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Ways to Integrate Math in Elementary STEM [STEM in Action Series] [ep.169]

Ways to Integrate Math in Elementary STEM [STEM in Action Series] [ep.169]

math-in-elementary-stem

Check out the full episode about Ways to Integrate Math in Elementary STEM:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Listen to this episode on YouTube:

Episode Summary

Today, we are wrapping up our STEM in Action Series with math in elementary STEM. Whether you already purposefully plan and implement math in your STEM lessons or are looking for ways you can effectively create math STEM lessons, today’s episode is for you. In this episode, I share some of my favorite tools for incorporating math in elementary STEM, some of my most popular math lessons, and how to ensure you are planning with the standards in mind.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Standards to focus on for math lessons
  • Top Tools to Use
  • Lesson Ideas that use science as the main focus; project, station & 1 day lesson

Resources Mentioned:

Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you, but I receive a small commission in return.

Episode Transcript: 

What are some ways that you can purposely plan and add math effectively into your STEM lessons? We are here in the last episode of our STEM in Action series, where we kicked off the series with guest experts in the field to help connect together different elements of STEM. And then the second half of the series, I have been sharing my insight and practical lessons that you can implement in your classroom for each element of STEM. And here in this last episode of the series, we are talking all about math.

And this one might be one of those areas that you might be implementing a lot of, or maybe you're forgetting about, and what should we be looking for? So let's jump into this episode. Welcome to the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast, a show that'll help you with lesson ideas, systems, and actionable tips to apply to your classroom. I am your host, Naomi Meredith, a former classroom teacher turned current STEM teacher and coach.

With over a decade of experience teaching and a master's degree in STEM leadership, I am here to coach you throughout the year to help you gain back more time to create innovative experiences for your students. Grab your earbuds and let's get started. We are here in the summertime as the episode is live and maybe you're thinking about back to school.

And if you're thinking about you want to dive in more ways and make sure you're not missing out on anything for setting up your STEM classroom, I invite you to check out my STEM Teacher 101 course. You get to hang out with me during your own time and go through the process of setting up your classroom that is conducive to systems and routines, some lesson planning ideas and structures, and also different ways to help students grow in their STEM skills when it comes to growth mindset, collaboration, and all sorts of things like that. I have the whole entire course available for you.

You can jump right in or if there are just specific areas you really want to target. I am starting to break up the whole entire course so you can zone in on the lessons that you really need and you can find those separated out for you on my Teachers Pay Teachers Shop, Naomi Meredith, and each of those are listed separately. At the time of this recording, all of the first module, it's called module two, but all of that first module is ready to go for you.

So I definitely encourage you to check it out. Every single module has bonuses and things that you can implement right away. So my STEM Classroom Setup module has some maps and layouts for you, DEM posters that you can hang up to help kids know what in the world STEM or STEAM actually means, and a STEM Classroom Setup Checklist.

So check that out. There are videos for every lesson and also transcripts, a written out version of each video so you can take notes and help you out in your STEM journey. All right, we are here in this last part of the series where we are talking about all things math.

And like I mentioned in the intro, math is very interesting in the STEM space where I think it sometimes is forgotten about or just how can we be creative in that math piece where we are having kids really experience the science, the technology, the engineering math. How do you put it all together? So the capital letter of STEM is the M that we are zoning in on. So like the other three episodes, the science, the technology, and the engineering episode, in this episode, I am zoning in on what standards you should look for, what are my top favorite tools, and also some lesson ideas for different types of lesson structures.

For math, what types of standards should you be looking at? So of course, check out your state math standards. They may or may not be linked to the Common Core State Standards, but check out your math standards and this will give you a good idea of what students should really be focusing in on that grade level. If you are worried and thinking about, and I kind of mentioned this too in the science one, oh, I don't want to repeat anything that the classroom teachers are doing.

You are not really repeating it. Think about what you're doing in your STEM space. You are really, you are really giving these lessons a STEM twist.

And of course, with math, the more practice, the better. And of course, if it's in a hands-on way and in a way that kids can really connect with, that's really, really important. And so all types of review, especially in math, can be very beneficial.

So don't feel like you're repeating anything. Practicing those skills in multiple ways is extremely, extremely important and to help build that number sense and how math is used in real life. Also, I want you to take a look at those mathematical practices that are also listed with a Common Core State Standards.

These mathematical practices are really talking about how do you attack math problems. And these really connect with what you are doing in your STEM space. One of them off the top of my head is attend to precision.

Why is that important? Why do we need to be precise sometimes? I can think about coding. Coding actually has a lot of math involved. And when you're thinking about coding, you really need to be precise in the way that you are writing that coding sequence, because if you're not, then your robot or whatever you're programming isn't going to do what you want it to do.

And you will have a bug in your code and you will have to fix it. Same with measurements. If you have to measure things where they fit together perfectly and they are off, it can throw off a whole design.

So those mathematical practices are really, really beneficial and really connect together in your STEM space. So if you're really thinking about a lesson that's all very focused on math, then really look at those Common Core State Standards. But if you're, of course, trying to implement math, but it's not the main, main focus, mathematical practices can really align with everything that you're doing.

All right. So for those top tools, how can you just easily integrate math in what you are doing? A manipulative that I have had in my classroom, actually, ever since I started teaching, it's the same kit that has followed me through the years, is I have a set of tangrams. So it is those shapes that you put together to create other things.

And you might be thinking, oh, that's so old school. That is so lame. Kids don't like it.

They do. It's actually a really, really good challenge. And it really is great for that spatial awareness, noticing what shapes make bigger shapes, how to break things apart.

It does go along with those progressions of learning when it comes to math and how do you see things and break them apart. And so if you need a quick STEM station or a filler, tangrams are a really great option. And you'll be surprised, a lot of kids have not done tangrams before.

Along with that, kind of similar, kind of different. There are tangrams websites. I think there was one on ABC.

Yeah, I like to use. But another one kids were obsessed about that I would use sometimes as a little reward or fast finisher are Tetris blocks, playing the game of Tetris. And I've only had like a couple of kids in each class who had ever played it and heard of it and they were obsessed.

It was really hard for them. And so I know it maybe it's like kind of going backwards, like, oh my gosh, this is an innovative. Some of those simple things we forget kids might not have done them before.

And there is a reason why these things are really, really helpful. Along with that, because tangrams kind of goes with this next one, is I love using Osmos. This is not sponsored at this time of the recording, but Osmos are such a great attachment for your tablet.

So they do have an attachment for most tablets. So just double check the type of tablet you have and the Osmo that you are purchasing. But it is using augmented reality.

So it's combining things that you're doing in the real world and then putting it back into the screen. So there's that interactive piece, but they're using hands-on manipulatives. So kids aren't just sitting and staring at a screen.

They're actually doing something hands-on to build it and solve a problem. And the genius kit actually has some math components. So two out of the three activities in the genius kit have math.

So there actually is a tangrams kit for it. So it's really cool because as the kids are building the tangrams, it actually will self-correct and then it'll kind of give kids tips like flip the shape or move it over this way. So that's really helpful.

It gives that immediate feedback. There also is a numbers game. So there is the dots.

So the subitizing where kids are trying to combine numbers and then it moves into actual symbols of numbers. And so there's different math challenges and they have to combine numbers or sometimes they're subtracting. There's different levels so you can really differentiate the numbers game.

There is a spelling game. I didn't use that one as often, but when I did have time, I actually would use the spelling side as well because hey, why not? Let's add some ELA. Another kit, it's not in the genius kit, but you can get the coding kit.

And this one I was so impressed with and impressed with, and I don't know why these ones are more expensive, but it's actually hands-on coding. So in a way it's kind of unplugged coding, but it's not. And the kids actually have to move the shapes to complete the challenge.

And this one has three different apps that, again, you can differentiate. And I did this all the way from kindergarten to second grade. And you could actually use this for third graders.

I don't know how fourth and fifth graders might like it. They might like some of it. I don't know.

Give it a try. But the coding was really cool because I can remember distinctly, I had these two second graders who needed special supports and I had them in a different game. And they were known to have their own paras who would be working with them one-on-one.

So I actually paired the two girls up together and they were completely independent. They actually were completing the coding challenges and problem solving and getting the pieces and understanding how is the character going to move through this maze. And they were doing it hands-on.

Coding was really hard. It was very abstract for them, but adding in that tactile piece with these pieces was absolutely amazing and worked very, very well for them. Another tool I really like, which you could probably steal from a grade level teacher if you don't have them.

They might not know what to do with them or just borrow them, is I have these foam, squishy, geometric shapes. So they're big versions of like a cube, of a pyramid, of a cylinder. And I use these all the time when I am teaching, especially when I am teaching 3D printing.

And you might be thinking, wait, how is the 3D printing math? It is, especially if you use Tinkercad. I talked about Tinkercad in the technology episode of this series. 3D printing is so much math and geometric observation and recognizing shapes and how shapes fit together.

And also the difference between 2D and 3D. And also if you really are thinking about building something to scale, 3D printing has so much math in it. Maybe I'll throw, well, I'll throw in a bonus lesson here.

I have a whole series of 3D printing lessons, K through five. So make sure you listen to the technology lesson. I talk more about 3D printing, but 3D printing is like a whole math thing.

So that's a whole bonus lesson for you. But I actually use those squishy geometric shapes as a way to teach 3D printing and how to model things and how to visualize what the shapes are doing on the platform. And I pull those out all the time.

And so those are very, very handy. And again, really, really helpful when you're teaching 3D printing. Okay.

So what are some lesson ideas? I gave you a bonus one, but I'm going to talk about a project, a station idea, and a one day lesson that you can do. When it comes to a project. And again, you're like, these are all integrated.

Yes. The way I plan is very, very integrated. One that I really like, and you can modify the type of shape, is that I did robot snowflakes.

And I've actually have done this with different types of robots. At the time I used Sphero, but you could actually change it up based on the type of robots that you have. And what we did, it was during the winter time, it was during my winter robotics theme.

So everybody was working on robotics, but we had a different robot to use in a different lesson. Or maybe you have similar robots, but different lessons. So just a different way to use the robotics.

And in fourth grade, one of their math standards really focuses on lines and angles. And depending on when this lesson would pop up and what they're working on in math, sometimes my groups had background knowledge of lines and angles. Sometimes they were currently working on it, or sometimes they've never done it at all.

So I have experienced all of the above, and it doesn't really matter. And so it works all the ways. Again, it's okay.

I know for sure, 1,000%, they weren't doing this in their classroom. What I'm going to explain to you, so don't feel bad. So we moved all the tables.

I actually move all the tables during robotics anyway. And student, we talked about what symmetry means and how this is represented in snowflakes in nature. And then students had to design a simple symmetrical snowflake and had to measure out the lines and angles to design the snowflake so that their robot could code the path and realistically loop their code.

So once you press play, the robot could actually trace the whole entire snowflake in one go. So that was a really good challenge. It was beautiful.

It looked like Elf from the movie. Absolute one of my favorite movies. Decorated my classroom.

And so we actually, I had tile floors. We use chalk on the floor and students drew the lines using the chalk, and then they covered it up with masking tape. And then at the end of the week, they actually had to pull up the snowflakes so I could do it for the next class.

I would leave a couple just in case, but there's a really good lesson that was heavily math focused. For a STEM station, if now, I plan STEM stations where kids can be very independent. They're quick challenges, but one that could be implementing that technology, but really focusing on how is math used in the real world.

On my other podcast for kids, the STEM Career Quest podcast, I interviewed different people who are currently working in STEM fields and doing amazing things in their real lives. And in particular, I have interviewed two people who rely heavily on math and actually support students in math and why that's important to explain what they do. And so at this station, you can actually have students listen to these podcast episodes.

I have one with Tiffany Layton and then a different one with Christopher Robles, how they use math in their actual career and help impact kids. And so students can listen to these episodes. And I actually have podcast listening guides that go with the episode where students can practice that listening comprehension and also learn about STEM careers that are being used today to solve real world problems.

So you could share these digitally. You can print them out. You can share a segment of the podcast.

So with the guides, you actually get all the whole podcast segmented for you in video format. So you could just focus in on one part, but this is a really great way to help students practicing that listening comprehension. And again, how is math used in our real world? And for our one day lesson, this one's really good for maybe even a sub plan.

If you have a sub, you're very confident in their skills. And also a back to school challenge and also a last minute one day challenge. This was a really good one.

I have done this one in a lot of different capacities, like a whole group with an after school club in my STEM explorers club that I'm hosting in my community right now, but it is a straw maze challenge. And so all you really need for this challenge is, um, hard pieces of cardboard. So I like to cut up Amazon boxes for this one, hard pieces of cardboard, straws, tape, and marbles.

You can use rolling marbles, or you can use flat marbles. And then you can even teach kids like how to create their piece, like into a box and create edges with the cardboard so that the marble doesn't fall off. And so there's a lot of different things.

So there's that engineering piece, of course, but when you're connecting it to the math side, if you're really focusing on math, you can have students time themselves, how fast it takes for their marble to get through the maze from start to finish successfully. And then from there, they can actually keep track of their results to do it 10 times or have their friend do it 10 times, and then they can create a bar graph of their results. And then this can even help them modify their design.

So based on how someone is going through the maze, are there modifications that you can make to make it be harder or maybe make it a little bit easier? And so it really is connecting in why do we have trials through things? How do you use math to actually calculate results? So very low prep, it can easily be done in one day. And there are, there's a video to show you kind of like some tips and tricks to get started. And then also those math and science connections.

As a recap for this math episode in our STEM in Action series, we talked about the standards to really focus on when it comes to the math side. What are my favorite tools that are math-focused? And also some lesson ideas in terms of a project you can try, a STEM station, and a one-day lesson. All of the things we chatted about will be in the show notes, but specifically the lessons that I talked about can be found in my TPT, my Teachers Pay Teachers Shop, Naomi Meredith, where you can get all the things you need to get set up and on your way with these math-focused activities.

Thank you so much again for being here and being a part of the series. This was a fun one to plan. And I was very surprised that I didn't have this one as lessons, or not as lessons, as episodes.

So you guys really inspire me. I appreciate you reaching out and excited for the next series, couple series that I am planning out, where we are going to be talking all about back to school. Thank you so much again for being here and I will talk to you soon.

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast. I would love to connect with you over on Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore, or send me an email to elementarystemcoachpodcast at gmail.com. Also make sure to check out my website NaomiMeredith.com to see all the show notes from today's episode and shop my K-5 STEM resources. Any questions you have, needs for resources, or ideas for episodes, get in touch.

I'll talk to you soon.

 

math-in-elementary-stem

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

engineering-in-the-classroom-examples

Engineering in the Classroom Examples [STEM in Action Series][ep.168]

Engineering in the Classroom Examples [STEM in Action Series] [ep.168]

Check out the full episode about Engineering in the Classroom Examples:

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Listen to this episode on YouTube here:

Episode Summary

We are continuing our STEM in Action series with engineering in the classroom examples. In this episode, I will be sharing how to incorporate the engineering aspect of STEM into your classroom, my favorite tools for engineering lessons, and examples of different types of engineering lessons and projects you can incorporate into your classroom.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Standards to focus on for engineering lessons
  • Top Tools to Use
  • Lesson Ideas that use science as the main focus; project, station & 1 day lesson

Resources Mentioned:

Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you, but I receive a small commission in return.

Episode Transcript: 

What are some ways to effectively plan and incorporate engineering into your STEM lessons? I feel like the engineering side might be one of the easiest, but there are some tips and tricks that I like to use when really focusing on the building aspect. We are continuing our STEM in Action series, which we kicked off with guest experts in the field to help connect different elements of STEM. For the second half of this series, I'm sharing my insights and some practical lessons that you can implement in your classroom.

Welcome to the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast, a show that will help you with lesson ideas, systems, and actionable tips to apply to your classroom. I am your host, Naomi Meredith, a former classroom teacher turned current STEM teacher and coach. With over a decade of experience teaching and a master's degree in STEM leadership, I am here to coach you throughout the year to help you gain back more time to create innovative experiences for your students. Grab your earbuds, and let's get started.

