STEM Skills Challenge- Smooth Sailing

Throughout this series, we've been talking about the importance of soft skills and how many employers are looking for these key skills when interviewing and hiring.

Recently, a Gallup poll conducted a survey asking Americans whether soft skills should be taught in K-12 schools.  When it comes to teaching critical thinking skills, an overwhelming 80% of those surveyed believe they should be taught.  The other 4C's communication, collaboration, and creativity were highly rated as well.

This week's STEM Skills Challenge will help to build those skills as students design and build a sailboat that will "sail" at least four feet in under one minute.  The catch?  Students will only be allowed to use paperclips, index cards, aluminum foil and tape.  Once teams have designed their boats, students will test them on a table top or a tile floor by placing them in front of a fan. Hopefully, the team has collaborated on a successful design and it's smooth sailing!

STEM Skills Challenge Handout: Smooth Sailing

STEM Skills Challenge- Souper Structures

USA Today College and other leading publications report that employers strongly value soft skills.  The reason?  Many employers say that they can teach the content that is required for a particular position, but can't teach those skills that take time to develop and mature like: teamwork and interpersonal skills, problem solving and analytical skills, and written and verbal communication.

In this week's STEM Skills Challenge, students are challenged to build a structure that will support a full can of soup.  It may sound like an easier challenge, but with only craft sticks, paper, paperclips and glue at their disposal, students will need to work effectively as a team and use their problem solving skills  to plan, design and build their structures.

STEM Skills Challenge Handout: Souper Structures

STEM Skills Challenge- Build a Better Boat

In a recent article by CNBC on Job Skills Gap: The Basics Become a Problem a survey of 500 top executives was conducted.

Of those surveyed, 92% agree that there is a job skills gap and 44% of respondents say the gap is in "soft skills". (And not to digress, but the second most common answer at 22% was lack of technical skills.)

Specifically, the article defines soft skills as communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration.  They didn't use the phrase "21st century skills", but I'm sure you recognize them as such.

So, for this week's STEM Skills Challenge, we're going to build a better boat and build our 4C's (soft skills).  In this challenge, students will use the provided supplies (plastic wrap, straws, tape, and washers) to design and build a boat that will hold 10 one inch diameter washers for at least 30 seconds without sinking. Water will be required to test the boats, but with inquisitive scientists who are focusing on the 4C's, you shouldn't get wet on this ride!

STEM Skills Challenge Handout: Build a Better Boat

STEM Skills Challenge- Spacesuit Spuds

As we focus on STEM skills that can be achieved through short (or long) duration projects, we're aiming to develop skills that employers are seeking.

According to The 9 Attributes Every Employer Desperately Wants, Forbes magazine examines the skills that make a candidate great.  Among the list, some great core STEM skills like natural curiosity, uncompromising excellence, unlimited versatility, self-awareness, and creative problem solving.

This week's challenge allows students to explore the thee core STEM skills as the explore high-impact space debris by designing and building a spacesuit for their astronaut (potato) and testing its effectiveness.

STEM Skills Challenge Handout: Spacesuit Spuds

STEM Skills Challenge- Newspaper Table

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been sharing the importance of teaching STEM skills and weaving them through your curriculum.  They teach our students how to be persistent problem solvers, how to deepen 21st century skills and how to become leading contenders in the workforce.

Forbes Magazine researched the 10 most critical skills that employers are looking for in candidates and found that the majority of these critical skills are STEM skills. The top three skills? Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, and Judgement and Decision Making.

This week, students will get to practice all three of those skills as they work on this week's Skills Challenge.  Students will work with a team to build a sturdy table out of nothing more than newspaper and masking tape that will hold the most weight.  Much like the real world, teams will be challenged to use only the resources provided and work within design and time requirements.  May the best team of designers win!

STEM Skills Challenge Handout: Newspaper Table

STEM Skills Challenge- Paperclip Airplanes

During this series on STEM Skills Challenges, we are focusing on  the soft-skills that help make our students well-rounded and, according to local businesses, more employable.

