Equity Indicator 2:
Every teacher provides each student access to relevant and meaningful STEM experiences.
stage 2: Engage teachers to create and implement strategies that improve student access to STEM curriculum and ensure teachers act on those strategies.
I have been a part of an ongoing STEM conversation with colleagues across my district. Some meetings there are 6 people, other meetings it seems like 25 people at the table. There are so many perspectives and ideas about STEM that at times it feels like we are just spinning our wheels. The good thing is that we have someone running the meetings who listens to people and has the ability to take action. There has been recent talk of developing a “Maker Space” for middle and high school students interested in spending time outside the school day to explore and tinker and build stuff. The other good thing about the group is that there are many dedicated educators willing to try new things. The big obstacle for us is budget. I think that if we put our heads together and get creative we can accomplish a lot. I hope to use my experience as a technology education teacher and share what I know about engineering design challenges and my network of resources to help implement a Maker Space for our district. If we start small and have some success this could grow into something much bigger and offer all students opportunities for STEM experiences.
-Gus Goodwin
Great idea re: Maker Space, Gus - I have been thinking about doing something like that in my STEM class after watching the TED talk by Gever Tully called "Life lessons through tinkering"- check it out if you haven't already. I am interested in how you got the STEM conversations going in your district- I would like yto do the same here.
ReplyDeleteHi Gus!
ReplyDeleteOne of our librarians in South Portland has been experimenting with a Maker Space in some extra library space. We have been toying with the idea of holding a "Tool Drive," which is an idea I dredged up from Edutopia as a way to get some used tools in there for students to use. One idea I've been struggling with is creating a type of mobile Maker Space. I lead activities at Open Library Nights at some of our schools, and I am trying to figure out how I could create a Maker Space for an hour, retain the open-endedness of the space while not having to drag copious amounts of supplies in from my car. Any ideas? I agree with you thank time to "tinker" is an important STEM experience and something a lot of children (and adults!) are lacking.
I'm excited to read Gus' comment about Maker Space. I'm a bit envious about the STEM meetings and teachers that he's working with regularly. At my school, the GT teacher offered Maker Space with students and they loved it. It was a great hit. She offered it during the day, when she had an open spot in her schedule. I think it might have coincided when students had a study hall but I'm not sure. I'm wondering about budget - are you able to go to Ruth's Recycling? This is a great resource. If your school isn't a member, it might be worth looking into - it may be a better way to spend what money their might be - the resources she's able to get are terrific.
ReplyDelete