In the last episode, I focused on technology. The one before that, I focused on science. If you haven't listened to those episodes, go back and check them out. You don't have to listen to them before this one, no worries at all. But we are going to get into the engineering side. As the summer might be in full swing, or maybe it's winding down for you and you are thinking about back to school, you might be wondering how you can really focus on what you need to do for your classroom. I have my on-demand STEM Teacher 101 course where I walk you through the whole process of setting up your classroom, what types of lesson plans you can have in your space, and then some other things to think about like grouping students and having them collaborate effectively.

Now, based on requests from you, I am splitting up the whole STEM Teacher 101 course. You can take it as a whole, or I'm breaking apart the lessons and adding updates as I go, so you can focus on something specific. The course is more effective if you do it on your own, but if there are certain things you need to focus on, like how to set up your classroom, what type of checklist to use as a teacher before the kids even arrive, all of those segmented lessons are being uploaded to my TPT shop, Teachers Pay Teachers shop, Naomi Meredith. You can go and check that out. At the time of this recording, all of the lessons in module two are up in my TPT shop. This is a great way for you to gradually get into the course or just pay as you go, and it's a great way to focus on the lessons you're looking for.

Alright, when it comes to engineering, I feel like it might be one of the easiest aspects to think about in STEM. I want you to keep in mind, though, that we're not isolating all the letters in STEM, where you're only doing engineering or only doing technology. You’re really focusing on all of it, but maybe highlighting one more than the others. Think of each episode as the capital letter in STEM, with the rest being lowercase, so in this episode, E is capitalized.

If you're wondering why I'm not doing an art lesson, there is always an element of art in STEM. You're always thinking about creativity. In the business world, they call it STEM, which is why I use STEM, but I'm not ignoring the art piece. Trust me, I'm all about making things look nice and being creative.

In this episode, like the others on science and technology, I'm going to talk through the standards to think about, my top favorite tools, and some lesson plan ideas. If you're thinking STEM doesn't have any standards, especially engineering, it actually does. In fact, your science standards likely include building a model, creating a solution, or building to solve a problem. Those words are in your science standards for a reason. Some science standards lend themselves well to experiments, while others are better for an engineering design process challenge to build and solve a problem. Really look at those keywords in your standards.

My other favorite standards are the Next Generation Science Standards that specifically talk about the engineering design process. It’s a process real engineers use to build and solve problems and go through the iteration process. It’s different from the scientific method but equally important. I have a poster that supports this process, which I blew up at Walgreens. It was inexpensive, and you can hang it up all year. I also display it digitally. Familiarize yourself with the engineering design process. It’s important and helps design challenges, whether they are multi-day or one-day challenges.

Regarding tools, here are my favorites for reusable items and maker space. For cardboard, I love the thin cardboard from cereal and snack boxes. I collect it constantly. My teacher honey saves it for me, and I cut it up into pieces to force students to build creatively. I also store it in a drawer in my home office. For thicker cardboard like Amazon boxes, I recommend investing in cardboard saws like those from MakeDo. Be cautious with these, especially for younger students. For tape, I prefer masking tape. I limit its use by making baby tape rolls wrapped around a Popsicle stick. I haven’t found a favorite brand, so I look for the cheapest options on Amazon or at Dollar Tree.

For hot glue guns, choose low-temperature ones. Ensure you use the corresponding low-temperature sticks to avoid clogging issues. I use these from second grade and up or third grade and up. I have a poster with instructions, which you can find on my YouTube channel.

For consumables, I love using math manipulatives. I collect old ones from teacher hallways at the end or beginning of the school year. I also found Unifix cube alternatives at Target’s dollar spot. These are great for various STEM activities.

For lesson ideas, if you want to focus on engineering as your main goal, here are some suggestions. For a multi-day project, consider my STEM Survival Camp. In episode four of this podcast, I discuss all six challenges. The build a shelter challenge is popular, where students create a shelter to withstand elements like wind, water, and snow.

For STEM stations, use my engineer inspiration boards. These are low-prep, themed activities that students can build using any materials on hand. They are perfect for last-minute lessons or fast finishers.

For a one-day lesson, consider the paper plate marble coaster. It’s a fun project where students design a coaster using flimsy paper plates. They learn about roller coaster design principles and use cardboard building techniques.

In summary, today we talked about the standards for engineering in STEM, recommended tools, and lesson ideas for multi-day projects, STEM stations, and one-day lessons. You can find all lesson-specific resources in my TPT shop, Naomi Meredith. Feel free to reach out to me via email or Instagram for links or questions. Can't wait to hang out with you next week for the last episode in this series, where we'll talk about all things math.

Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast. Connect with me on Instagram at NaomiMeredith_ or via email at elementarystemcoachpodcast@gmail.com. Check out my website, NaomiMeredith.com, for show notes and K-5 STEM resources. Reach out with any questions or ideas for episodes. Talk to you soon!

 

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

How is Technology Used in STEM? [STEM in Action Series] [ep.167]

How is Technology Used in STEM? [STEM in Action Series] [ep.167]

Check out the full episode on How Technology is Used in STEM:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Listen to the audio of this episode on YouTube:

Episode Summary

How can you purposefully plan and add technology into your STEM lessons? How is technology used in STEM? We are continuing our STEM in Action series with technology. In this episode, I will be sharing how technology fits into the ISTE standards for students, my top tools for technology in STEM, and lesson ideas that focus on technology.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Standards to focus on for technology lessons
  • Top Tools to Use
  • Lesson Ideas that use science as the main focus; project, station & 1 day lesson

Resources Mentioned:

 Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you, but I receive a small commission in return.

Episode Transcript: 

What are some ways to purposely plan for and add technology effectively into your STEM lessons? We are continuing our STEM in Action series, where we kicked off the series with guest experts in the field to help connect the different elements of STEM. In this second half, I am sharing my insights and practical lessons that you can implement in your classroom. In the last episode, episode 166, we talked about science as the main focus of your lessons.

In this episode, we are diving into technology as the main focus, with everything else falling in underneath. I know technology is such a broad topic, and there are many ways to approach it depending on your goals. In fact, you might even have technology embedded in your lessons throughout the entire year.

I will be sharing a mixture of topics and ideas to help with your planning and implementation, whether you're using technology throughout the year or focusing on it as your primary tool. Welcome to the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast, a show that will help you with lesson ideas, systems, and actionable tips to apply in your classroom. I am your host, Naomi Meredith, a former classroom teacher turned current STEM teacher and coach.

With over a decade of experience teaching and a master's degree in STEM leadership, I am here to coach you throughout the year to help you gain back more time to create innovative experiences for your students. Grab your earbuds and let's get started. If you are looking for more ways and support when getting started with STEM, and you need resources that you can use on the go and in your own time, I invite you to join my on-demand professional development.

I have a couple of options for you. If you enjoy hanging out with me but want to do it in your own time, I recommend my STEM Teacher 101 course. This is perfect for teachers who have taught STEM for one year or are just diving in and want to know what to do to get started.

The course covers setting up your classroom, basics of lesson planning, and grouping students. If you are interviewing, there is a whole section about what it could sound like in your interview, including potential questions and how I would answer them. The course is self-paced and includes certificates for professional development credit.

If you are ready to level up your planning after teaching STEM for a while, I have several workshops for you. They were originally live but are now recorded so you can interact as if you were there live. There is a K-2 STEM planning workshop and a 3-5 workshop. Many teachers start with the K-2 workshop and then proceed to the 3-5.

These workshops include tips and tricks for lesson planning, one-day challenges, and longer projects. Additionally, if you need school-wide news ideas, I offer pre-recorded school-wide video news workshops, with templates, emails, and the entire system and processes. There is also a workshop on setting up your own STEM career day. You can find the links in the show notes or check them out at NaomiMeredith.com.

In today's episode, we will focus on technology as the center of your lesson, with all other STEM elements embedded within. Technology is a broad topic, so where do you begin and what should you do? I like to use the ISTE standards for students as a base. These standards help clarify what you want students to do with technology, whether they are creating, collaborating, or learning about digital citizenship.

I then merge these standards with science standards, like the Next Generation Science Standards or your state science standards, to create content that goes along with the technology use. You can see this integration in my K-5 STEM year-long plan, which is available for free. All my lessons combine these standards to ensure comprehensive STEM education.

When it comes to technology tools, there are many options. I will focus on what I use with students. If you are interested in hearing about the technology tools I use on the teacher side, let me know.

For documenting and sharing resources with students, I use Seesaw. It allows students to record their voices, take pictures, and draw on digital interactive notebooks. This platform helps me create a library of notebooks for students, making it easy to add elements on top. Major projects from my shop come with Seesaw versions, Google Slides, and PowerPoint.

For coding platforms, many use Hour of Code or Code.org. Another great platform is Make Wonder by Wonder Workshop. It uses block-based coding and offers free challenges and lessons. Upgrading provides a virtual Dash robot for coding at home. This platform is excellent, especially if you plan to use Dash robots.

For video and audio projects, I highly recommend WeVideo. I used it for school-wide video news and classroom projects. It supports green screen, is very visual, and easy to understand. WeVideo is cloud-based, so you can use it on any device. For 3D printing software, I love Tinkercad by Autodesk. It's free and offers teacher features for creating classes. Another option is Doodle 3D Transform for younger students or those needing more support.

For stop motion, I use the Stop Motion app. The free version is great, and the paid version has extra editing features. I recommend importing stop motion projects into WeVideo or iMovie for additional editing.

Now, let's get into some lesson ideas. For a project, a great starter is creating a 3D-printed birdhouse prototype. Students can study how birds create nests and design a birdhouse using Tinkercad. This project is suitable for second grade and up.

For a STEM station, I did day and night robotics coding with first graders. Using Bebots or Code & Go mice, students coded robots to different items on a grid based on day, night, or both. This station helps students understand day and night concepts through coding.

For a one-day lesson, focus on digital citizenship and media balance. Students built a balance using various materials and categorized activities as screen-free or screen-based to understand the importance of media balance.

As a recap, we discussed standards for planning technology-focused STEM lessons, favorite technology tools, and lesson ideas, including projects, stations, and one-day lessons. All mentioned lessons are available in my TPT shop, Naomi Meredith. For more information, visit my website, NaomiMeredith.com. Join me in the next episode, where we will focus on engineering. Thank you for listening to the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast. Connect with me on Instagram at NaomiMeredith_ or email me at elementarystemcoachpodcast@gmail.com. Check out my website, NaomiMeredith.com, for show notes and K-5 STEM resources. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

science-used-in-stem

How is Science Used in STEM? [STEM in Action Series] [ep.166]

How is Science Used in STEM? [STEM in Action Series] [ep.166]

Check out the full episode on How Science is Used in STEM:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Listen to the audio here on YouTube:

Episode Summary

Have you been thinking of some ways to purposefully plan and add science into your STEM lessons? In today’s episode, we are continuing with our STEM into Action series, with me sharing my insights and some practical lessons that answer the question, “How is science used in STEM?”

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Standards to focus on for science lessons
  • Top Tools to Use
  • Lesson Ideas that use science as the main focus; project, station & 1 day lesson

Resources Mentioned:

Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you, but I receive a small commission in return.

Episode Transcript: 

What are some ways to purposefully plan and effectively add science into your STEM lessons? We are continuing our STEM in Action series, where we kicked it off with guest experts in the field to help connect different elements of STEM and really focus on what STEM means and can look like in different capacities. For the second half of the series, I will be sharing my insights and some practical lessons that you can implement in your classroom. The next four episodes will focus on each letter of STEM, and these will all connect together and give you some practical ideas that you are really going to enjoy.

Welcome to the Elementary STEM Coach Podcast, a show that will help you with lesson ideas, systems, and actionable tips to apply to your classroom. I am your host, Naomi Meredith, a former classroom teacher turned current STEM teacher and coach. With over a decade of experience teaching and a master's degree in STEM leadership, I am here to coach you throughout the year to help you gain back more time to create innovative experiences for your students.

Grab your earbuds and let's get started. At the time of this recording, we are right in the middle of summer. Maybe some of you have been on summer break for a little while, or maybe some of you are just starting. Wherever you are, I get it. I understand. June has been a very busy month for me again. You probably know where I was last time in June, and this year has been very busy as well. I understand the busyness and all the cool things that you can do in summer.

Having on-demand trainings can be extremely helpful. If you're on the go or traveling, one of my favorite things to do is listen to trainings on airplanes or while using cardio machines at the hotel. I understand, like I said, and so I have some on-the-go trainings for you that are perfect for summertime. You don't have to attend live, but they can really help support your STEM instruction.

I have my STEM Teacher 101 course. So if you are getting started in STEM and don't know where to begin and want someone to tell you what to do before you even set up all the lessons, I invite you to join my STEM Teacher 101 course. That is a great place to start.

If you're looking for strategies on specific lesson planning or maybe you're thinking, “Oh, I want to host my school-wide video news this year,” or “I would love to host a STEM career day,” I have some workshops for you. All of those workshops are two hours, come with tons of resources, and they were live at the time. So I did have teachers who were there for the live trainings, except the STEM Career Day is 100% on demand.

However, you can hear that interaction and get access to all those resources right there. And again, be on your way with what you are looking for. You can find all of that linked in the show notes, or if you even just head to my website, NaomiMeredith.com, you'll see tabs that go along with the things that I'm talking about. That’s a great way to spend some time with me this summer, even when you are on the go.

When you're thinking about implementing science, the format of these next four lessons is going to have the same structure. So you know what to listen for and what to really think about. We are going to be talking about standards—what standards should you use when thinking about that part of STEM. Today we are talking about science. Then I’m going to share my top tools that I love using when it relates to that letter in STEM. Finally, I will give you some lesson ideas that are mostly focused on science.

Of course, they encompass all sorts of things cross-curricular, which is how you should be planning anyway. I'm very big on that. That is going to be the structure for these episodes. When it comes to standards, when you are really focusing on the science part of STEM, your state most likely has some sort of science standards that you should be focusing on. I like to base my lessons on the NGSS, the Next Generation Science Standards. Those are more widely used nationwide. Here in Colorado, some standards are based on the NGSS, but I like to teach with the NGSS so it's more universal. However, you need to look at the standards specific to your state and what you should be teaching at that grade level.

In the last episode with Nicole Aschen, episode 165, we touched on this as well. If you are limited on time with teaching, which we all are, but a lot of you teach one-day lessons, why not make it more purposeful by bouncing off what classroom teachers are doing and teaching with those standards? I was spoiled at times where I had more time with kids, but I always planned with standards no matter what. I would just give it a STEM twist. I will be sharing some lessons with you, but just know that when I am planning lessons, I am always planning with standards. It's ingrained in my soul.

Make sure you check out your science standards. When it comes to the top tools, this is hard to pick my favorite, but I do have a few favorites when it comes to the science part of things. One of my favorite tools, and I always used these, and some of these might sound very random, but they are things that I liked having on hand.

I have a little set of 3D toys or models of the life cycle of a ladybug. That is something that would come up all the time. I used it as an example or a model for something to show kids when talking about insects or life cycles. Having that model was something I pulled out all the time. Likewise, having similar hands-on models is one of my favorite things to show. I even taught an in-person STEM class the other day at my local coffee shop, and I was so excited it was sold out.

We were talking about camouflage and how ocean animals, specifically octopuses, but then we started talking about other ocean animals. The kids were very engaged, so I brought in real coral and real seashells that I had found while traveling. I love having those tangible hands-on things where kids can see, touch, and look at them to make sense of what they’re learning. I’ve even had times when people have given me things, and you can't keep everything, of course, but I had a parent ask me if I wanted to hold on to a wasp nest for a while. All the wasps were gone, and that was such a cool experience for the kids to see it. Some of them were scared, but I assured them the wasps were gone.

I even did a segment on our school-wide video news where I interviewed the kid who brought it in. We put it on the news, and I answered all the questions I kept getting about it. Having those hands-on models are very, very important, and they can be used over and over again.