This week's challenge is an individual challenge that will exercise student creativity as well as math skills.

For this challenge, students will work individually to design and construct a paper airplane that will carry the maximum amount of paperclips the farthest distance.

This tricky little challenge will require some thought and planning in working with multiple variables, but will help students to think critically about how to obtain the highest point value.

STEM Skills Challenge Handout: Paperclip Airplane

STEM Skills Challenge- Gumdrop Bridge

Employers today are looking for students who have learned how to think and how to problem-solve.  With the adoption of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), we are getting closer to making that a reality, but so many states and districts are still focused on standardized testing (which- surprise-  did not make the list of qualities that employers are looking for in qualified candidates.)

This series focuses on those skills as well as the other "soft-skills" that aren't necessarily spelled our in the curriculum, but make students well-rounded problem solvers.

This week's challenge is the Gumdrop Bridge.  In  this challenge, students work in teams to design and build a bridge that will span 10 inches.  Sounds like a pretty easy challenge, but as students start experimenting with their materials of gum drops and toothpicks, they will find that there is more there than beats the eye.

This fun little challenge encourages students to work on team building, collaboration and communication skills- more of those soft skills- that help students become successful in a workplace environment.

STEM Skills Challenge Handout: Gumdrop Bridge

STEM Essentials- Redesigning and Debriefing

In this series, we're learning how to plan a proper STEM unit.  If you've been following along, you'll note that there are many moving parts!  So far, we have discussed how to develop a plan, craft different types of assessments, create a rubric, use the Engineering Design Process to plan the remaining lessons, and how to communicate results.

The last two steps that we'll talk about is Redesigning and Debriefing.  These are separate steps focusing on different goals, but because they share some common elements and they both NEED to take place at the end of the unit, we'll talk about them together.

Redesigning
After students have communicated their results and shared them with the class, it's important for students to have time to redesign.  This doesn't need to be a whole unit withing itself, but they should at least have an hour or so to work on improvements to their design.  This allows for a couple of things.  It allows:

• Students to process what other teams have shared and leverage that new information into the redesign of their own product.  
• Any team that was unsuccessful to implement a workable solution based on new information shared (and thus generate some success)
• Students a chance to take some risks that they wouldn't have taken prior to presenting the project to the class.  They can push the envelope without any ramifications.  (This is where some GREAT learning can take place.)

And as a side benefit, giving students the opportunity to redesign their products shows the importance of collaboration and communication amongst the different teams (and also usually sparks more creativity!)

Debriefing
Debriefing shares some of these same elements, but it is not the same.  Debriefing takes place at the end of the project and allows the teacher to pull everyone together to talk turkey.  This is an opportunity for students to:

• Share any new information that they have learned and discuss how it relates to the project
• Ask clarifying questions that may help them further their learning or connect the dots
• Discuss possible next steps or extensions of the project

This is an opportunity for teachers to:

• Review key findings and objectives for the project
• Clarify any misunderstandings that still may exist
• Further tie the learning to real-life (I like to talk about STEM careers that would contribute to a project like the one just completed)

As an aside, the debriefing can provide the teacher with key information such as insight on how to make the project better the next time and informal assessment based on discussion.

STEM Essentials Handout: Debriefing Strategies

STEM Essentials- Decision Making

In this series, we've been investigating how to best plan a STEM unit.  We have developed a plan, crafted different types of assessments, created a rubric, and used the Engineering Design Process in planning the remainder of the lessons.

We've also discussed some of the non-linear steps that will help put some structure into your STEM project  like creating and using STEM Role Cards and teaching students how to develop great ideas.

After students generate a list of possible ideas, how should they determine which one is the best one to use?  Most student groups are likely to take a vote, flip a coin, or even come to a deadlock if no one wants to budge from their own idea.  Arming students with best-practice ways to make decisions is key and will help them with the project at hand as well as with life decisions.

