Collaborating for STEM Education, Research and Commercialization Forum VII ma...
Bring STEM to Every Student
1. STEM:
What’s Possible?
HOW TO BRING STEM TO EVERY STUDENT
Northern California STEM Day
Redding, California ~ Friday, May 15, 2015
Presented by Jim Stolze
2. STEM: What’s Possible?
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HAVE YOU EVER WISHED ALL STUDENTS COULD…
• Creatively problem-solve?
• Understand complex software?
• Work in true collaborative teams?
• Think outside the box?
• Follow detailed, technical directions?
• Use basic and more complex tools?
• Measure?
• See the connections between school and the real world?
• Understand how technology and design impact society?
• Apply what they learned?
• Overcome adversity and failure?
3. TWO STEM DEFINITIONS
“In the STEM environment, there is less emphasis on activities that demonstrate
content and a greater focus on activities that allow students to engage in real
world problems and experiences through project-based, experiential learning
activities that lead to higher level thinking. Learning in a STEM environment
compels students to understand issues, distill problems, and comprehend
processes that lead to innovative solutions.” Idaho Dept. of Education (2013)
“Everybody who thinks they know what STEM means, knows what it means
within their field, and everybody else is defining it to fit their own needs. It is
truly impossible to define STEM because it means so much for so many different
groups of people. Whether it is researchers, science and mathematics teachers,
the aerospace industry, or the construction industry, they all have one thing in
common: STEM is about moving forward, solving problems, learning, and
pushing innovation to the next level.” Jonathan Gerlach, NSTA Reports (2012)
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STEM: What’s Possible?
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THE COMMON CORE DEFINITION OF STEM
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
DIMENSION THREE – “Students should learn how
science is utilized, in particular through the
engineering design process, and they should come to
appreciate the distinctions and relationships
between engineering, technology, and applications
of science.”
STEM: What’s Possible?
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THE COMMON CORE DEFINITION OF STEM
Eight Standards of Mathematical Practice
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
4. Model with mathematics.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Attend to precision.
7. Look for and make use of structure.
8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
STEM: What’s Possible?
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THE COMMON CORE DEFINITION OF STEM
Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
• DOK Level One: Recall & Reproduction
locate, show, solve, follow basic directions, recall, retrieve, brainstorm
• DOK Level Two: Skills & Concepts
explain, record, organize, write, categorize, compare, find, name, interpret
• DOK Level Three: Strategic Reasoning
connect, apply, design, generalize, analyze, verify, justify, synthesize, build
• DOK Level Four: Extended Reasoning
generalize & apply; make new; conduct experiment; analyze, organize, & justify;
design, solve, & model; evaluate; illustrate & connect multiple themes
STEM: What’s Possible?
7. MESA VIEW’S DEFINITION OF STEM
When a Mesa View student launches Estes rockets,
builds a functional windmill, designs a Da Vinci Day
vehicle, or learns from an actual astronomer during a
JPL teleconferencing session, he or she is experiencing
STEM. The philosophy behind STEM is that students
understand math and the sciences better when they
experience it firsthand. Learning about parabolas in
the textbook is one thing, but computing the actual
parabola of your rocket – a rocket you built – is
something else all together. Students “get it” when
they have to use their minds, hands, tools, and
technology to design, build, blow up, improve, and
explain their own solutions to real-world problems.
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STEM: What’s Possible?
8. THE STEM CHALLENGE
How does an organization actualize their definition of STEM?
• …while handling competing issues
• …while developing community and civic buy-in
• …while connecting with other educational organizations
• …while fostering links with business
• …while addressing family/parent priorities
• …while maintaining student interest and enrollment
• …while keeping staff engagement and support
• …and while keeping the bosses happy.
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STEM: What’s Possible?
9. HOW DID MESA VIEW
ACTUALIZE ITS DEFINITION
OF STEM?
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STEM: What’s Possible?
10. 1. DEVELOP A STEM PHILOSOPHY
• At Mesa View, everyone gets STEM, from at-risk, EL, SpEd students to
our Band, ASB, AVID, and Yearbook students ; universal access.
• STEM problem-solving activities exercise the brain, improving overall
academic performance.
• STEM project-based and problem-based activities improve student
access to and readiness for college and career.
• STEM activities truly motivate and engage students.
• STEM should be interdisciplinary & multidisciplinary.
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STEM: What’s Possible?
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STEM: What’s Possible?
2. GRADUALLY ROLLOUT STEM COURSES
2008 – Year Zero (25 students)
FLL Robotics funded by Alliance at Canyon MS (predecessor to Mesa View)
2009 – Year One (36 students)
One section of Applied Science
2010 – Year Two (72 students)
One section of Applied Science; one section of Advanced Studies
2011 – Year Three (108 students)
Two sections of Applied Science; one section of Advanced Studies
2012 – Year Four (800 students)
Two sections of Applied Science; one section of Advanced Design
One section of STEM 6; multiple sections experience week-long STEM units
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3. GET HELP, OUTSIDE & INSIDE
• Stakeholder Support (parents, teachers, students)
• School Board & District Office Flexibility
• Alliance for Education
• Grants, Donations, & Financial Support
• Business Outreach
• Free and Low-cost Training
• New Campus Tech & Infrastructure
STEM: What’s Possible?
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OUR RESULTS
• +47 points on API, reaching 813 – 2013’s highest growth in the county
• Algebra 1 scores jumped 38% (to 68% proficient & advanced)
• Math CMA scores up 23% (to 48% proficient & advanced)
• Sixth grade at 82% proficient & advanced on ELA CST, 81% in Math
• School wide low SES scores up 12% (ELA) and 14% (Math)
• Yucaipa High’s Engineering Academy up 400% in enrollment (2014)
• California Gold Ribbon School Award (2015)
STEM: What’s Possible?
15. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
ONE – Define A Clear STEM Philosophy
• What definition does STEM have in your organization?
• What do you want to accomplish with STEM?
• Is STEM instruction for all or for some?
• When does STEM instruction take place? Where?
• Reach wide; STEM involves many things, yet don’t reach too far.
• Build consensus on a common STEM definition.
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STEM: What’s Possible?
16. THE ELEMENTS TO MAKE STEM HAPPEN
TWO – Recruit The “Right” Staff & Train ‘Em
• Preferably an engaging math or science instructor
• Willing and able to teach STEM subjects
• Willing and able to learn and use new tech and “old” tech
• Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Modules
• MESA Workshops & Curriculum
• STEM Symposium
• AutoCAD, SketchUp, Rhinoceros, TurboCAD, SOLIDWORKS
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STEM: What’s Possible?
17. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
THREE – Go Slow, Gradually Grow
• Start with one or only a few STEM classes
• Add a few STEM events, challenges, field trips, internships
• Consider STEM clubs and teams
• Acquire tech as you need it; used tech is okay
• Add teachers and classes as demand grows…
• …but grow in the areas that students and teachers take you
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STEM: What’s Possible?
18. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
FOUR – Connect with Supporters & Sponsors
• Educate your parents and students on STEM
• Be sure higher-ups and Board are on same page
• Seek out county and state educational partnerships
• Establish connections with local STEM businesses
• Collaborate with other educational organizations
elementary, middle school, high school, community college, universities
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STEM: What’s Possible?
20. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
SIX – Stay Current
• Read STEM Literature
Make: Magazine
Invent to Learn (Martinez & Stager)
Creating Innovators (Wagner)
• Attend STEM workshops & conferences
• Have fun and “play” with the newest technology
• Don’t be afraid to “retire” older STEM units/courses
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STEM: What’s Possible?
21. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
SEVEN – Market, Educate, & Give Back
• Actively promote what you are doing in STEM
• Continually educate stakeholders on STEM philosophy
• Provide guided tours of STEM facilities
• Bring STEM to other educational organizations
• Bring educational organizations to you to see STEM in action
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STEM: What’s Possible?
22. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
EIGHT – Find the Money
• Prioritize Site Funds
• Local Donors – PTAs, Businesses, Philanthropists, Families
• District Funds – LCAP/LCFF, Bond Monies, Curriculum Funding
• State & Federal Funds – CDE and US Dept of Ed grants
• Fundraise
• Become a Field Trip Destination
• Increase Enrollment (via out-of-district transfers)
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STEM: What’s Possible?
23. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
NINE – Organize the STEM Curriculum
• Write a STEM Scope & Sequence
• Write STEM Lesson Plans and Units
• Consider Vertical Integration of STEM among Various Sites
• Develop Common STEM Assessments
• Agree upon the Measures of Success
• “Find More Stuff!”
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STEM: What’s Possible?
24. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
TEN – Maximize Facilities & Tech Infrastructure
• How’s Your Bandwidth?
• Do You Have Adequate Server Capacity and Network Drops?
• Tell Me you Have Wi-Fi
• Buy Computers, yes, but not just Computers; Consider BYOD
• Did Someone Say 3D Printers?
• Give Yourself Space to Conduct STEM Activities
• Where Are You Storing All Those Consumable Materials?
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STEM: What’s Possible?
25. MAKING STEM HAPPEN
ELEVEN – Develop Special STEM Events
• Leonardo Da Vinci Day (April 15)
• GIS Day (November 19)
• Engineering Week (February 16)
• “STEMElem” Outreach Trips
• STEM Career Day
• Knott’s Berry Farm Physics Day
• Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI)
• Pi Day (March 14)
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STEM: What’s Possible?
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SUSTAINABILITY OF STEM
• Develop reliable sources of funding for training, equipment, & materials.
• Improve and modify STEM units and activities every year.
• Don’t do what isn’t working or isn’t engaging anymore.
• Build a program that is greater than one person; cross-train!
• Include other subjects in STEM (ELA, Social Studies, Art, PE, etc…).
• “One day, STEM shouldn’t be special. It should be what kids do everyday
in school.” Rick LeVan, 2007 California Teacher of the Year
STEM: What’s Possible?
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LESSONS LEARNED AT MESA VIEW
• STEM done right demands patience.
• Having the right people is more important than the right gadgets.
• Keep STEM evolving to stay relevant.
• The kids are smarter than we are.
• Share what you know; reach out to learn from others.
• Protect STEM; connect it to Common Core, Linked Learning, etc…
• Remember why you are doing STEM in the first place.
STEM: What’s Possible?
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CONTACT INFO.
Jim Stolze
Principal, Mesa View Middle School
jim_stolze@ycjusd.us
Darlene Pitman
STEM Teacher, Mesa View Middle School
darlene_pitman@ycjusd.us
Kellie Pennino
Science Teacher, Mesa View Middle School
kellie_pennino@ycjusd.us
Marilee Shook
Math Teacher, Mesa View Middle School
marilee_shook@ycjusd.us
Mesa View Middle School
Yucaipa-Calimesa JUSD
800 Mustang Way
Calimesa, CA 92320
(909) 790-8008
Web:
http://ycjusd.mesaview.schoolfusion.us
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Twitter:
@MesaViewMiddle
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d9MYrhFT_I
STEM: What’s Possible?
