I interviewed at Kathleen H. Wilbur Elementary School in Bear, DE and was accepted for the position. I am thrilled to be part of the #Wilburinspired family and start in my new position as the STEM specialist.
Wilbur Elementary is in Colonial School District, where I have been employed for the past five years. Prior to this position, I have taught sixth grade Science at Gunning Bedford Middle School. Throughout my time in Colonial, I have been heavily involved in all things related to Science and Technology, including Professional Development both as an observer and presenter and a multitude of committees and leadership opportunities. I believe all of my past experiences have prepared me for the STEM position that I face today.
I have taught a wide range of abilities at the sixth grade level but I will still be in for a rude awakening when I meet my new students... who start at five years old. That being said, my journey begins with PREPARATION. To prepare, I have been "pinning" anything and everything related to elementary STEM projects and Maker Spaces, looking for insight into what to expect and what I can expect the youngsters to be able to do at each grade level in the K-5 range, and looking for inspiration for STEM projects and Maker Space activities.
After researching the past couple days, I feel very strongly that there is a difference between Science experiments and STEM projects. And while any activity that incorporates two or more of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math could be considered STEM, I even find myself thinking about projects for my STEM class and activities for the Maker Space differently. Check out the differences in my mind in the chart below:
Wilbur Elementary is in Colonial School District, where I have been employed for the past five years. Prior to this position, I have taught sixth grade Science at Gunning Bedford Middle School. Throughout my time in Colonial, I have been heavily involved in all things related to Science and Technology, including Professional Development both as an observer and presenter and a multitude of committees and leadership opportunities. I believe all of my past experiences have prepared me for the STEM position that I face today.
I have taught a wide range of abilities at the sixth grade level but I will still be in for a rude awakening when I meet my new students... who start at five years old. That being said, my journey begins with PREPARATION. To prepare, I have been "pinning" anything and everything related to elementary STEM projects and Maker Spaces, looking for insight into what to expect and what I can expect the youngsters to be able to do at each grade level in the K-5 range, and looking for inspiration for STEM projects and Maker Space activities.
After researching the past couple days, I feel very strongly that there is a difference between Science experiments and STEM projects. And while any activity that incorporates two or more of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math could be considered STEM, I even find myself thinking about projects for my STEM class and activities for the Maker Space differently. Check out the differences in my mind in the chart below:
Preparing for STEM Class
To start prepping for my STEM course, I have started by looking up the Next Generation Science Standards for K-5, specifically related to the Engineering Process. It turns out there are actually explicit standards towards engineering! #winning I also bookmarked the Science and Engineering practices. Our district follows Learning Focused Solutions (LFS) curriculum design so next I will be creating a KUD (Know-Understand-Do) chart to establish objectives and then a Student Learning Map to show an overview of the Unit Essential Question, Concepts, Lesson Essential Questions, and Vocabulary for each grade level. Lastly, I will be looking for activities that allow students to meet the objectives for my unit, without overstepping into "regular classroom" teacher's science units.
NGSS Engineering Design Standards:
Grades K-2 Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12 How to read the standards Science and Engineering Practices Overview of Engineering Design in NGSS |
Preparing for the Maker Space
My new principal is very excited about continuing her vision for the STEM Lab and has also entrusted with me the task of designing and creating a Maker Space. To prepare for that, I have researched ideas for Maker Spaces and started exploring in different stores. First I started by reading and checking out the resources curated by Ed Sheninger. According to Sheninger (2015), a High School Principal in New Jersey who is leading the Maker Movement, there are five essential questions you should ask yourself before you beginning:
- Who will lead your maker initiative?
- Where will you create a makerspace in your school?
- How will you fund your makerspace?
- What do you want the key components to be?
- How will you determine the educational value of your makerspace?
Another great resource I've stumbled across was an article by David Rath (2015) titled, "8 Design Steps for an Academic MakerSpace". In the article, Rath recounts a presentation Russ Jarowski, a technology director, from ISTE 2015 Philadelphia. In the presentation, Jarowski lists "eight steps to work through in the creation of a successful child-centered academic makerspace" (2015). While explanations are given for each step in the article, they are as follows:
Lastly, I also came across "the Maker's Manual" that is embedded below. While the Manual is definitely higher level then what I plan for my elementary space, it does provide good insight into what we would eventually hope students would be able to do, which is to innovate their own creations and even go on to sell them.
- Purpose
- People
- Curriculum
- Equipment
- Location
- Funding
- Set Up
- Promotion
Lastly, I also came across "the Maker's Manual" that is embedded below. While the Manual is definitely higher level then what I plan for my elementary space, it does provide good insight into what we would eventually hope students would be able to do, which is to innovate their own creations and even go on to sell them.
Well ladies and gentleman, that's all I have for now! Stay tuned for pictures of both spaces and how I plan to organize them! ... Also which activities I choose to implement! In addition, I plan to use this blog to document both successes and reflections of obstacles that come from implementing both a STEM Lab and a Maker Space for the first time... after all, this will be quite a journey!
Want more? Check out what I've "Pinned" so far...
Ideas for the STEM Lab:
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Ideas for the Maker Space:
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Your comments are welcome! I'd love to hear from you :)
Do you have a Maker Space or implement STEM activities? Are you thinking about it? I'd love to hear your ideas!