Along with that, with top tools, this kind of flows into everything as well. I love to travel. I don't know if you guys know that. Maybe you've seen it on my Instagram. If you follow me on Instagram at NaomiMeredith_underscore, you'll see I love to travel. When I travel, I'm always thinking about STEM. I can't get away from it. I take videos and pictures of things that I know my students would love, and I use these photos and pictures as talking points when I am chatting with kids. It’s a great way to get to know them, but I will show them, “Oh my gosh, I saw this while whale watching,” and explain how animals didn’t want to be camouflaged, they wanted to be showy. I show videos from that experience. When you’re traveling, or if you’re going to the zoo, take some extra photos or pictures that you know will connect to a lesson, and you can pull them out later. These might not be the types of science tools you thought of, but those are things I really love to use to enhance my lessons.

Okay, so on to those lesson ideas. Yes, STEM is all integrated, but we’re really thinking about how science is the main standard for this subject. For this series, when we talk about each letter of STEM, or the upcoming episodes, I will be sharing with you a project, a station, and a one-day lesson. Depending on how long you see kids or what you are looking for, this will give you some good ideas.

In terms of a project, the standards that I was looking at were in second grade and the NGSS. It was about how weathering and erosion can happen, and I focused on water erosion for this project. The project goes through the whole engineering design process. Students explore different ways and inventions that help with water erosion. It can be tricky, especially for third grade and younger, to find resources that help with the imagining and planning phases. I wrote short, kid-friendly articles with image examples and audio where kids can explore different inventions. From there, students plan their design using those ideas, combining what they have learned. They create an invention using maker space materials to try to either stop or slow down water erosion of the soil.

When I've done this with second grade, I've tried it a few ways. There are certain supplies they could use, or I've done a shopping method where students shop for supplies. If you're interested, go back and listen to episodes five and six about maker space, as I discuss the shopping piece. When we got to testing their designs, I tried different methods. One year, I had buckets of dirt and soil, probably potting soil, and students tested their designs in these buckets. It was December, so it was cold in Colorado. But when I did this lesson again in October, it was warmer, so we tested our designs outside. Testing inside was nice because the buckets of dirt could dry out and be ready for the next few weeks. But taking kids outside wasTesting inside was nice because the buckets of dirt could dry out and be ready for the next few weeks. But taking kids outside was fun too, as they had to adjust their designs and see how they worked with water. If you want to test this lesson indoors, I highly recommend using those buckets of dirt.

For a station lesson, this can be something used in rotations, especially if you have lower grades. I have a lot of robot extensions and use robots to integrate science concepts, specifically animal adaptations and how that translates into robots. You could start by reading “What if You Had Animal Eyes?” or “What if You Had Animal Hair?” which are very cute books and only take 10-15 minutes to read. Then, you could discuss how engineers get ideas from nature, called biomimicry. Following this, you could have different science stations with robotics extensions. One example is using Cubelets to have kids build different robots representing animal features, like eyes that can see or camouflage.

Another station example is using Bee-Bots to talk about habitats. You could have maps with different animal habitats, and students can program the Bee-Bot to go to different locations on the map. If you have older students, they could create the maps for the younger kids to use. There are many ways to connect robots with science concepts, and these are just a few examples.

Finally, for a one-day lesson, I love using littleBits to create inventions. One lesson idea is having students create a warning system for when their drink is too hot. They could use littleBits temperature sensors to create an invention that warns them when the drink is at a certain temperature. This can be tied to discussions about heat and temperature, making it a quick, engaging, and educational activity.

There you go! That was a lot of information, but I hope you found some new ideas and ways to integrate science into your STEM lessons. Remember, integrating science doesn't have to be complicated, and using standards as your foundation will ensure that your lessons are purposeful and impactful.

 

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

creating a STEM culture

Creating a STEM Culture and High-Quality Teacher Support with Nichole Austion from NMSI [STEM in Action Series] [ep.165]

Creating a STEM Culture and High-Quality Teacher Support with Nichole Austion from NMSI [STEM in Action Series] [ep.165]

creating a STEM culture

Check out the full episode on Creating a STEM Culture and High-Quality Teacher Support with Nichole Austion from NMSI:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

Are you tired of feeling like you don’t have enough time to implement effective STEM lessons in your classroom? Or maybe you haven’t been able to get your school on board with incorporating STEM curriculum into your classroom. Today’s guest, Nichole Austion can relate to both scenarios. In this episode, she shares some great tips for creating a STEM culture and getting support as a teacher who wants to bring STEM to your school. 

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to create a STEM culture 
  • Why creating a STEM culture is important
  • Supports for effective implementation of STEM culture

Resources Mentioned:

Meet Nichole Austion:

Nichole Austion is the Vice President of Public Affairs at the National Math and Science Initiative where she leads marketing and government relations. With a focus on STEM advancement, she orchestrates strategic initiatives, bridging marketing and government relations to amplify NMSI’s impact nationwide. Austion’s expertise stems from global technology firms like Sabre Holdings and Teradata, where she drove multimillion-dollar revenue through innovative marketing strategies. She is the author of “Miles and the Math Monsters,” a children’s book that transforms math into a friendly presence, encouraging children to see it as a helpful companion intertwined with their everyday environment. She holds an engineering degree from Howard University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Connect with Nichole:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

You are excited to implement STEM in your classroom or school building, but maybe you're feeling short on time, or you don't have enough training to plan effective lessons or even get your school on board, whatever that looks like for you. I definitely hear you. I have been in those exact same situations at various points in my career as a classroom teacher and also when I was a STEM teacher. So I completely understand where you're coming from, and I hear it all the time from you guys as well in my Instagram DMs and also in my email. So I definitely hear you and am here to help provide you support as always. And today's guest, Nicole Aschen, can resonate with what you're going through as well. She works with an organization that can help support your needs. Talking with Nicole was just so powerful because the National Math and Science Initiative, also NMSI, where Nicole is their vice president of public affairs, her philosophies and the things that she was talking about, what the organization stands for, really aligns with what I believe STEM education could be.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:21]:

And so we had a really, really awesome conversation, and it's one of those situations in the interview where you're just so glad that this is being recorded. There were some technical difficulties, but we're just so glad it's recorded because there's some really powerful stuff that you'll take away from our conversation. Nicole holds an engineering degree and focuses on STEM advancement, orchestrates strategic initiatives, and bridges marketing and government relations to amplify NMSI's impact nationwide. Nicole's experience stems from global technology firms, and she drove a multimillion-dollar revenue through innovative marketing strategies. She is also the author of Miles and the Math Monsters, which she does talk a little bit about, and I'm really excited for you to hear that part as well. The whole thing is great, but I also hear about that part too. Her book is a children's book that transforms math into a friendly presence, encouraging children to see it as a helpful companion intertwined with their everyday environment. Like I said, I'm so excited for you to hear today's interview and all the great takeaways you're gonna get for it in our STEM in Action series.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:42]:

And so, sit back, enjoy, and maybe take a few notes along the way.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:17]:

Alright. Well, thank you, Nicole, so much for being here today. We were chatting a little bit before we hit record, and once you guys watch the video version of this, Nicole has the best glasses on right now. They are beautiful. She's so beautiful, and then her glasses just accentuate that, but they're bright red. They're so cute. They're so cute. So you guys have to check out the video once that's posted, but thank you so much for being here.


Nichole Austion [00:03:45]:

Thank you for having me. I'm so pleased to be on your podcast today.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:49]:

I'm very excited to get into what we're gonna chat about today. But before we do that, if you want, thinking about you and just how you support STEM education and your background.


Nichole Austion [00:04:04]:

Absolutely. My name is Nicole Achin. I'm the vice president of public affairs for the National Math and Science Initiative. National Math and Science Initiative is a STEM solution provider, and we provide excellent quality STEM professional development for teachers in grades 3 through 12. I am a STEM woman in STEM. I have an engineering degree from Howard University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, which I thought at one point took me out of STEM. But the fact that I have, spent 20 years in technology companies made me realize that I am a woman in STEM and that I have spent my entire career doing that. In the last 6 years, I have been affiliated with the education industry.


Nichole Austion [00:04:56]:

I spent about 2 years with the Charter Management Organization working as their director of marketing, and I've been with the National Math and Science Initiative for 4 years. I'm also a mother and a wife, mother of a teenage son who has a little bit of math anxiety and is also neurodiverse.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:17]:

Well, I love how all of your experiences have blended together, and I sure help you so much with what you're currently doing with the organization that you are a part of because definitely having your background in STEM and then you worked in those companies, and now, helping out teachers with great training, which is definitely needed, hence why this podcast exists. I taught in the STEM classroom for 5 years and had limited supplies and zero curriculum. I personally didn't have a background in STEM. I ended up getting a master's in it, but I think it is so important with what you're doing and supporting teachers and, just with great high-quality professional development. So, what types of things with your professional development do you guys really focus on in terms of STEM? Like, what are the types of things that you really hope teachers will gain from the program that you're involved in?


Nichole Austion [00:06:21]:

That is such a great question, Naomi. So, at the National Math and Science Initiative, about 80% of our employees are former teachers. And being former teachers, they understand what quality professional development is and what professional development without quality is. And so we really wanna focus in on making sure that, number 1, we create community amongst the teachers. As a matter of fact, we are getting ready to have our content workshops in the Fort Worth area, where we'll have over 500 STEM teachers, and in Norfolk in the Virginia Beach area, sorry. Excuse me. Virginia Beach area, where we'll have over 300 STEM teachers. And so number 1 is we wanna create that community.


Nichole Austion [00:07:09]:

We want teachers to understand that they're not alone in the classroom. Secondly, we want to make sure that we have excellent content and pedagogy. We know that a lot of teachers come to STEM with a literacy lens, and they need the content and the pedagogy to be solid in their minds and build that confidence in them because there are so many other things to do within the classroom. Classroom data, try this one of my Yes.


Nichole Austion [00:07:36]:

Things that I hate the most. Right? But if you have that knowledge content and pedagogy knowledge, then you can focus on other things within the classroom. And then thirdly, and certainly not any less important than the other 2, are really creating a culture of STEM literacy. And we define STEM literacy as individuals who are critical thinkers who can apply concepts from science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the humanities to understand complex problems, innovate around those problems, and collaborate with others to solve them. And what we wanna emphasize is that that's not just a teacher thing. Right? That's a school culture thing. Yeah. That's a curriculum thing. Mhmm.


Nichole Austion [00:08:25]:

That's a career awareness thing. So we tend to put all of those things into our content workshops so that teachers have a broad view of and leaders have a broad view of how to create those STEM literate cultures in their schools, in their districts, and in their states.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:48]:

I think that's very important, and I think can be really tricky depending on what school you are at and even who your admin is. For me, personally, I had an admin who is super supportive of STEM and very, excited about it and, just that type of thinking, and then how to admin where that was not the case, then they never came into my classroom. So, I think that's really, really important as well. So, for people who might not have a strong STEM culture or have that type of support, what types of things does your program recommend for getting started and creating that type of community and support?


Nichole Austion [00:09:36]:

Absolutely. Thanks for that question. So we really do try to partner with districts and states in order to provide that STEM literacy culture. But if you are a teacher in an environment that does not have that support, one of the one of the ways you can really start doing that for your students is to present them with real world problems in the classroom. I think if you take a look at your teaching team, and you can work with your teaching team and present real world problems, things around climate change, how to grow food in a flood plain, how to get supplies to refugees. Those are examples of lessons that you can use cross-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary, and ways that you can start kind of introducing some of that critical thinking and problem-solving in the classroom. Another way that you can do that is to perhaps approach your administration about becoming a trainer. Right? So, train the trainer model.


Nichole Austion [00:10:46]:

So can I, a teacher, go and be trained on how to proliferate STEM literacy in our school and then bring that back? Right? That may be something that you can propose to your administration, in order for them to kind of see the benefits. Sometimes, they might wanna stick their toe in the water, just test it out a little bit, and then broaden that type of program. The other thing I think is critically important is really understanding the careers that we need in STEM. We are woefully short and will be woefully short for many decades to come in terms of the STEM professionals that we have. So get yourself well versed in what career options we need to staff up on in here in the United States and globally, and maybe hold a career fair. Introduce your students to different types of careers. And you can make that interdisciplinary as well. Yep.


Nichole Austion [00:11:47]:

But make sure you're exposing those kids to all of the breadth and depth that they could potentially have within the world of STEM. So those are just a few ways since you might be able to start.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:00]:

You are getting me so excited because, okay. Yes. Like, a 100%. I'm so glad you mentioned this because I was a classroom teacher for 6 years before getting into STEM, and my school did this. They did have, like, a train-the-trainer type of model. When we really focused on math that year, we started doing that with technology and, at the time it's technology, not so much stem, but still that project-based learning. So I a 100%, that's what we did. Then our teams, we had co-planning times, and we did plan those project-based learning experiences.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:39]:

And one of them even, like, your examples are so real, and they're so true and kids don't even know those exist and even things that happen in your own school. We did it even. The kids planned one of our parties, our class parties, and our fall party, and we actually used the data that we're learning about graphing and part, which is pretty cool.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:09]:

But I'm, yeah, so glad you said that because it can work. I've been in a school where it works, but also the STEM careers. Girl, I got a whole other podcast about STEM careers for kids.


Nichole Austion [00:13:20]:

That's fantastic.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:21]:

A whole other one.


Nichole Austion [00:13:22]:

Yeah.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:23]:

Yeah. So, if you guys haven't heard, it's the STEM Career Quest podcast, and I interview people in STEM and have done a whole series on this podcast about STEM career day. So I'm so glad we're aligned with this because I'm not just making this stuff up. Nicole is saying the things that are here, guys. This is real. This works.


Nichole Austion [00:13:44]:

Absolutely.


Nichole Austion [00:13:46]:

Absolutely. And I'll tell you, like, with this generation too, I love the idea of kind of that flipped classroom that you talked about, because as we all, you know, probably experience, these kids, especially when it comes to technology, they're so adept at such a young age. And what a great way to get them involved in their own learning. Present them with a project, you know, a project-based lesson that can flip that classroom and have them teach their peers or have them teach you about technology and having them presenting them with a real world problem that they can tap Alexa for with, you know, within ethics.


Nichole Austion [00:14:24]:

But how can we,


Nichole Austion [00:14:26]:

you know, how can we really engage them in the world that they're really gonna be growing up in, in a way that helps them to understand the linkages between what they, you know, like and love about STEM and those critical skills that they're gonna be building throughout the lab.


Nichole Austion [00:14:46]:

Mhmm.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:47]:

Really, Mark, and what you like with the program, the things that you're doing are more cross-curricular instead of being isolated, we are making this project, the end, like, everything kind of blends together and using all of those skills. Is that what you guys really focus on?


Nichole Austion [00:15:06]:

But we do wanna have that interdisciplinary approach. We also wanna make sure that we are helping teachers in terms of vertical teaming. Right? Mhmm. This was not a thing that I was aware of, having not been a formally trained educator, but you may sit, and you know this, you may sit in the 3rd grade.


Nichole Austion [00:15:28]:

Mhmm. You


Nichole Austion [00:15:28]:

don't have any idea what those kids need to know in 8th grade.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:32]:

Mhmm.


Nichole Austion [00:15:32]:

So what we'd like to focus on, as well as the interdisciplinary nature of what we train, We also wanna focus on that vertical team. Yeah. If you're sitting in a district, an elementary school, you need to know what those kids


Nichole Austion [00:15:47]:

have to


Nichole Austion [00:15:47]:

know when they get Yeah. In middle school.


Nichole Austion [00:15:49]:

You have


Nichole Austion [00:15:49]:

to have that communication along that vertical team. And it doesn't have to although we'd like for it to cross from elementary to middle, middle to high. But sometimes just within elementary school.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:01]:

Yeah. True.


Nichole Austion [00:16:02]:

Have to know: What do these kids absolutely have to know in order to be successful in the next grade, in the next grade, in the next grade? And everything that we teach in terms of our professional development is mapped back from AP standards. Now, that doesn't mean every kid is gonna take an AP class. Right? Yeah. But it's mapped from AP standards so that you understand as a teacher if this kid can grasp this, they can then perform in an AP class, and they can be ready to transition into a college-level course.


