60. Why Should You Have More Than One Solution?
“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one we have.”
- Émile-Auguste Chartier, French philosopher
After many class discussions of failure, social-emotional learning (SEL), and upstairs/downstairs brain, one of Claire’s 6th grade students asked, “Why do you think that [failure is] required? If you’re successful the first time, why isn’t that a victory? Why is failure necessary? Why do you HAVE to fail?” Taking this personally as an engineer, Claire mulled this over and found the quote above as she began examining how to better explain this to her students. Tune in as Natasha details her most recent NSTA Conference venture (and how teachers fared compared to the engineering class in a prior episode) and Claire tells the truth about why you need more than one idea.
59. How to Motivate Students and Regulate Emotions in STEM
Rewards work well if you have a skill or a task that is mechanical, but what about in STEM? How do you get your students to be more intrinsically motivated versus wanting those extrinsic rewards? Tune in as Claire recaps her Invention Convention with Natasha and all of the ways she was surprised by her students. Learn how you can incorporate motivational tools and emotion regulation methods into your STEM class.
58. Are You Training Up Innovators?
You can come up with anything you want. There are no constraints. It sounds like the perfect formula… for disaster. It’s been proven time and time again that we, and especially our students, need constraints. But how do you give them constraints without stifling their creativity? Enter Invention Convention! Tune in as Natasha questions Claire on her school’s very first Invention Convention and other important facets of this amazing corner of STEM (like wondering if we need/will get a Starbucks on the moon?), the difference between invention and innovation, and how you can use these concepts to inspire your students.
57. How to Organize a STEM Summer Camp
Are you in search of inspiration for a STEM summer camp? How do you keep your kids learning while having fun? Whether you’re exploring history and learning about other countries, building solar ovens, or even welcoming new people to Mars with a solar tower, tune in as Claire and Natasha discuss all things STEM to inspire your summer camp!
56. What Do Kids Need To Prepare For Engineering?
How does a group of undergraduate engineering students perform on one of Vivify’s most popular STEM activities, the space lander design challenge? Well let’s just say we have seen middle school students with more successful designs! In this episode of The STEM Space, Natasha shares her experience in teaching engineering students, who plan to become STEM teachers, how to use a design challenge to promote learning of science. She describes the phases of the learning cycle, and how the space lander design challenge is a great way to apply and deepen understanding of the concepts of drag, stability, and shock absorption. Claire and Natasha also compare the engineering design process used in STEM classrooms to real world engineering.
55. How to Teach STEM During Women's History Month
March is Women’s History Month! Can you name something invented by a woman? How about windshield wipers, Wite-OutⓇ, heating with solar power, the Brooklyn Bridge, the step trash can, and even every kid’s favorite fish-shaped snack? In this episode, Natasha and Claire discuss how to celebrate the contributions of women through hands-on STEM activities for your classroom.