One strategy that students can use to help make decisions is is simple Pro/Con Chart.  Requiring students to write down pros and cons will help them to clarify their idea more fully and communicate their data through writing.

Another great strategy is a Decision Matrix.  In this model, students are asked to think through their top ideas by answering key questions that will help them to determine which idea is the best solution.

STEM Essentials Handout: Decision Making Pro/Con Chart, Decision Matrix

STEM Essentials- Developing (Great) Ideas

So far, we developed a plan and thought about types of assessments.  We've also create a rubric and used the Engineering Design Process to plan the remainder of lessons. We've also looked at creating STEM Role Cards to help students to use their time wisely.

When we plan a STEM unit, there are a lot of steps that are part of a linear progression with each step building on the one before.  Then, there are other elements (like the Role Cards) that are related and necessary, but don't seem to fit into a linear progression.  This week, we'll talk about another non-linear component- how to facilitate students' development of ideas.

When students work together, they almost always have difficulty brainstorming.  It's not enough to tell students to "just go think up good ideas".  The younger the student, the more difficulty they have working in this "white space".  As such, it helps to share brainstorming strategies to help create a sort of process for them to follow.

Some group brainstorming strategies include:

Stepladder Approach- Students generate ideas individually, then partner up within their team to discuss and add more ideas.  Finally, all members of the group work together to share their ideas and generate more.

SCAMPER- Once students have come up with one idea (and might have gotten stuck), using the SCAMPER strategy will help generate others.  With each letter standing for a way to generate ideas, students can work to find other solutions. (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Rearrange)

Concept Map- Most students are familiar with concept maps and have used them before. They take many different forms and can be as simple as a blank piece of paper to something more elaborate printed on a worksheet.  In any case, it's important to allow students to each write their ideas onto the worksheet or chart paper and build on other ideas they are hearing.

There is no right way to brainstorm, but by providing some strategies and soliciting "Brainstorming Rules" from students to establish a sense of fairness and buy-in, the process will flow smoothly and encourage  ideas.

STEM Essentials Handout: STEM Brainstorming Worksheet

STEM Essentials- The Engineering Design Process

On the road to planning an effective STEM unit, we have:

• Sketched out a plan defining the topic, choosing the applicable standards, and forming the challenge
• Created assessments, both formative and summative
• Developed a rubric as an end-of-project assessment
• Provided STEM Role Cards to help students divide the work that will be done

 Now, it is time to plan the individual lessons that will make up our STEM unit.  In other words, we want to find a way for students to learn pieces of the selected curriculum standards that, when put together, will assist them in completing the challenge. 

A great way to do this is to use the Engineering Design Process as you plan:

1.  Identify the Problem- The problem should be clearly identified in your challenge statement when you began drafting your plan.

2.  Identify Criteria and Constraints- This can take place when introducing the STEM project or it can be presented through lessons that allows students to use trial and error.  After students have had a chance to explore, bring the class back together and determine, together, the criteria and constraints that should be used for the remainder of the project.

3.  Brainstorm Possible Solutions- As students brainstorm their ideas, present a lesson or two that will teach some basics of your curriculum and help students come up with different ideas for their brainstorming web.

4.  Select and Idea/Strategy- Once teams have selected their strategies, present a lesson or two that will teach more advanced concepts of your curriculum to help students further design and improve their solutions.

5.  Build a Model or Prototype- When it is time for students to begin building their products, lessons can be introduced to help students design a test for their prototype if applicable, focusing on key components of your curriculum.  

6.  Refine and Improve- After students have built their models, some additional lessons can be shared involving the more advanced elements.  Students can then decide to work them into their refined design if applicable.

STEM Essentials Handout: The Engineering Design Process

STEM Essentials- Role Cards

 In designing a STEM unit, we have developed a plan complete with standards and a challenge.  Next, we have examined different types of assessments to incorporate into the unit and have explored how to create a rubric for the end-of-project summative assessment.