Nichole Austion [00:16:41]:

Mhmm.


Nichole Austion [00:16:41]:

So we really wanna make sure that that's solid in the minds of our teachers as they look to scaffold skills throughout the year.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:50]:

That is so important too that, yes, you're doing these really cool lessons, but why are you doing it? Like, how is this connected to the bigger picture? What standards are you relating this to? Because I hear that too when I talk with teachers and have done, like, professional development and group coaching. And even when I did coaching in my school, even classroom teachers might not always know what standards they're supposed to teach. And so it is important if you're doing even if you're doing hands-on things and engaging kids, it has a purpose, and it there's a reason why we're doing this. Like, it's a whole big thing. And so the standards like, maybe it's annoying, but it is important to understand what is this rooted in, how is this connected. You're not teaching to the test. It's that, can they achieve what's gonna be coming in the years to come? So, I'm so glad that you guys see that. When you work with teachers or even things that you have seen, are there any specific projects or cool things that you've done with teachers that they've really enjoyed, like STEM and project-based learning?


Nichole Austion [00:18:02]:

Yeah. The cool thing that we do are really hands on. Mhmm. I love watching some of the math and science teachers work with our teachers. At one of our recent new teacher academies here in Atlanta, we had a fabulous coach who was teaching about measurement in the middle grades. And as we went out into the foyer, all the teachers and the coach were out there. They were measuring things. I mean, they had actual projects that they were taking on and they would take back into the classroom, potentially.


Nichole Austion [00:18:38]:

And they were really thinking critically about how the project could be, executed. And it looked like they were the kids.


Nichole Austion [00:18:47]:

It was beautiful. Right? But they


Nichole Austion [00:18:49]:

were so engaged in, you know, making sure that, you know, they had the appropriate directions, that they, you know, where directions were missing, they could use those critical thinking skills. So I really like the fact that our coaches, who are current classroom teachers, which is wonderful, really provide lessons that are hands-on for our teachers so that they can experience being a student as well as experience being, have experience being the instructor, while they're doing their professional development. We've also partnered with some fabulous, organizations who are corporate organizations who want to provide information, and resources to to students. We currently work with Deloitte and their Smart Believers Factory project, where they provide rovers to our school. We develop the curriculum behind that particular program, and that's fun because it's a little robot,


Naomi Meredith [00:20:01]:

And


Nichole Austion [00:20:01]:

all of the curriculum is standards-aligned, but it's all about getting that rover working. And it was fun to see the teachers doing that, too.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:09]:

Like Does it look like a Mars rover? Does it look like a real rover?


Nichole Austion [00:20:14]:

It looks like a little rover, and there are exercises to help lights blink and get it actually moving and put it together. So we really love having some of our corporate partners who are leaning into that investment in STEM education and leaning into that quality professional development coming to us because they know that our program is curriculum agnostic and customizable, but it's it's a program that teachers love. Right? And that's the Yeah. Right? We want teachers to love the professional development that we provide. And let's face it. Mine have another 10 professional development. It's not fun. But we wanna make it fun and applicable for Oh, yeah.


Nichole Austion [00:20:57]:

Our


Naomi Meredith [00:20:58]:

Oh, absolutely. And, you know, I mean, if the teacher is bored, like, do they really wanna teach what they're saying? I would wanna teach about a rover, though.


Nichole Austion [00:21:06]:

Mhmm. For sure.


Naomi Meredith [00:21:09]:

So one thing with teachers, maybe you see this too because I know you have all sorts of teachers, like classroom teachers and maybe some who teach STEM. And some schools, like, I know there are teachers who listen to this. They don't have a STEM teacher, and that's okay. But I one thing I really hear is with the time, the limited time, and sometimes the projects are too long. Are there things that you guys recommend? Like, there are a lot of teachers who listen and only see their kids once a week for 1 hour. They see the whole school within the week. And so these longer projects, they really want to do, but then they don't have a lot of time. They're like, I only see them for 1 hour, and then I'll see them for 1 hour next week, and the kids forget.


Naomi Meredith [00:21:58]:

And how do I store everything? Are there projects you have in mind or things that you guys recommend where they are still doing these high-level things but just in a shorter amount of time?


Nichole Austion [00:22:08]:

Yeah. I think that is really where the interdisciplinary nature and teaming within the schools is gonna be critically important. Because if you can take a portion of a social studies lesson, right, And you can make it applicable, design a lesson in science or design a lesson I mean, math, probably not the right example, but biology or design a lesson, chemistry, that kind of goes along with that particular social studies lesson. You might be able to have more traction,


Nichole Austion [00:22:43]:

with


Nichole Austion [00:22:43]:

those students. And then working in your grade level team to integrate, you know, some of the concepts and things that you wanna teach in your particular STEM class into those that history class or that social studies class. And look, don't don't ignore physical education. Don't ignore Yeah. You know, some of your extracurricular types of activities. You know, make sure that you're learning, especially within STEM, is interdisciplinary because there are so many applications and so many ways to connect the dots for those Mhmm. Those students. So try as much as you can to work as a team if you only have that short period of time.


Nichole Austion [00:23:24]:

Yes. And then, once again, you know, make sure that you're doing things that could be really impactful, especially if it relates to culturally relevant education. Talk about


Nichole Austion [00:23:35]:

Mhmm.


Nichole Austion [00:23:36]:

Different cultures, ethnicities, and gender identities that are STEM Mhmm. Professional. Right? Try to bring in STEM professionals from your local, Yeah. Companies to talk to the kids. Right? Mhmm. Because there's nothing like seeing somebody in a profession, talking to somebody, in that profession to kind of spur that imagination about what a child would be.


Naomi Meredith [00:24:03]:

Mhmm. That's really, really good advice, and I love that too because I think, well, not that I know when I was, coming from a classroom to being a STEM specials teacher, I felt very isolated where I don't have I had a team, PER and music. However, I didn't know what the teachers were doing. I did co-teach for a while, but I think that's really helpful if you only see them once a week, like you said, that what they're doing in their regular classroom can help build that background knowledge. And even too, I know some teachers will have a like, it's just a lot teaching science, and don't teach science, but maybe you could take on, oh, maybe I can have a different stem to it. It's sort of like what I try to do with my projects that were standards-based and having a stem perspective, like, maybe you're learning about life cycles, but now we're gonna create a 3 d model of the life cycle that can be printed on our 3 d printer. So making those connections, I think, is so important because we're not teaching in silos. Like, you might be a different room, but we're all on the same team.


Nichole Austion [00:25:16]:

That's right. That's right. It's very important to remember that. Yep. Absolutely.


Naomi Meredith [00:25:21]:

Okay. So I'm gonna ask you, do you have any fun projects that you might be working on that might be helpful for teachers to your organization that you're a part of does amazing things? But is there anything in particular that you have going on that you wanna share?


Nichole Austion [00:25:40]:

So, I do have a project that I'm working on, so you can probably see a little bit of it in the video. I just produced and published a book called Miles and the Math Monsters. And it is all about a young man, a little boy named Miles, who has a bit of math anxiety. As most teachers and educators know, math was the 2023 word of the year designated by Education Week. Mhmm. And I Mhmm. I was inspired to write this particular book because I had a very math intensive journey as an engineer. There math I didn't have a choice, but math is interdisciplinary.


Nichole Austion [00:26:25]:

You showed up everywhere.


Naomi Meredith [00:26:27]:

Yes.


Nichole Austion [00:26:27]:

School. Right? And I have a child who struggles with math. And so I've had to be barely creative in trying to get him to understand certain concepts. He struggled a little bit with working memory, so we utilized things that he loved. So, he is a Fortnite fanatic. Right? And he's really good. Alright. So to get him to kind of understand the concept of addition and subtraction, he's in the game.


Nichole Austion [00:27:03]:

And if he's in the game, and he's one of 7 players left, okay. So, if you're one of 7 players left, how many players then do you have to eliminate? Right away. Right? So, utilizing things that are in his everyday life to really get him to understand the concepts of addition, subtraction, and multiplication, and then building upon his strengths. Now, I will tell you, he will struggle with certain concepts, but he does exponents like a champ, and most people don't.


Nichole Austion [00:27:37]:

Oh. Yeah.


Naomi Meredith [00:27:38]:

I know. 


Nichole Austion [00:27:40]:

That's hard.


Naomi Meredith [00:27:41]:

Good skill.


Nichole Austion [00:27:43]:

Yeah. He's really, really good with exponent and all of the operations with exponent. But really, I was inspired to write the book because of him. You know, we were kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum.


Nichole Austion [00:27:54]:

I had all this math. He struggles with math. And, I wanted to show, you know, young children that you don't have to be afraid of numbers. Numbers are everywhere. Math is a language, and it's a language we're all gonna be using for the rest of our lives. And there that may look scary on a board, but it doesn't look scary when you're ordering 2 scoops of ice cream or when you're counting players on the basketball court, the ones who are on the bench versus the ones who are playing. It's not scary to see the number of trees in your local park. You know, it's not scary when you recognize that numbers are everywhere and math is everywhere, and it's a part of our lives.


Nichole Austion [00:28:36]:

And so that was the inspiration for writing the book. I'm hoping that they'll become a series of books, around STEM. So that's one of my projects.


Naomi Meredith [00:28:47]:

Yeah. That's a great book. I know, Jers, we, especially in elementary, love using books and using that as a good talking point. And that's a great book for any time of year, but especially for back to school when we're talking about growth mindset and how we think through problems, especially math, and how math can be scary. But we're all math people. So, I love that. Put that in the show notes so teachers can grab it for their extra school bookshelves.


Nichole Austion [00:29:18]:

Absolutely. Absolutely.


Naomi Meredith [00:29:20]:

Well, thank you so much. Is there anything else that you would love to share that I missed out on or anything else that you think teachers should know?


Nichole Austion [00:29:29]:

I think what really I wanna emphasize is the fact that you know, you're not alone, teachers. Especially when we talk about the National Math and Science Initiative. We are here to help you build the content and pedagogy that you need. We understand that teaching is a valuable profession, and we treat it as such. Right? And I know there are so many challenges in the classroom these days, but I want teachers to understand that if they're looking for quality STEM professional development, they have allies. Right? You have allies outside of the National Math and Science Initiative, but certainly with our organization as well. And on our website, which is nms.org, we have free lessons that teachers can download. So if you go to our website, go to the resources page, we have a wealth of free lessons that you can utilize in your classroom, and this is really for teachers in 3 grades 3 through 12.


Nichole Austion [00:30:32]:

We also have culturally responsive lessons that we've put together with partners like 3 m and the Leiden Hill Institute. So check out our website. It can't hurt to have a free lesson, something to help you build that STEM literacy culture in your school and in your classroom.


Naomi Meredith [00:30:52]:

I love that. Thank you so much for sharing those, and, definitely, if teachers want to dive in this summer, if you're chilling this summer, look at it during back to school. That's fine, too. We'll link all of that for sure, but we appreciate your insights so much, Nicole, and what you're doing, helping support teachers through your book and also the organization that you're a part of. And, thank you so much for all of your insight today.


Nichole Austion [00:31:20]:

Thank you, Naomi. I really appreciate you having me on your platform.


Naomi Meredith [00:31:25]:

Thank you.

creating a STEM culture

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

supporting students in math

Supporting Students in Math & Critical Thinking with CEO & Founder of Math N’ More, Dr. Christopher Roblész [ep.164]

Supporting Students in Math & Critical Thinking with CEO & Founder of Math N’ More, Dr. Christopher Roblész [ep.164]

supporting students in math

Check out the full episode on Supporting Students in Math & Critical Thinking with CEO & Founder of Math N' More, Dr. Christopher Roblész:  

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

In today’s episode, we are continuing the STEM into Action Series with tips and strategies for supporting students in math and critical thinking. I chat with Dr. Christopher Roblész, the Founder and CEO of Math N’ More. Roblész shares some practical ways that you can implement math and also help kids think about math differently in your STEM instruction.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How Math N’ More is supporting students in math
  • How students respond to the math interventions implemented at Math N’ More
  • How to use metacognitive strategies to teach math
  • Strategies for engaging reluctant math learners
  • Pi Day activity idea

Meet Dr. Christopher Roblész:

Dr. Christopher Roblész, the Founder and CEO of Math N’ More, is an experienced Mathematics enthusiast. Commencing his career in NYC in 2009 as a math interventionist, he has contributed to Math communities across the East Coast.

Throughout his educational career, Dr. Roblesz has undertaken various roles, including Math Interventionist, Network Math Specialist, Special Education Director, and School Administrator. When Dr. Roblész worked at SEED Miami, he achieved groundbreaking results as the 9th-grade cohort witnessed an outstanding 111% increase in passing scores on the Algebra 1 EOC within a single school year.

Approximately 60% of scholars attained Satisfactory – Mastery, surpassing both Miami Dade County Public Schools and the State of Florida on the Algebra 1 EOC (End-of-Course) exam. Dr. Roblész possesses a profound passion for Mathematics, holding professional teacher certification in Mathematics and Special Education across various states. He recently completed his Doctorate in Education in Applied Learning Sciences, Application of Metacognition in a Secondary Mathematics Classroom.

Beyond his dedication to education, Dr. Roblész enjoys flying and traveling, with his preferred vacation spot being Grand Turks.

Connect with Dr. Roblész:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

What are some practical ways that you can implement math and also help kids think about math differently in your STEM instruction? This is the 7th episode of my STEM in action series, where we are breaking apart each letter in STEM to give you ideas on how to boost up each component in your instruction. I am interviewing guests who specialize in each of the letters, and I also share my quick tips to give you some ideas when you are lesson planning. For our guest today, I am talking with Dr. Christopher Roblész, who is the founder and CEO of Math N' More. Doctor Roblész possesses a profound passion for mathematics and holds a professional teacher certification in mathematics and special education across various states. He recently completed his doctorate in education and applied learning sciences and has an application of metacognition in secondary mathematics. Throughout his educational career, doctor Roblész has undertaken various roles, including math interventionist, network math specialist, special education director, and school administrator. Robos and I were on a live call together for the STEM Crew Magazine, and I thoroughly enjoyed his passion for math and how he helps students to be successful. His philosophy definitely aligned with mine in terms of how you should teach kids math.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:46]:

During the live, I actually asked him in the chat for his email so that he could be a guest on my podcast for you guys to hear. But, also, he was also a guest on my podcast for kids, the STEM Career Quest podcast, where I interview people who are in STEM jobs to help inspire them about what they wanna be when they grow up. So in that episode, he shares about what it's like being an entrepreneur with a math focus. So make sure to go and check out that episode. I am so excited for you to get to know Roblész and all of the amazing tips and tricks when it comes to implementing math and also getting kids excited when they are thinking through those problems. 


Naomi Meredith [00:02:52]:

Well, thank you so much, Roblész, for being here. We met on a live call with Tiffani Teachey for the STEM Crew Magazine. And when you were speaking as this whole guest experience we were in together, I knew I had to have you here on the podcast. And I actually messaged you in the chat during the live event. Like, I need your information. We need to connect. And so, I really appreciate you being here today and talking with teachers and parents out there about all things math, and I'm so excited for our conversation.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:32]:

So, if you wouldn't mind telling us, brief if you could briefly describe your background about you and Math N' More and how you got into this space.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:03:41]:

Yes. Indeed. First of all, thank you for having me. I am excited and elated to be here today. Happy Pi Day. Today is March 14th, so happy Pi Day. And just a little brief overview about myself and Math N’ More. I've been in the education space my entire life.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:03:59]:

I started out in 2009 as a math interventionist at a middle school in New York City. Then I progressed my career over the years, from being a math coach to an assistant principal to special education coordinator, and district leader, all of these different roles. That was not the order in which I served in those roles, but I've done all of those different things. And then at the height of the pandemic, I saw a need that needed to be addressed as it pertains to mathematics and students having access to mathematics, mathematic education, and, like, tutorial services. So, I created Math N' More. So, Math N' More was founded in the height of the pandemic to address scholars who had deficits in that. And it was because of those deficits and my experience as an educator that I was able to address those concerns and support students right where they were. So all of it culminating, yes, it was a very hard time and COVID was a very unique experience for us all.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:04:58]:

But out of COVID, we had the birth of Mathew Moore. So I do think that it was an experience for us.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:05]:

I love that. That way, I love how you just culminated all of your teaching experience into your program and saw that need, and I feel like there are so many different things that popped up during that time with teaching online. And like you said, you noticed those gaps in math and all of that. So what does Math N' More what do you, specialize in? So math, obviously, but what does Math N' More do?


