so we could create letters that we would be able to cut out of paper or cardboard like an ornament.  Some students used the planning drawing as a template and traced it for the final product while others used it solely for brainstorming.

3)  Designing:  Students received paperboard for their letter final product (think paperboard from cereal boxes, fruit snacks, etc. donated by parents) and completed the letter design.

 4)  Problem-Solving:  Students cut out their final version of the letter from the paperboard and had to brainstorm how they would use glue, yarn, and other scraps of cardboard to create something that would allow the letter to stay on the tree.

5)  Reflection/Modification:  Students tested their products.  We stopped often to do "sparkle alerts" to highlight students who were completing the steps and to show successful versions of hanging letters.  We also stopped to help teams brainstorm if they were struggling.  Once a few teams were able to come up with ideas, I encouraged students to try different ideas so they didn't all use the same yarn loop solution and continued to be creative.  The most common ways the students solved the problem were to tie the string through a letter opening (think P), tear a small hole in the letter for the yarn to create a loop, and use glue to paste one end of the yarn to the letter while tying the other end to the three. However, there were some "out of the box" ideas like using extra cardboard to create a hook for the letter or designing the letter in a way that created a hook for hanging.

6) Final Touches:  Students decorated their letters and hung them on the tree (check out a few examples below. It was flush with letters by the time all of my classes were through with the lessons).

This lesson took two to three class meetings depending on the class but was a fun way to talk about the job of an engineer and the engineering design process.  It also helped Kindergarten students practice teamwork, which is pretty hard at this age.  At the end of our lessons students had to rate their teamwork skills with a thumbs up, down, or sideways, and we reflected on how they could improve teamwork the following lesson using this teamwork checklist.

You may also enjoy this Voicethread I made as part of a professional development Moodle course I am completing in exchange for a Chromebook I was awarded earlier in the year.   Check back soon at my TPT store to see STEM center cards and these lesson resources if you want to incorporate STEM into your comprehensive school counseling program.

Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~  Angela