As we move through the process of designing and developing a STEM unit, we need to consider a framework that students will use to help keep some structure in the classroom, but also to give them the freedom to use their inquiry strategies.

One way to do that is to use Role Cards.  When teaching a STEM unit, students are generally placed in teams of 4 or 5.  Defining a role for each student within a team is key to making sure that each student knows his/her responsibilities.  These roles also help students work through their challenge and keep them progressing in a forward direction without arguing about who should be in charge of what.  (So that each student gets to experience each role and to keep things fair, I tend to have them rotate roles each week or couple of days depending on the length of the project.)

I designed two set of Role Cards that I use with students.  The first set can be used for just about any group work and contains roles that are pretty general and could cover a multitude of different disciplines and/or projects.  The roles I use for this are: Recorder, Supply Manager, Coach, Facilitator, and Data Manager.  Each card states the title, defines the role and provides questions that that student may consider about their roles within the group.

When conducting a STEM unit, I use a different set of cards that are better suited to inquiry-based strategies.  The roles I use for this are: Data Analyst, Project Manager, Investigator, Engineer, and Forecaster.  Again, each card states the title, defines the role and provides questions that that students should be asking the group (and themselves).

No matter which set of cards I choose for project, I photocopy them on cardstock and laminate them so that students can actively use them each day.

STEM Essentials Handout: STEM Role Cards

Infographics: A 21st Century Tool for STEM

I have to admit, I've been rather intrigued by infographics lately.  They are so sleek and shiny and share pertinent data and statistics in an aesthetic fashion.  Not to mention, they seem to be everywhere.  They seem so simple, but try putting one together.  They are complex little animals that force you to think about your audience, your relevant information... and your communication skills.  As a result, they are the perfect tool for use in a STEM education classroom.

By requiring students to create an infographic, students are required to use those higher level thinking skills of Bloom's Taxonomy.  Students must consider which data to use and summarize it in a succinct way that will communicate effectively (Evaluation).  They must plan and organize the content (Synthesis) and prioritize and categorize it, allowing the user to make visual connections to the content (Analysis).

Infographics are a creative way to teach 21st century skills through STEM education by seamlessly integrating them into your curriculum.  There are many infographics creators to pick from, but my favorite right now is Picktochart.  It's easy to use, allows for student creativity, provides a decent selection of themes, images and icons and best of all it's free.  Students can also export their infographics to a standard format (PNG or JPG) for use in another program or medium. And, for creative minds or first timers, there are video tutorials that walk through the entire process as well as a comprehensive resource section.




Starfish Education is not affiliated with Picktochart (other than being happy users of their service) and is not compensated in any way for posting about their company or online tools.

Mars Rover Celebration Update

I have been working with the University of Houston to create a curriculum unit based around the Mars Rover Curiosity.   We're working on polishing the last of the lessons and getting them posted on the UH Mars Rover Celebration web site.

The Mars Rover Celebration curriculum is an all-encompassing six week unit for students in grades 3-8 that can be used in the classroom or in informal education settings.  Throughout the unit, students learn about the solar system, focusing on Mars.  Using the information they have learned, students work collaboratively in teams of 4-5 to design their own mission to Mars and build their own rover (from found and low-cost objects).   Each lesson is aligned to National Standards (as well as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) and contains an Essential Question, Vocabulary Cards, and a Science Notebook for student use.  There are also key literacy elements woven through the unit to make it a STEAM unit rather than a STEM unit.

Since this amazing project is funded by a NASA grant, the cost for using this curriculum unit with students is...FREE.  And, if you are in the great state of Texas, you can bring your students and their rovers to participate in the Mars Rover Celebration capstone event where students can show off their work and meet other students from around the state!

By the end of the summer, all 30 lessons (15 for grades 3-5 and 15 for grades 6-8) and all of their lesson components will be posted on the UH Mars Rover Celebration site.  Check them out and use them in the fall to get your students re-engaged in learning!