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:05:33]:

Tutorial services after school and during our summer program. We offer personalized tutoring services throughout the school year for students in 1 on 1 and small group instruction. During the summertime, we offer a very unique small group intervention type style program where students are in small groups, where there are peer instructions with an adult educator who is actually honing in on just those high-ticket items that you would normally see as deficits in a classroom throughout the school year, but they're actually going through them and combing them out. So that way, when they go to the school year, the new school year, they have summer gains and not summer losses. The and or part of it is where we support students with wraparound services. So I'm really big on community programming and making sure that the whole student is supported. The majority of our scholars do have an exceptionality, meaning that they have an IEP or a 504, the IBA, act. And we do support with IEP writing.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:06:35]:

We sit on the board, the panel of the IEP meeting, the 504 meeting. We sit through the MTSS process if necessary for the parent. We educate parents. We host workshops. Our most staple event that I'm sure you know about, is Pi Day. So Pi Day just happened in Atlanta, Georgia, this past Saturday, where we brought community school leaders from different STEM organizations together, and we celebrated the Mathematica constant pie.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:04]:

Oh, that's great. This is so perfect. I'm I love how we are recording a big event for you. That's amazing. That's so cool. And I love how it's there's so many different offerings to help support students in math. And, how how do the kids respond to these types of interventions? Because maybe they've had certain experiences in school that have been positive or not so positive. What have you seen with the kids in your programs?


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:07:38]:

So the students that are in our program, we've had a 100 percent matriculation rate to the next grade. And particularly, and I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but I think we started off at, like, 45%. In our last inaugural summer program in our 6th/7th grade cohort, we started off at, like, a 45% proficiency rate. So the students take a placement exam at the beginning of the program, data data data. Right?


Naomi Meredith [00:08:06]:

Yeah.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:08:06]:

But then at the end of the program, students scored a 93% proficiency as it pertains to the skills that we targeted. So it really does show that our program through individualized support, through this, connection because as Stephen Covey said, no good learning happens from people that you don't like. So we build connections, we build bonds, and then we teach. And then through that teaching, we allow for exploration and saying, it's okay to fail forward. It's okay to not understand. We create a safe space, and then, ultimately, students learn.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:42]:

That is so true. And I feel like with any teaching space, it really goes back to those relationships. And, like, it does change your whole teaching environment, whether it is the small group or the whole group instruction. Students definitely need to feel safe in your space and, connect with you, and I've seen that with even creative projects. I've talked about it in the podcast before where when I first started my STEM class, my students had a hard time getting into the projects because they weren't they didn't know me yet, and they didn't know the type of environment it would be to fail forward and, be creative because it is such an a vulnerable, place to be in when you're creating something. And so, we definitely built that up built that up, and it changed students' attitudes for sure, towards our STEM projects and how they wanted to attack everything. And so I'm so glad that that is a core value of what you're doing with kids. That is extremely, extremely important, and I don't know if all programs are like that.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:45]:

And so that's really good that you keep that in the forefront with what you're doing.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:09:50]:

Yes. Absolutely.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:52]:

So, speaking of the things that you are doing to encourage, students in math, you mentioned the relationships and, you have yours and then you teach your programs. When it comes to their mindsets and encouraging the kids in math, are there any strategies you recommend for teachers or things that you do in your program where maybe a teacher well, there's a couple things. So kids who might be reluctant in math, and then we can go into more of, even with teachers that they're really struggling just teaching math in general. So, two audiences.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:10:26]:

Yes. So, the one thing that makes what I do so important in the work that it makes it so impactful is because I actually use metacognitive strategies to implement the teaching of mathematics. So, it is so underutilized. And, honestly, I'm not too sure how many people studied metacognition. I know that Flable in 1977 was like a staple researcher as it pertains to metacognition, but there are not really many new studies that pertain to it. But it actually lends itself to so many other things as it pertains to the development of mathematics and then self esteem, which can lend itself to social emotional loan learning and growth. So utilizing those metacognitive strategies inside a classroom is a tip that I would give teachers because it's just honestly the thought process about the thought process. Yeah.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:11:26]:

But it's also a great strategy for the students because now the students are being reflected about what they did, how they did it. They're actually using graphic organizers. They're structuring their work in a way that is unique. We don't think about math as a as a structure. We think about computation. We think about just input, output, and values and numbers, but it is a structure. It is the way sySTEMs work. It is a language indeed.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:11:53]:

So by getting kids to understand that, to respond to it in that way and not just these numbers that they see isolated for 45 to 60 minutes a day, and that it is something that is cross-curricular, that it is something that you will see in science, something that you can see in art, something that you can see, in your daily life when you're just going down to the grocery store, then it gets them to buy in a little bit more, and now they're intrigued. Now, their interest is sparked. Now they know what to do and how to respond because they have reflected and know what that reflection process is like. And now they can circle it back again. Like, okay. I didn't get it, but I reflected on it. I know what I'm doing, and this is what I can do for next time.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:36]:

Are there, like, specific, like, a lesson you have in mind where what that might look like? Like, if you're teaching, like, fractions or place value, like, how does that look if a kid is reflecting on a specific math problem?


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:12:52]:

So in elementary school, I don't teach elementary school, very often, but, I have coached and supported elementary school teachers.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:02]:

Mhmm.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:13:03]:

So just thinking about fractions, as you said, getting kids to think about stop think and locate, stop think and locate the denominator, stop think and locate the numerator. Where would this number go? If it's an improper fraction, where are you gonna put this? How are you gonna set this up? Do you need a graphic organizer? How do you structure an improper fraction? Having kids a think aloud is nothing more than a metacognitive strategy.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:29]:

Yeah.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:13:29]:

You don't have to use this big word, to appease these kids because the kids aren't gonna know what you're talking about anyway.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:36]:

Yeah.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:13:36]:

So just tell them to, like, okay, well, think about it. What would you do? How would this work? Get them to reflect in real time about that particular lesson, and then also tell them remove the word math out of it. We're talking about a fraction. A fraction is a part of a whole. If I have a cookie and you have a cookie, how many cookies do we have? How many whole cookies do we have? And if I was to break the cookies in half, what does that look like? You're taking away the math and creating a vulnerable space because a 2 year old can talk about how many cookies they have.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:14]:

Yes.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:14:16]:

Now you're putting a standard and a strategy to it by calling it fractions and teaching it in 3rd and 4th grade. That's the only difference.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:25]:

Mhmm.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:14:25]:

But a 2 year old knows how many cookies they have. Trust me. So now build on that prior knowledge and talk about those sand cookies that they talked about when they were younger.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:35]:

That's so great and making it real. Like, there is a connection to these math concepts. They're not so ambiguous, and even going back to, like, that concrete pictorial and abstract, like, connecting those together and making it, very visual, whether it is a STEM teacher or just a teacher, implementing, math in general. I mean, in elementary, you almost teach everything. Most teachers have to teach all the subjects, and so, I like how you're using that positive language and also just here's what's happening, that let's think about this. Let's make sense of it. It's not as scary as you might think. That's really that's really, really, really helpful in just the language that teachers can shift in the way that they're talking about math.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:21]:

And you made it sound so happy. And, I mean, cookies.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:15:26]:

Right. Exactly. I really do think that, one of the strategies that we can do and we should implement is implementing in the use of the math dictionary. Not many people are aware that there's an actual math dictionary.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:41]:

Yeah. I didn't know this. But


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:15:44]:

but when you use the math dictionary let me backspace for a second. When you're in English class and you are trying to write a paper and you're trying to synthesize and you're let's take it down to elementary school. When students are learning vocabulary words for the first time, they have to learn the vocabulary word. What do they have to do? They have to look up the word. They have to do all of these things. Right? They are exploring. They're using exploration to define in their heads what this means.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:12]:

Yeah. Why


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:16:12]:

aren't we using the same strategy in mathematics? Mhmm. So you utilizing a math dictionary allows for students to feel safe with the concept now because they're using a strategy that was already taught to them in a different classroom. Mhmm. A Freya model is an a great example of a metacognitive strategy that can be implemented in a math classroom, that can support with math language.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:39]:

Gotcha.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:16:39]:

And if at any point you want me to explain, because I know I've now I've used metacognition for your mom all the time. Like, I trust that the teachers listening to this podcast fully understand all of these different ideas, but I'll be happy to explain.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:54]:

Oh, yeah. Just give a recap of the Frayer model because some people might just be listening on the go. They probably know, but then when you're explaining, like, oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:17:04]:

the Freer model is very simple, and depending on how you set it up, because there are different ways that you can set up the graphic organizer. But it's just simply a graphic organizer with the word in the middle. The student is now synthesizing it by getting a synonym. They're drawing a picture. They're writing out the definition, and they're giving an example. So it's just their way of solidifying their understanding of what this new concept, a new vocabulary word is.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:29]:

I think that would work really well in a STEM lesson. Like, when you're thinking about introducing a topic, one lesson that I would do with 4th graders is we were coding robots, to well, before that, we were coding robots, but we were creating, symmetrical snowflakes, and we were talking about lines and angles and different types of angles. And they hadn't gotten to that unit yet in their 4th grade classroom, and that's okay. I mean, that doesn't always line up, but that would have been a great connection. I was introducing the vocabulary, but just another way to, really make sense of, okay, what is an angle? What are they? How what is symmetry and all of that? So that's a really Where


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:18:12]:

do you see it? Where do you see angle?


Naomi Meredith [00:18:14]:

Mhmm. What happens?


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:18:15]:

If it's at the end of the corner, you have to make a left. What happens? So getting to understand that those angles are in real life as well, not just in shape.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:24]:

Yeah. That's so good, and it's so true. And making it all connect together, like, why do we need math? Well, math is everywhere. So that's really, really, really awesome and, really good to think about where, yes, let's say you're teaching STEM, you still need sometimes you really do need to be explicit about what you're doing in your class. We can't assume that they know. Unlike my example, my 4th graders hadn't had that lesson yet in their classroom. And so I was the one introducing that topic, and that can happen, which is great. It's there's no problem with that.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:00]:

It's just how it goes sometimes. So, that's a really great I love how you're using that in math, the Frayer model, because I did use that when I teach, literacy. That's really, really smart.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:19:11]:

Correct. Yes.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:13]:

So in terms of what you do, I'm sure it's fun all the time. Do you have any fun projects you're working on? You did talk about Pi Day, but, anything that you have going on in terms of your fun math world?


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:19:26]:

Yeah. So a couple of different fun activities that you can do on Pi Day, So every student, we knocked down, like, in a box, rolled up a dice, shook it up, and there were certain number of digits on everybody's postcard. Then everybody had to use it. So in a classroom, a full classroom, you might get 3.14. Somebody else might get 1.59, but it's on a graph it's on a graph paper, and then everybody brought their, skylines together. And we created 1 period skyline, so each period had their own skyline. And then now they're all in sync together with and there's different abstracts and different arts, but they all work culminating with the different digits of pi. So that's a very simple elementary school activity that teachers can do, and it could be cross-curricular.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:20:24]:

Right? Because that art teacher can do one set of numbers, the math teacher can do another set of numbers, then you put it in a hallway on Pi Day, and now here you have this beautiful collage of the digits of pi and students are engaged and having fun with art in Now Math.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:40]:

Do you have a picture of this?


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:20:42]:

It might be on my website. It actually might. I think it's like the first, like, the literally, the first picture of the students coloring in the digits of pi.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:50]:

Okay. I will find it, and we will link this because I'm so curious to see how this looks. Yes. I love that. Now I'm curious about this too. I'm gonna ask where people can find you. But is white you do only in person, or do you have, like, online resources as well?


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:21:08]:

So everything we do actually is in, is virtual. And we do in person activities throughout the city of Atlanta with different schools and different organizations.


Naomi Meredith [00:21:20]:

Love that. So, if you're in Atlanta, you guys are super lucky. But with virtual


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:21:26]:

I'm open to, traveling. So if there's anybody that or a school that wants to have a high experience, we call it, at your school or a different sort of ex experience, just reach out and we'll build something together.


Naomi Meredith [00:21:42]:

I love that. I think teachers would really be interested, in that. So how can they reach out and connect with you? Where are the best places to look?


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:21:51]:

So our website is www.math, the letternmoore.com. And that is also our social handles everywhere except for Twitter. Twitter is math n more or x now. Mathnmoreone. But everything else is at math, the letter n, and more.


Naomi Meredith [00:22:12]:

Perfect. Well, I'm sure teachers are gonna look you up and just really rethink just some of the strategies that they are when they're, teaching math in their classroom and integrating that in their content. And, we I mean, no matter what you're teaching, you want it to be a positive experience. And, you know, for sure with math, it also can be very positive and very fun. And, just even just those refreshers of things when you, go into that space. I think all of the strategies you explained, and I'm sure there's way a ton of great things too on your website, to help support teachers.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:22:47]:

Yes. 


Naomi Meredith [00:22:49]:

Well, thank you so much, Roblész, for everything that you're doing with kids, and I appreciate your knowledge so much on this show.


Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:22:57]:

Thank you. It was lovely being here. Thank you for having me.

supporting students in math

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More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

The Importance of Growth Mindset & Technology in STEM with Dr. Amy [STEM in Action Series] [ep.163]

The Importance of Growth Mindset & Technology in STEM with Dr. Amy [STEM in Action Series] [ep.163]

Check out the full episode on The Importance of Growth Mindset & Technology in STEM with Dr. Amy:  

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Episode Summary

Wondering what are some simple ways you can implement technology and growth mindset into your STEM classroom? In today’s episode, we are continuing our STEM in Action Series. Today, I chat with Dr. Amy about why growth mindset and technology in STEM are important, and practical ways to plan for both in your STEM lessons. 

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • The importance of technology in STEM
  • Ways to incorporate technology in STEM lessons
  • Projects Dr. Amy is currently working on

Meet Dr. Amy

With her background as a K-12 math and science teacher and her experience in instructing future elementary teachers, Dr. Amy is dedicated to democratizing STEM education. She seeks to provide a virtual space filled with resources and activity ideas for both parents and teachers. Passionate about technology and an advocate for STEM learning, Dr. Amy leverages these tools to enhance the learning process. She is the driving force behind the @theSTEMtechie social media handles, a website, and a podcast, all designed to help parents and educators confidently integrate STEM and technology into their teaching.

In addition to offering virtual resources, Dr. Amy, inspired by her love of reading children's books with her kids, authored “Don't Lose Your Marbles.” This children's book features a young female protagonist who solves a problem using the STEM Engineering Design Process. The book includes a “Dear Reader” section that explains the steps of the process and highlights key vocabulary throughout the story. “Don't Lose Your Marbles” will be published in June 2024 on Amazon and Ingram Sparks.

Whether you are a K-12 teacher, run a maker space, or are a homeschooling parent seeking innovative problem-solving activities, Dr. Amy at @theSTEMtechie provides a wealth of ideas and resources to support you.