The Brown Bag STEM Challenge- Lunar Landers

Lunar Landers is a NASA lesson from the On the Moon Educator's Guide and teaches students to design, build and test a lunar lander that will protect its astronauts. It is also one of my favorite activities for STEM professional development!

Lunar Landers allows students to experiment with the engineering design process while learning about force and motion.

Materials (per team):

• 8 straws
• 3 index cards (4x6)
• 1 3oz cup
• 3 rubber bands
• 10 small marshmallows
• 2 large marshmallows

"Astronauts" (large marshmallows)  are placed in their "cabin" (3oz cup) and are dropped from a pre-determined height.  Students must use the other provided supplies to cushion their landing and cause the astronauts to remain in the cabin. (Think about this as a version of an Egg Drop challenge.)

Here are the rules:

• No other items maybe inside the cabin with the astronauts
• The cabin may not have any type of lid, covering, or roof that intersects the vertical plane of the cup rim
• The astronauts may not be stuck together or stuck to the cabin

As students progress through the challenge, they test their designs and note the status of the astronauts.  Students should strive for a design in which both astronauts stay in the cup.  

When it is time to test designs, students will drop their landers from a height of 2 feet. The drop height can be increased for any additional rounds to determine the best design.


So, what did we learn?
National Science Standards: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry, understanding about scientific inquiry, properties of objects and materials, position and motion of objects, motions and forces, transfer of energy, abilities of technological design, understanding science and technology, science as a human endeavor.

NCTM Standards:  Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements, Formulate questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize, and display relevant data to answer them, develop and evaluate inferences and predictions that are based on data, build new mathematical knowledge through problem solving, Solve problems that arise in mathematics and other contexts, Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems, create and use representations to organize, record, and communicate mathematical ideas.

Other STEM skills: Communication, critical thinking, problem solving, observation, collaboration, data recording, data analysis, teamwork

The Brown Bag STEM Challenge- Building Windmills

In the spirit of Earth month how about a Brown Bag STEM Challenge about renewable energy?  In this challenge, students use found and recycled items to build a windmill and test its effectiveness.

Materials:

• fan (any size should work, but I prefer the college-dorm-style box fans)
• straws
• craft sticks
• different kinds and weights of paper
• rulers
• tape/ glue
• paperclips/ binder clips
• index cards
• other  miscellaneous items to inspire student creativity

With students working in collaborative groups, each group will design a windmill that will generate the most energy (aka harnesses the most air and therefore rotates the fastest).   Students can experiment with the size and also the shape of the windmill blades.  To make the activity more challenging for older students, add a requirement that the total area of the blades can not exceed x. 

As students work through the design process, they will not need to design a foundation for their windmills.  While students are in the building process, they will need to mark one blade to make it easy to count revolutions when placed in front of the fan.  When it is time to test, each team can either hold their windmill or use a large binder clip to affix it to the back of a chair.  Windmills should be placed 60cm away from the fan set on high.

Once everything is in place, students can count the number of revolutions the blades make in one minute.  Students can redesign their windmills twice, each time testing and hopefully increasing the number of blade revolutions each time.  With their final design, teams will compete against each other to see which windmill blades competes the most revolutions in 2 minutes.

So, what did we learn? National Science Standards: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry, understanding about scientific inquiry, properties of objects and materials , abilities of technological design, understanding science and technology.  NCTM Standards:  Understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement, Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements, Formulate questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize, and display relevant data to answer them, build new mathematical knowledge through problem solving, Solve problems that arise in mathematics and other contexts, Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems, monitor and reflect on the process of mathematical problem solving.  Other Skills: Communication, critical thinking, observation, collaboration.

The Four C's in STEM: Creativity with Animoto

In continuing with this series focusing on the 4 C's (creativity, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking), I'm zeroing in on the Creativity aspect and identifying tools that will help students to do just that- exercise their creativity in STEM.

One of my most favorite tools for being creative is Animoto, an online platform that allows students to mix and create short videos.  Students and teachers can sign up for a free education account (which has added features that a standard user account doesn't have.)  Using an education account, student can:

• create a video up to 20 minutes long
• use a variety of themes to customize their videos
• export or share their videos
• choose from about 20 different frames/themes for videos
• upload their own images or video clips or choose from the image/video clip library
• choose a song from the music library (automatically attributed on the video) or upload their own song

Using an online tool like Animoto allows students to display their knowledge in a creative way while still maintaining rigor in your STEM classroom.

Starfish Education is not affiliated with these companies or organizations and is not compensated in any way for posting about their company or online tools.

The Brown Bag STEM Challenge- Marshmallow Tower

To kick off the Brown Bag STEM Challenge, is the Marshmallow Tower.  This simple project is a great way to focus on team-building as students must work together to build a tower...out of spaghetti (and a marshmallow)!

Materials (per team):

• 1- large marshmallow
• 1- yard of masking tape
• 1- yard of string or yarn
• 20- sticks of raw spaghetti (must be spaghetti; not spaghettini, fettucini, etc.)

In addition, the teacher will need a stopwatch and a measuring tape.

Prepare a brown bag for each team containing the required supplies.  Brown bags help to hide the materials students will use and also provide a bit of suspense!  Tell students they will be building the tallest structure that they can using the materials in the bag.  Work with students to determine the rules for measuring and determining which structure is the tallest.

Working in teams of 4-5, students work for 20 minutes to build the tallest free-standing tower possible with the entire marshmallow on top.  Teams may work together, divide the work, assign tasks, etc.  Students may break the spaghetti and/or the tape and may use as much or as little of the materials as they need.

After 20 minutes, bring students together to measure the structures.  If time permits, students may review the Engineering Design Process and redesign their structures based on the data they gathered while structures were being measured.

So, what did we learn?  National Science Standards: strength of structures, scientific inquiry, applying the design process, force and motion, abilities of technological design.  Other Skills: Team-building, cooperative learning, decision making,


Note: This activity can also be used with adults as an ice-breaker or team-building exercise.  Check out the supplemental TED video "Build a Tower, Build a Team" by Tom Wujec, AutoDesk Fellow for some fun data on this project.

The Four C's in STEM: Creativity with Glogster EDU

In examining the 4C's of STEM, another tool that students can hone their creativity is Glogster.  Glogster EDU is similar to infographic tools like Picktochart and Easel.ly in that it has a sort of infographic application, but Glogster is better used as a digital poster.  Think old-fashioned poster presentation meets the digital age.

Creating a free account with Glogster EDU allows the user to be creative with the media and display just about anything, from clipart, images, and charts.  Students can even include audio and video to make their "posters" more appealing.

Because it's so versatile,  Glogster can be used across a number of subjects help students demonstrate knowledge,  write poetry and display experiment results, all with a creative flair.

Starfish Education is not affiliated with these companies or organizations and is not compensated in any way for posting about their company or online tools.

Exploring STEM Careers- Summer Workshop for KIDS!

This summer, one of the organizations I'm partnering with to offer STEM camps for kids is L & E Academy in Kirkland.  L & E is a personalized high school for kids in grades 8-12 that specializes in leadership, entrepreneurship and STEM. I'm so excited to partner with them to offer workshops to kids who want to exercise their STEM muscles this summer!

Our STEM camp this year will focus on incoming 6th-9th grade students. Offered twice this summer, STEM Camp will focus on the exploration of different STEM related careers:

Exploring STEM Careers

Explore different STEM careers through hands-on, high-interest activities!  In this workshop students will:

• Explore STEM careers to help identify interests and assist students in deciding what career to pursue after high school or college
• Participate in engaging projects that hone and develop STEM skills
• Work with a team to devise solutions to real-life problems 
• Develop 21st Century skills to be successful in school and the workforce

Registration for each camp is $210 per student. To register, please visit:

Register for the L & E Academy STEM Camp for June 23-26 from 9am-12pm
Register for the L & E Academy STEM Camp for August 18- 21 from 9am- 12pm