Connect with Dr. Amy

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

What are some practical ways that you can implement technology and growth mindset into your STEM instruction? This is the 2nd episode of my STEM in action series, where we will break apart each letter in STEM to give you ideas on how to boost up each component in your instruction. I'll be interviewing guests who specialize in each of the letters and also sharing my quick tips to give you some ideas when you are lesson planning. For our guest today, I am talking with Amy from the STEM techie over on Instagram. With her background as a k through 12 math and science teacher and her experience in instructing future elementary teachers, doctor Amy is dedicated to democratizing STEM education. She seeks to provide a virtual space filled with resources and activity ideas for both parents and teachers. She is passionate about technology and an advocate for STEM learning. Doctor Amy leverages these tools to enhance the learning processes to help you and your students. Amy also mentions a really, really cool personal project that she is working on, which should be released at the time of this podcast.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:24]:

So make sure not to miss out on that. Amy and I actually connected over on Instagram, and we surprisingly had a chance to meet in person not too long ago. She was in town not too far from where I live, so we took it upon ourselves, and we actually got to meet up. And I have a really cute picture of us that I'll post in the show notes, and we're at this cute coffee shop that looks like it was set right in the Versailles Palace. It was so cute. I absolutely adore Amy, and I knew that we needed to do something together. So this isn't the last time that you are going to be hearing from her. We are actually working on something else together behind the scenes, which I don't can't remember if we even talk about in the show.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:56]:

Well, thank you, Amy, so much for being here today. We were talking for a long time before we were recording. We're like, maybe we should start recording because there are so many good things that we were talking about. And I was over on your podcast and had so much fun. I'm like, you need to be on my podcast. So, you'll definitely have to share the title of it so everyone can find it. But, if you wouldn't mind telling us, just let us know a little bit more about you and just, your journey into what you're doing making, but also how you support, Steam and technology.


Dr. Amy [00:03:30]:

Well, thank you so much for having me on your podcast. Like you said, I had an absolute blast talking on my podcast and all that you are doing with yours. So I'm excited to jump in and talk about this. So, my name is doctor Amy, and I have a PhD in teacher education. And I focused all of my schooling and teaching in technology and math ed. And before that, I was in the k twelve world where I taught math and science, and I actually, got a grant as a teacher to implement technology. And that's kinda where I fell in love with technology and learning and seeing all of the kids come alive with it. And so I was like, oh my gosh.


Dr. Amy [00:04:07]:

I have to know more about that. So, I graduated about a year ago, which was awesome and insane. But since then, one of the things that I had talked to people about of why aren't you taking grad classes, or what are your thoughts on taking grad classes? They said, well, unfortunately, I can't because of funds or time, which, you know, we are both teachers. We get that. You know, we empathize with that. Teachers don't need more schooling. They need resources. And so I kind of took it on myself to make it a mission of how do I get resources and technology ideas into the hands of teachers.


Dr. Amy [00:04:43]:

So I started social media, shortly after I graduated, and I've been doing that. And I have a podcast, like you mentioned, of Parenting in the Techie World podcast. That's specifically for parents just kinda navigating, you know, their kids' learning in a techie world, which is very different from how most of us grew up that are parents. And then I also have a children's book coming out in the next few weeks that I'll share a little bit more about that later.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:09]:

Yay. I love that. And I think that's perfect too. I'm so glad you shared your podcast, because I know we have a lot of parents who listen to this as well and, a lot of teachers who are parents, and I think that perspective is really really helpful. But you're also telling me you did something cool. Like, when you were teaching, teachers, you were doing some really cool stuff with your, they were going through the teaching program, and then they took your class about technology. What were you doing with them? I thought this was so cool.


Dr. Amy [00:05:42]:

So I have a little bit different philosophy when it comes to technology, and I kinda based it on my experience with technology. And so when someone approached me and said, oh, I'd love for you to do robotics in your math and science class, I was like, yeah. That's cool. I'm scared of robots. Like, I don't know how to work them. I don't know how to turn them on. You know? But I also you know, that STEM mindset of, like, trying new things, I was like, I'm willing to try it. However, I don't have a lot of time.


Dr. Amy [00:06:08]:

And so my classes for undergraduate specifically were just giving time. And so I would say, here's a Sphero Bolt or here's an Ozobot or here's a DashBot. Like, you sit down and create with it. So I would, generally choose, like, a great band, like a k 2, 3, 6, great band and say, pick one of the standards, create something that's either math or science related, and see what you come up with. And so it was really cool to see just the innovation of teachers. And, at the end of the class, I would have them turn in all of these lesson plans that they designed, and I would give them to them so they could walk into their 1st year teaching with all of these resources and ideas from, not me, I was the facilitator of all of their peers and the collaboration that happened in class. So, it was my favorite way to teach, and I love teaching like that.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:58]:

I think that's so cool. I was thinking back on my master's in STEM leadership and also my undergrad, and I did not have a technology class like that where it was meaningful in a way where you got to interact with the tools but then also create a lesson you would actually want to use. So I love that you did that. That's such a great strategy. And you also said it was standards based, which I talk about that all the time on here. That it's not like, okay. Turn on the robot. Like, you you do that, but then, alright, what else are you gonna do with it?


Dr. Amy [00:07:32]:

Right. And I think that's one thing that teachers run into often is they're like, oh, I would love to use robotics, but I am so far, like, scheduled with my pacing guide that I don't have any way to add on. And so that's why I wanted to give them time. Instead of adding on to something, you are switching out to something. So instead of doing a worksheet with this, you're now having the kids create something coding, learning those same math skills. And so it was like a switcheroo instead of please add more to my plate because that's exactly what teachers want. Right?


Naomi Meredith [00:08:01]:

Like, we don't want more to on our plate. Teach you how to


Dr. Amy [00:08:04]:

do something different. Yeah. So it's awesome. Yeah. Like, once


Naomi Meredith [00:08:07]:

you learn that tool, it's actually not that bad. If a little kid can do it Mhmm. He can definitely do it. It's like, think about that. Like, you can learn it. It's actually not that hard. And even when I talk to my dad, he's, like engineer. When I first got into STEM, he was like, oh, how did you get this job? Coding is so hard.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:28]:

I'm all Mhmm. Yes. But think about my target audience. They're the youngest is 5. Mhmm.


Dr. Amy [00:08:35]:

And


Naomi Meredith [00:08:36]:

so they like like, I can learn it, they can learn it. So it's gonna be okay. So think about that too. I mean, it's not as overwhelming, at least in elementary, when you're using those technology tools.


Dr. Amy [00:08:49]:

Yeah. And that's why I always say, you know, I am not an expert coder. I know the level that most elementary school students are. And, you know, we are teaching kids that have just grown up with technology. My oldest is 3 and a half years old, and she knows how to navigate my computer and my phone so quickly that it's just like the it's a second language to them almost because they're just so we all have iPads. We all have smartphones. We all have tablets. You know, all of these things.


Dr. Amy [00:09:19]:

And so they it it's second nature to them to interact with them and be curious about them. And so it was a lot of reframing on my end of, oh, this is approachable, but it is I needed bite size pieces, and so that's what I tried to do in my classes because I was just like, how did I feel when I first approached this robot? I just wanted to play with it. And that's honestly, when I was in the k twelve world, that's what I did too. The kids just wanted to play with it. So I let them create with them, and it was so cool to see what they came up with.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:50]:

I love that. That's such a great that's just so encouraging to hear. So any of you teachers who are just getting started, play around with it because and play around with with your students, and it will work out, and then you can go from there. It will it will it'll be okay.


Dr. Amy [00:10:05]:

Yes. My recommendation is, for the first 15 minutes, get out a robot yourself and for yourself too and just see what you find out. And then I would bring everyone together and say, okay. What did we find out about this variable? Like, let's talk about it. And someone would say, oh, I figured out if I did this, or I figured out a loop and blah blah blah. And so it was so much more of like a hive mindset and collaboration, which was such a cool dynamic in a classroom. And I felt like, at least in my experience, kids were more excited about that because they were doing the learning, and they weren't being talked to, if that makes sense.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:36]:

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's excellent. That we can implement that right away. I love that. That's so good. Okay. So once the teacher has, like, gotten started with that, are there any and it could be robotics or something else you have in mind, maybe from that experience or whatever.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:52]:

But are there any STEM lessons or technology lessons you can think of that you absolutely love


Dr. Amy [00:10:59]:

Mhmm.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:59]:

Teaching or that you saw? It might be hard to pick one or 2.


Dr. Amy [00:11:04]:

Yes. That's so I think for STEM, specifically, I focused a lot on, like, phenomena. So, like, localized things that were happening. So I, taught and went to school in the state of Nebraska, and we recently had, like, it was 1 in a 100 year flood that just, like, wiped out half the state. It was insane. And so I based a lot of my lessons on that because it was able to tap into, like, the empathy piece of my students. And so they were like, oh, you know, my grandma couldn't get out of her house for a while or, like, this road was closed or we were driving by this bridge. And so it was able to drum up a lot of emotion for them.


Dr. Amy [00:11:43]:

So it was kind of getting them to buy into a STEM lesson, if that makes sense. Yeah. And so we, I did a lot of those lessons. And so I was like, okay. So let's say that we need this house to be beautiful. It's been in the family for generations, and, you know, the flood is coming. Let's build something to keep the water out or the foundation's going. How do we do that? And so it was just, like, different phenomena that they experienced.


Dr. Amy [00:12:06]:

Or in the state of Nebraska, the wolf population is endangered. And so we would talk about, like, the food chain. So, again, tying in all of those standards that were super easy to talk about of, like, okay. So, what do wolves need to survive? Okay. So, like, they need water, they need shelter, and they need food. So then if we want to increase that, what does that happen with the food chain? So, it's constantly going back and forth with specific content standards. Again, trying to


Naomi Meredith [00:12:31]:

Yeah.


Dr. Amy [00:12:32]:

Not add on, switch the way that we were teaching. So Yeah. I loved doing phenomena based STEM. And then I also probably my favorite tech stem was with a DashBot. We did Fraction Street. And so we had a whole, which was 1, and they had to break it up into at least 4 different parts. And so they had to identify it. They had to do equivalent fractions, and they had to come up with a story line.


Dr. Amy [00:13:03]:

And so they had to share, like, this is your street. You gotta share about your neighbors, who are on one half, and tell about their lives. And so, with the DashBot, you can record your voice. And so then they would record their voices, and so then we would go through and they would share about their, their favorite fraction straight. So the best time to do that was fall because they all went to, like, a haunted street, which was Oh. Even way more cool, which I loved. So, that was probably my favorite lesson that I did with robots.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:33]:

That's cute. I love that. And if you guys are watching the video behind me, I have a big poster of Dash. It might be worth a day. Dash is my favorite. Absolutely. And and Dash, it's funny. Dash is the first STEM material I ever used in my life.


Dr. Amy [00:13:51]:

Really? Okay.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:52]:

Yes. When I taught 3rd grade, this little robot was so cute. It's so funny. Now, I do a lot with them, so it's like full circle.


Dr. Amy [00:14:02]:

Yeah. Well and I think, you know, even they have opportunities to engage with it. So it's much less, like, kids are doing stuff, but then they get to see this robot, like, visually see it. So they're like, oh, it just adds this layer of, like, coolness for the kids. At least in my experience, they were just obsessed with robots. So anytime I could get a robot moving, I was like, we're learning a lot today.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:24]:

Mhmm. Oh, yeah. As long as you know the rules and then


Dr. Amy [00:14:28]:

Yeah. Safety first.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:30]:

Yes. The robot. Also, don't take them home. I've had that happen with Ozobots.


Dr. Amy [00:14:36]:

Oh, no. Yeah. They are kinda little. I get that. My thing was, with Spheroes, they can get so fast, especially with the little kids. I'm like, everyone's sitting down on the floor. No one is walking while these are going because I don't want someone to roll an ankle because they just go flying off. And most of my rules where robots were on the ground because, again, with the Spheroes, they go so fast that you're just, like, off the table, and then it's broken.


Dr. Amy [00:15:00]:

Yep. So


Naomi Meredith [00:15:01]:

And then it's broken. Yeah. Same. Yep. I think I let I think I let kids with Ozobots on the table because they're so small. They don't go very fast.


Dr. Amy [00:15:10]:

Mhmm.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:11]:

But I was the same way. Everything else had to be on the floor, 100%.


Dr. Amy [00:15:16]:

Yes. Well, and it breaks up your date, too, which is super nice. You know, they're not always sitting, so I'm like, there's lots of benefits of robots.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:24]:

Yeah. So you kinda mentioned some really good things, but, about how to get started, and we talked about robotics. But, when teachers and it can be parents too, but also when they think you're thinking about you want to get started in STEM or implement it, what are just, like, some practical ways, to get it to get started, but it's also still fun and engaging, which I think it depends on most lessons, they are fun and engaging, but


Dr. Amy [00:15:53]:

Mhmm.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:54]:

What do you typically need, teachers or parents? And it could be different things, too.


Dr. Amy [00:15:59]:

Oh, that is a great question. I think my biggest thing again, from my experience, my biggest thing was a mindset shift. Instead of, like, being the I was turning into a facilitator rather than, like, I'm gonna teach my kid a lesson. And it is even different when I do STEM lessons with my 3-year-old. I mean, she's we're at a very basic level of let's build a tower and talking about, like, the importance of building a strong tower. So we're building the foundations of that. But I think for me, the biggest piece was to get curious about why is this working or why isn't this working or, how tall do you think we could get this tower to go? And that was not only for my sake, but it was also for my kids' sake. Right? And so when we talk about teaching STEM, the end product doesn't really matter.


Dr. Amy [00:16:54]:

Right? The whole process of it, and the resilience, the problem solving, the critical thinking, those are the skills that we really wanna focus on with STEM. And so it's so much less about, can we build a tower that's 12 inches high that can hold £2. Right? It's when it crashes down, what do our kids do, and what do I do? And I recently shared on social media about, you know, the whole, social media is fake, social media isn't real, which I shared some of my challenges. And so when my kid is getting frustrated, I can turn her around very quickly, but then I lose steam. Steam. Like, it's almost like she sucks all of my positive energy out of me, and I'm like, oh. So it's a mindset shift of me as a facilitator of saying, you know, like, the end goal doesn't matter. Right? And I'm gonna age myself a little bit, and I'm a millennial, and I tried to be a straight A student.


Dr. Amy [00:17:53]:

And I tried to, you know, get the right answer the right way. And, you know, it's it that's how I taught for a long time, and I learned. And so Yeah. Changing my mindset of this is a process, and the process is what matters. And to get the process to work, you have to have skills of problem solving, critical thinking, innovation, thinking outside of the box, and how do I react when that happens? So what was probably the most important for me was just continually reminding myself to get curious and excited about this. It isn't about the end process. Mhmm. And so that would be my biggest recommendation to get curious.


Dr. Amy [00:18:37]:

And then, also, I think for me, again, in my experience, when I saw these really big elaborate STEM projects, I was like, oh god. I cannot do those. And so, Mhmm. Start start small. You know? Mhmm. If you go through the STEM engineering design process, there know, there's multiple steps. The first one is to identify a problem. Go around your house and start identifying problems.


Dr. Amy [00:19:01]:

Oh, your sippy cup is spilling. Let's design a new sippy cup. You know, just different things like that. Or, you know, you don't like going upstairs. Let's create a fun way to go down the stairs. And so Okay. It doesn't have to be the whole process to get started. It can be little blurps of it.


Dr. Amy [00:19:18]:

So those would be my recommendations. Start small and get curious.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:23]:

I think that's really important because I love how you said all that, and you probably see this too where STEM isn't being funded as often. It's from, or the funding is less and less. A lot of classroom teachers are starting to implement more STEM, or they may not have the STEM specials. Even STEM teachers that I talk to see all the kids in 1 week. So they see every single class in their goal in 1 week, and so their products do have to be shorter and attainable and quick, and that's okay, too. Like, it doesn't have to be super drawn out. So, I love how you see that as well, and that curiosity is so important. And a lot a lot of the STEM experts that I talked to on the kid podcast, STEM Career Quest, they say that to the kids about being curious.


Dr. Amy [00:20:18]:

Mhmm. So I


Naomi Meredith [00:20:19]:

love how you say that too. That's great.


Dr. Amy [00:20:23]:

There's a theme. Right? I guess we're all supposed to get curious.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:26]:

Yeah. Maybe maybe it's your word of the year.


Dr. Amy [00:20:29]:

There we go. I love that.


Naomi Meredith [00:20:32]:

So you guys definitely have to check her out on Instagram. She shares Amy shares some really, really awesome projects and things for you to check out. So definitely go ahead and follow her. I know she talks about things on her podcast. But, at the time of this recording, we're here in April, and this will come out in May. So it probably will change. Who knows? But do you have any fun projects going on or anything that you wanna share about?


Dr. Amy [00:20:58]:

Yes. So, yes. Follow me on social media. I do a lot of stuff, more of an informal kind of Makerspace, so it's less like whole class stuff. But, again, it can be implemented in the class, but we're focusing on, like, how to do the stem. And I just wanna be a virtual Makerspace, if you will. But on top of that, I think I have 2 illustrations left before I can launch my very first children's book. And I am going to be doing, I hope, a first of many, STEM children's books.


Dr. Amy [00:21:33]:

So it's called, Don't Lose Your Marbles. It follows a little girl. And we had talked previously, about just, like, the representation, at the STEM table. And so I specifically did it, as a little girl. And it she is based loosely off my 2 daughters. And I just my dream for them to be curious and to always be creating. So, when I was first born not when I was first born. When my daughter was first born, my sweet advisers, in math education had given me a ton of math books.


Dr. Amy [00:22:08]:

And they were all incredible children's books that I found myself reaching for a STEM children's book. And I didn't find it anywhere. And so I had found a quote that said, if you don't find a book, you're supposed to write it. And I was like, well, that's interesting. So I guess I'm writing a children's book. And so I wrote a children's book, Don't Lose Your Marbles. It is Millie. So, again, with that, like, localized empathy piece, she loves to play with marbles, and her marbles keep rolling away.


Dr. Amy [00:22:36]:

So she has to design a way to keep them safe. And so it was a problem that she had identified. She was coming up with a solution, and she follows the STEM engineering design process all through the book. But I also wanted it to not only be a children's book that my daughters could see themselves in, but I also wanted it to be a resource for teachers and for parents. So it follows a story line. But before the story begins, it goes through all of the steps of the STEM engineering design of identifying a problem, coming up with a solution, brainstorming. And then throughout the book, there's key vocabulary like brainstorming and what is a model and different things like that. So, not only can it be used in the classroom, but my hope is that it gets into homes, and so kids are building that vocabulary before they get into the classroom with their parents and to give parents more confidence.


Dr. Amy [00:23:30]:

And so they're stepping into STEM activities in the classroom with more confidence. So by the time this airs, hopefully, knock on wood, it will be launched. But, illustrations are so much fun, and they take a lot more time than I was expecting. So, are you the illustrator? No. My god. No. No. No.


Dr. Amy [00:23:51]:

I have a phenomenal illustrator, blueberry illustrations. They are incredible. But, to get exactly what I want, they have just been working endlessly. And so it's a lot more detailed than I was expecting. And so I was just like, oh, they just, like, make a picture, and then we all love it, and we move on. And then that didn't happen. So it was it's just a lot of revisions, which I guess are normal for children's books. But when you write your first children's book, you learn a lot.


Dr. Amy [00:24:19]:

So


Naomi Meredith [00:24:19]:

I'm so excited for you, and I'm so excited to see it. That is so, so perfect. I love that integration where it has the vocabulary, but also that story line, and teachers and parents love using


Dr. Amy [00:24:36]:

Mhmm.


Naomi Meredith [00:24:37]:

Tools so needed. And, like you said, there aren't very many that are STEM specific


Dr. Amy [00:24:44]:

Mhmm.


Naomi Meredith [00:24:45]:

In terms of the building and creation part. So I'm so excited to read it and see how it goes. When this comes out, I hope we have a link, but we'll have a link to your website and everything. And Okay. We will we will check it out.


Dr. Amy [00:24:59]:

Yes. It will for sure be almost done. If not, almost it's gonna be done. I'm just gonna put it out that it will be launched by


Naomi Meredith [00:25:05]:

the time of this episode.


Dr. Amy [00:25:07]:

But, yeah, it has been a journey, a really cool journey. And you know, the the true STEM nerd in me, I wanted to do math, science, technology, and that just didn't work in a children's book. So I just wanna acknowledge she uses a little bit of math. I I don't love math more than any other STEM content areas. There will be future books that science and technology and engineering will be the focus. However, I had to choose one for the sake of not having a 200 page children's book.


Naomi Meredith [00:25:36]:

Yeah. And that happens too. Like, when you teach some projects, some are more math heavy than others, and some are more engineering based.


Dr. Amy [00:25:42]:

Yes.


Naomi Meredith [00:25:43]:

That's life. So that's great.


Dr. Amy [00:25:45]:

Yes. When I originally wrote it, it had multiple. And then I was like, there's no way that I would read this in my classroom. And so it's been helpful as, you know, a classroom teacher who used books. And as a mom, I'm like, I'm not gonna keep my attention span of my 3-year-old with this size of book. So I gotta pair it back a little bit. So it's been fun.


Naomi Meredith [00:26:03]:

Well, I appreciate that. When I babysit, all the kids wanted me to read the Disney books because they knew they wouldn't go to bed because they take, like, 5 hours to read. I'm like, we're not reading Disney books anymore. So I'm so glad you know you know the the length of a book is really important too.


Dr. Amy [00:26:20]:

Yes. It's almost like I have a 3-year-old who tries to find the longest book on her bookshelf when her dad's putting her to bed.


Naomi Meredith [00:26:27]:

It's like, and he doesn't know all the tricks. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'll read it to you. Like, are you sure? Are you sure? Look.


Dr. Amy [00:26:33]:

That's when you switch to the first line of every page. And I was like, there's too much good information to just skip over lines of reading. So that's why I was like, I'll pair it back and turn it into a series.


Naomi Meredith [00:26:44]:

Yes. Perfect. Well, we're so excited about that. So, to keep tabs with you and get inspired, where can teachers find you and connect with you?


Dr. Amy [00:26:55]:

Awesome. Well, I am on social media. The it's techie teacher mama on, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. And by the time this airs, I will have a blog up called the techiestemlearninglab.com, and that's gonna have more long form content for resources for parents and teachers. And then you can check out my podcast. It's called Parenting in a Techy World, and that focuses on everything technology. We talk about how to manage screen time or coding or screen-free resources, just everything dealing with tech that we didn't grow up with. So I have a lot of really cool guests on there talking about just navigating it as parents because if you talk to any parent and they say they have it all together, you should probably find a new parent because none of us have any idea what's going on, and technology adds this new layer that we are trying to navigate.


Dr. Amy [00:27:47]:

And we, I mean, I grew up with dial-up Internet. So, navigating screen time was not a thing. So I'm trying to figure that out in real time with my 3-year-old on a podcast. So come join the craziness of navigating it all if you'd like.


Naomi Meredith [00:28:01]:

I love that. It's almost like an audio journal in a little bit.


Dr. Amy [00:28:05]:

Yeah. Be it basically is. Yeah.


Naomi Meredith [00:28:08]:

Well, thank you so much, Amy. I know we can chat forever and ever. I have no idea how long this episode is, but I know it's amazing what we talked about. So I appreciate having you so much as a guest, and I'm excited for teachers to connect with you and your book to come out.


Dr. Amy [00:28:24]:

Yes. Well, thank you so much for having me, and I'm excited to connect with all of you guys and, you know, try to figure out STEM and navigate it all together because that's what we gotta do. Hive mindset.


Naomi Meredith [00:28:36]:

I agree. Well, thank you so much again.


Dr. Amy [00:28:39]:

Thanks.

technology in STEM

technology in STEM

 

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Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

how does science relate to STEM

How Does Science Relate to STEM? with Kayla Norville [STEM in Action Series] [ep.162]

How Does Science Relate to STEM? with Kayla Norville [STEM in Action Series] [ep.162]

how does science relate to STEM

Check out the full episode on How Does Science Relate to STEM? with Kayla Norville:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

Are you looking for some simple ways to implement science in your STEM classroom? Today is the first episode in the STEM in Action series, where I and a few guest experts will dive into each letter in STEM and give you practical ways to incorporate each one into your STEM curriculum. 

In this first episode of the series, I chat with Dr. Kayla Norville of Bright in the Middle. She helps answer the question: How does science relate to STEM? Dr. Norville shares some great insights into ways you can easily incorporate science into your STEM classroom.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Kayla’s background and experiences as a science teacher and STEM coordinator
  • Kayla’s favorite science lessons
  • Tips for teaching science without feeling overwhelmed

Meet Kayla Norville:

My name is Kayla, and I have a passion for all things middle school! I have a Ph.D. in STEM Education with a focus in science education. I do have teaching experience in science, as I mentioned before, but I also have some other experience that has help me to build a knowledge base to create rigorous, relevant, and engaging resources as well as the ability to help many teachers out with a variety of things.

I’ve had experience as a university supervisor for student teachers, been a cooperating teacher myself, and have researched and published literature on teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. In addition, I have served as a STEM Coordinator in a middle school.

Saying all of that…my heart totally lies in middle school students and helping middle school teachers teach these wonderful students. I’m currently a content creator, curriculum designer, and a mentor for middle school science teachers!

Connect with Kayla:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

What are some practical ways that you can implement science into your STEM instruction? This is the first episode of my STEM in action series, where we will break apart each letter in STEM to give you ideas on how to boost up each component in your instruction. Learning to give you some ideas when you are lesson planning. Our guest for today, I am talking with Dr. Kayla Norville from Bright in the Middle. She has a passion for all things middle school and has also earned a PhD in STEM Education with a focus in science education. She's also had experience as a university supervisor for student teachers, been a cooperating teacher, and has researched and published literature on teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. In addition, she has also served as a STEM coordinator in a middle school. Kayla is so sweet, and we connected on my first podcast, The Innovative Teacher Podcast, that I co hosted a few years ago with Spencer Sharp. So you might be able to still be able to find it.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:22]:

She's also been a guest on my STEM Career Quest podcast, and that her episode is coming out soon. So Kayla and I go way back. I am so excited for you to get to know Kayla and learn some awesome tips and tricks when really focusing in on that science component in your STEM lessons. Well, thank you so much, Kayla, for being here today.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:19]:

We were talking a little bit before we hit record and what you are up to these days and catching up a little bit. And fun fact, Kayla was a guest on another podcast I used to host, Innovative Teacher Podcast, which it's still up there. It's not active anymore, but, Kayla was on there. I think you were one of our first few guests when I did that show, too, which is pretty fun. But if you wouldn't mind telling us, we're talking about all things science today. Just briefly let us know who you are and your science teaching background.


Kayla Norville [00:02:54]:

So my name is Kayla, and I'm currently the owner founder of Bright in the Middle, and I focus on helping science teachers engage their students in science and reduce student cognitive load, but it's just kind of stemmed from all of my experience in middle school science. It's been an amazing journey that I've been able right now to step into this like mentor role, as my kids are growing up. So, in the past, though, like I'm telling you right now, my passion is middle school science. I absolutely love that age and I would I would like to experiment in the elementary age, maybe so too. Say I, I spoke with you earlier about my kids are 46. And I'm like, I wonder if I could really, really do that because there's not too many differences, I don't believe. Maybe less attitude. Yeah. That's probably ages.


Kayla Norville [00:03:54]:

But just absolutely loved being a science teacher. Will maybe go back one day in some shape or form, but absolutely love love that. Here I am, stumbling upon my words. But, I also had experience in a, like, a different avenue still in middle school, as a STEM coordinator, which was a whole new different experience. I still got to work with middle school students, but I didn't have my own class. But it was really fun because I got to jump into other classes, including all the STEM subjects, all science, technology. We didn't really have an engineering class, but we had engineering clubs, but got to do, different STEM activities and things of that sort to help the school. We actually became a STEM school while I was a STEM coordinator there, so it was really fascinating.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:46]:

Yeah. I think that's awesome, too, and I think your experience in middle school definitely can be applied to elementary. We actually have a lot of teachers and listeners who teach k eight STEM, and I need more support in that elementary realm. So I'm really excited to hear, like, your ideas when it comes to teaching science specifically and just, like, things that are really helpful. And even if it is some behavior management things, that's helpful too. Because I know with science, just when you're doing anything hands on, it can be kinda overwhelming, and all the materials and all of that, and how do you balance everything. So, yeah, your experience is super, super valuable, and I'm so excited that you're here to tell us all about it. Yeah. You'll be great.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:34]:

So it could be when you're in your coordinator role or even with your teaching. Are there like, specific science lessons that you love to teach? And with that, how did your how did your students respond to them? Like, what were their reactions to those lessons?


Kayla Norville [00:05:53]:

This one is hard because I love science and I love teaching, and there are so many lessons. But I would have to say any of the human body system lessons are probably my favorite just because I'm just a biology person, and I mean, really anything. But one that comes to mind is something simple to do and the students loved it. So I would get the bulletin board paper, and we would make life-sized drawings of the human, like whatever human body system we're talking about. And just seeing the kids just lay out on the floor, you know, the one person that decides to do it because middle school students, that can be funny sometimes when you always have that volunteer that would lay down and, you can, that person would draw around them and, you could also use that as a, like, I call them a weather strategy of, like, a hook. Have them do it before, like teaching the lesson, and then you can determine if it's a free assessment. You can determine what they don't know and what they do know. And then, you can use it as a research tool before you even teach it as well and make a look up.


Kayla Norville [00:06:59]:

So it's just it's just one of my favorite things.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:01]:

But you would have them draw. And then, for each body system, do they have to draw where it was located?


Kayla Norville [00:07:08]:

Yes. So they would, like, outline the body, and I don't know how specific I was in that because I know what it is in my head. But, yes. So, say you were doing the circulatory system, and they would, you know, find the heart and the blood vessels and all that stuff and draw them on there. And it'd be, like, life size, what it would look like.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:26]:

Oh, that's super cool. And that'd be cool too if, like, you had that, and then you added in robots, and they could code to each of the body parts. Because 5th grade science, at least out here in Colorado, 5th grade has human body systems as part of their standard. So, that would be really cool just to make it really hands on and kind of funny, like, perspective.


Kayla Norville [00:07:53]:

And you definitely could do that because I I feel like we've done something before, but it may have just been like an outline of the heart, and then they could use the robot to, do the path of the blood through the heart. So


Naomi Meredith [00:08:07]:

Oh. Yeah. That would be so cool.


Kayla Norville [00:08:10]:

Yeah.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:10]:

Oh, I love that. Is there any other, like, besides the human body that you absolutely love or, like, maybe a tricky lesson that other people might not like to teach and, like, oh, but you could do it like this? This is so fun.


Kayla Norville [00:08:23]:

God. There are so many. I am thinking of as as STEM coordinator, one of my favorite lessons to teach that was kind of it was a challenging thing to do was there was an interdisciplinary unit that they did throughout the whole grade level in 6th grade and, let's see, math, I'm not sure exactly how they were no. Math was involved with, I think, area and circumference. Science was involved in their space unit and ELA was involved in reading. So what they did, so ELA read Hidden Figures.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:58]:

Yeah.


Kayla Norville [00:08:58]:

In science class, the class created rockets using Tinkercad. And so I say this is complicated because I'm not I'm not a physical science person. It's growing on me. I'm working on it. But the instructional coach at the time, we all collaborated. It was a fabulous thing. He actually created a rocket launcher, and then because our students were still learning how to do the 3D printing and Tinkercad design, he went through a simple way to make a rocket just like a template, and then they could make the changes that they wanted to see how, you know, how to make it fly better. That's so cool.


Kayla Norville [00:09:42]:

So they could change, like, the wings, add more wings, and change the tip and things of that sort. So it made it to where something that was complicated for 6th 6th graders, especially since they hadn't had a lot of experience in Tinkercad. They had something to go by. And then when they saw the rockets printed, it was like


Naomi Meredith [00:10:01]:

Yeah.


Kayla Norville [00:10:01]:

And then, even cooler, we took one day to go out there and lost the rockets, and it was so much fun.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:08]:

That is so cool. Like, what a cool way to do that with 3 d printing. I've never heard of anyone doing that, having a template the kids work off of, to help save time because I know some teachers have, like, just limited time. I mean, all teachers have limited time, but just even with 3 d printing, like, I don't know how to get started when they have no background information. So that's really, really smart. Mhmm. Here is your base model, and then you make modifications, and then we're gonna compare, like, how those models went. That's so cool.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:40]:

I love that.


Kayla Norville [00:10:40]:

Fun. Really fun. Yeah.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:42]:

And then what did they do in math with circumference? I'm so curious about that.


Kayla Norville [00:10:47]:

I think it was just the timing of it, just learning how to find circumference. So whenever they were creating the rockets, they could look at the circumference and the diameter, and that's sort of as they learned because it had to be a certain diameter to fit on the rocket launcher. Mhmm.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:05]:

That's so smart. What a cool way to integrate other teachers and have it all cross-curricular in that way. And if, like, you're a STEM teacher and like, sometimes you can do that. If you plan well enough, you could collaborate with classroom teachers a lot more. I was able to do that sometimes, in my role, depending on the year. Sometimes, I was co-teaching, and then I also had STEM. But if you're able to mix different experiences together, like, we did something with insects. And with 1st grade, they're studying about insects, and then they came to me, and then they had to build an insect.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:42]:

It could be real or pretend, but it had to have all the things that insects typically have, like 6 legs or Mhmm. The antennas. That I love that. What a cool experience. Like, all the teachers just got involved in that way.


Kayla Norville [00:11:55]:

It was a blast.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:57]:

So when it comes to just teaching science, I know it can be overwhelming with things that there are so many moving parts, so many materials, which I think is super fun, but it can get overwhelming pretty fast.


Kayla Norville [00:12:09]:

Yes.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:11]:

So, if there is a teacher, who is a little bit stuck when it comes to implementing science or just how to be effective without making it fun, are there any tips or tricks that you recommend for teachers when teaching science?


Kayla Norville [00:12:27]:

I would say some things you don't have to make as hard. Like, I see teachers trying to do these elaborate labs all the time, and we just sometimes just don't have the capacity to do it. So, you can get a lot of science concepts by the point across when you're just doing something simple. Like I'm thinking, if you're teaching about, like, thermal energy transfer, you can just take a cup of hot water and put a piece of like cling wrap on top of it, plastic wrap, and you could talk a lot about that there. But I would not steer clear away from all the fun, engaging, complicated labs either, but you could always just space those out, especially the ones what you're collaborating with other teachers, if you have the capacity as they go for it, but, just don't feel the pressure to do that all the time. And then I'm thinking too when implementing one of the things that I would suggest do like the students, especially middle school students, they're probably elementary too, is have them too, like, kinda create their own rules before you do an activity. So this is what we're to do. You can lay down like these are the ground rules for me because, like, some things got to be, you know, we have to address some things.


Kayla Norville [00:13:47]:

But what else would you expect from yourselves whenever you're doing this? How would you handle the materials? How would you interact with your classmates and things of that sort? So if they have a say, they're more likely to participate in it.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:01]:

That's really smart. Like, is there like, a lesson that comes to mind? You're like, hey. This is like, how would that look with a specific lesson? Like, if we're working with, I don't know, like, chemicals or something. Like, how did you set that up so that it's kinda, like, appropriate, but it still worked?


Kayla Norville [00:14:21]:

I would say just anything that may have any danger to it. Like, just even like, I was talking about the, thermal energy or the thermal in the particle movement, just using hot water. Mhmm. Like, middle schoolers think differently. And as I said, elementary schools probably think differently, too. So you have to make sure you mention every little thing, especially when you're working with, like, hot water. Another thing I'm thinking of is a lab where you could dissect a chicken wing. You know, chicken could be dangerous if, you know, you touch the chicken and then touch your face, so you really have to have these conversations.


Kayla Norville [00:14:59]:

You know, don't touch the chicken and then, like, you know, pat your friend on the back or anything like that. So, just making them more aware. And when they make up the rules, you know, they're more likely to participate.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:12]:

That's really smart, too, because we can't assume kids will know, like with the chicken example. Like, there are germs. Like, not all kids know that or think, or they're not even thinking about it. So that's really smart too. Like, every project that you're working on is going to change. There might be some similar roles, but, also, we need to make sure we're being safe, but also having fun and having those expectations and talking I'm sure you talked about every time Mhmm. With every class, just to make sure.


Kayla Norville [00:15:44]:

You have to remind them constantly. Like I do with my own children. They're 4 and 6. It's like every day is like, they know, but, you know, it just kinda goes away.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:55]:

Mhmm. Yes. No. That's good. That's good to keep in mind. I know it can get repetitive, but it is so important if you want them to be successful. And the kids would probably know too with you, oh, we are still going to have a fun time learning these science concepts, but we also have these procedures in place. Just like real scientists, they have a certain set of rules, just make sure that they get accurate results and that we're being safe.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:24]:

It's still fun.


Kayla Norville [00:16:25]:

Yes.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:26]:

Not being mean. Awesome. I love that. So, in terms of just fun projects in general, are there any fun lessons or things that you're working on or things that, you know, that teachers would love to try in their own classrooms?


Kayla Norville [00:16:43]:

So I actually think this is probably one of the more fun times in my position that I'm in now. I'm working on creating resources that are gonna go with North Carolina's new standards that are being implemented next year, and they are really focusing on a lot of things that the NGSS are and the science and engineering practices. So, I'm starting to work on more of those hands on activities. Like the one, I'm actually about to go dissect the chicken wing today, that's why that was on my mind. So excited about that. But just, you know, the hands on things that need to be in classrooms. And I also want to mention in classrooms, you also need reading and things of that sort, too, the not so fun stuff. But you can sprinkle that fun stuff in all the time. And you can make reading fun too.


Kayla Norville [00:17:32]:

It could be fun.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:34]:

Yeah. Reading is still in STEM or in science. I was talking to a teacher one time who was starting to get into STEM, and they're all, oh, well, reading's not in STEM. Right? I'm all, oh, no. No. No. It is. It definitely is.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:50]:

Is. There's a lot of literacy.


Kayla Norville [00:17:52]:

Yes. Yes. There is.


Naomi Meredith [00:17:54]:

But I love that with your resources, too, because I have had teachers ask me if I have middle school, STEM, and science resources and all. Not at this time. Really focused on k through 5, so that's good to know. Even if you don't live in North Carolina, a lot of the standards overlap or just might be worded in a very different way, or maybe one grade has the one standard that's flip flops. So definitely check out Kayla's things because she is definitely really passionate about it, but her resources are really, like, practical in a way where you can easily implement this. It's not overwhelming, but it's clear. It makes sense. Simple materials when needed, and you definitely want to tie it to standards and not have it be a random experience.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:41]:

I love that. That's so great. So, where can teachers find you and connect with you, around social media or website? Where's the best place they can find you?


Kayla Norville [00:18:51]:

You could probably just Google me, and I'm everywhere, but, my website is bright in the middle dot com, but you can find me at bright in the middle on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, all the places.


Naomi Meredith [00:19:03]:

Perfect. Well, I know teachers are gonna check you out. We'll link all of that in the show notes and I just hopefully, everyone's getting their wheels turning of just, how to add more of those science concepts in, within your STEM lessons, and maybe it's an experiment or maybe just another way to integrate materials. But, we appreciate all of your knowledge, Kayla. Thank you so much.


Kayla Norville [00:19:24]:

Yeah. Thank you.

how does science relate to STEM

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

summer STEM projects for kids

3 Summer STEM Projects for Kids [ep.161]

3 Summer STEM Projects for Kids [ep.161]

summer STEM projects for kids

Check out the full episode on 3 Summer STEM Projects for Kids:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

With the days getting warmer and the end of the school year here, you and your students are most likely in summer mode. Or maybe the school year has ended for you, but you’re gearing up to teach summer camp. If you’re looking to keep your kids engaged, I have three summer STEM projects for kids that will help you do just that. The projects are also super low prep, making them perfect for summer.

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 3 summer STEM projects for kids that you can do at the end of the school year or during summer camp
  • An overview of each summer STEM project

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

The days are getting warmer, and you are finally finishing up the school year. What are some STEM activities that you can do with your students during these warm days? Or maybe you are hosting a summer camp, or maybe you're even looking for something to do with your own children. In this episode, I'm gonna be sharing with you 3 STEM activities that you can do during the summertime. Some of you out there are fortunate enough to have beautiful days all year long. So, really, these activities that I'm going to describe, you can do at any time of year. And you don't necessarily have to be outside, but I will be sharing some outside options for you. So if you do wanna take the learning outdoors, by all means, go for it. I'm not stopping you.


Naomi Meredith [00:01:03]:

I live in Colorado, and the weather is definitely up and down, and unpredictable. We can have very beautiful days, but in an instant, it can change to something else. So like I said, you could do these activities anywhere. The first STEM activity or theme of activities is all about STEM survival camp. STEM survival camp, if you haven't heard about it, is one of my favorite units that I have ever created from scratch, and I actually had it in mind for the outdoors. A little bit of background if you haven't listened to episode 4 where I explain every single challenge and what we do during this experience. I created STEM survival camp as a way to get my kids outdoors during COVID. It was the back to school time, so for me, the weather was really warm and nice, but I wasn't allowed to have my students share all of the supplies.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:02]:

I still wanted them to build and use the engineering design process, but I didn't have enough funds to supply everybody with their own items for their unique projects. So, during the summer, I actually developed this unit where students will use elements from the outdoors and minimal supplies from your Makerspace to solve various challenges that would happen if you were to survive in the outdoors. This is really great because if you're looking for a stem lesson that is camping-themed or you do want to build with those outside items, STEM survival camp is perfect for you. There are 6 unique challenges that go along with different ways that you would survive in the wilderness. I did this based on these challenges from the show alone. A loan does not fund them or anything like that or affiliated, but that's where I got the inspiration. But there are lots of different things that students have to do, like create a fishing pole and catch the fish. I had different fish templates for them.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:11]:

In one grade level, they actually learned how to sew, so they sewed a hiking backpack prototype, and sewing is a survival skill. That actually is a great thing to learn how to do. Funny enough, I learned how to sew at around 4th grade, but I still use that skill, maybe not so much surviving in the wilderness. But I did buy a dress the other day. And there was something like the dress didn't close the way that I wanted to at the top. So I actually sewed the dress while I was wearing it, and I was a little bit nervous I wouldn't be able to take it off. I was able to. I could take it on and off.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:48]:

I'm, like, alright. There we go. There's a survival skill. My cute dress that I was wearing, I fixed it, and it was good to go. But I also have had kids in that unit where they actually learned how to sew with me, and then they were able to sew things in their real lives, like sewing the patches on their boy scouts or girl scouts jackets, which was super exciting. So this is a really fun, exciting unit. You can do a new lesson each day. You can take this throughout the week.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:21]:

You can shorten it. You can lengthen it. It really is a great, great unit to take outdoors. I highly recommend it, and the summertime is a great time to teach it. The second summer STEM activities that you can do are quick one day challenges, and I call them STEM Career Quest Kits. Now, the reason for this name is that a lot of these kits connect with the episodes that I have recorded on my STEM Career Quest podcast or will be recording, and they are in the process of being renamed. So, if you already have these lessons, they're one day challenges. Like, you can complete them within an hour. They are pretty low prep.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:07]:

They might actually be things that you have at home, but I'm transferring the name from what used to be STEM snack packs to STEM career quest kits because a lot of kids and even parents thought that you eat them. I had a whole idea in mind, but it wasn't perceived how I thought. So they're in the process of getting named STEM Career Quest Kits, and currently, they are digital only activities. So I actually created these during the time kind of the same year. It's funny because I actually got really creative during that 2020-2021 year. I had a lot more time to think about things, which, funny enough openly, me working remotely was the same kind of thing. I'm always coming up with more ideas than I ever have before. Anyway, I created 6 different units, so 4 units in each, that had these STEM activities that were centered around the same theme.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:04]:

So at the time, the STEM Career Quest podcast didn't exist, but I did plan these activities with a theme, and I wasn't allowed to do after school club. So, instead, I had these paid take home stem kits. And so you're thinking, okay, but I'm not doing paid take take home stem kits. That's fine. I'm just kinda giving you a background about this, but the actual activities are activities actually I'm teaching currently in my STEM community events. So what's really great is they're one off lessons. So if you are short on time, you only see kids for 1 hour, You have only, like, a 45-minute session with them. You see the whole school.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:48]:

These are really quick and good activities for that. They do have some open-ended creativity. Some are a little bit more guided where they are creating a model, but they might add their own spin onto it. But I really love creating these because it's those quick one day challenges where all of the directions for basic things that you need to know are laid out for you in order. There is a video to give inspiration that needs to show how to do it. There are some extra challenges, the science behind the project, related stem careers, and additional resources to learn about the topic. So this is a growing collection I'm really diving into. As I said, I am beta testing them in the teaching side of things where I already know they work as a kit, but I'm also teaching them now in smaller groups and then hopefully in other ways as well.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:44]:

But these are really great because some of them actually lend themselves to the outdoors. There is a paddle boat challenge where there is water involved and kids can notice the kinetic and potential energy of the rubber band used. There are some other ones that will be popping up that involve water. So, if you do want very specific water challenges, that's really great as well. As I said, these are in the process of getting renamed, but some of the ones that are not in my TPT shop are actually in the STEM Career Quest club. So, every episode has its own listening comprehension guide and paired STEM activity, and they're usually things that I already have that pair well with that lesson. So there are some of these STEM career quest kit challenges that are in the membership already that I don't have anywhere else. Because at the time, again, I was testing these and pushing out this content where, they're not all beautiful and ready to be in my shop yet, but there are some things that I can put in the club.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:49]:

So, if you want exclusive access, make sure to join that. And there are a lot of other fun things as well, including my monthly virtual field trips. This is a bonus sim activity, but there is a virtual field trip with me teaching the lesson all about bugs. So that's a great connection to your outdoor learning. And the 3rd summer STEM activity that you can try is my engineer inspiration boards. Again, these are quick and easy to prep. They are a one pager. You can print in color or in bat black and white, and they are centered around various themes.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:27]:

I have them set up for the whole entire year. So I actually have seen a lot of teachers who purchase all of the themes, and then they put them in as a station. So maybe they always have this one building station, but they change out the inspiration board that they are using. So it's always changing up what the kids are creating, but the kids are used to that format. Some good summer themes that I have on these boards are pool, garden, and camping. I kinda feel like I'm saying, you know, in the Barbie movie, and they ask Ken, what's your job? And he says, beach. I kinda feel like just now, when I said the topics, that's what I was just saying. But, anyway, there are 9 different images that go along with that theme.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:16]:

I don't think the beach is a theme, but the pool is. But they go along with that theme, and then kids can build the items on those boards with anything they have on hand. And this could even be things from the outdoors. So maybe you have these boards printed out and ready to go. You have them in a binder or one of those 3 binder rings, 3-inch binder rings. And you have them on the go, and kids are building what you already have or things from the outdoors. So these are really, really fun. They're great for fast finishers as well.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:49]:

I actually bring these along to my community events, so I have some building materials on hand, some like hashtag blocks and some Lego bricks. And if I have kids who come in early or if they're finishing up fast, I have these as a fast finisher option. It just gives them some good ideas, some talking points to help build something that they see or remind them of something else that they already have thought of and seen before. One thing that I like to do as well, so I told you about the binders, is I also have those cool containers that are all colorful, and then they go in that carrying case or those photo containers, but teachers love them. I love them. I have a couple of them, actually. But I actually will print out the engineer inspiration board smaller and laminate and have the different options in those buckets. So when I actually create them, I create the smaller versions anyway.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:43]:

So when you get access to these boards, you have all those various sizes done for you. Just print the size that you want. This was a quick episode because I know that you are busy and on the go and you are looking for some quick solutions. So, as a quick recap, here are those 3 summer stem activities that you can try. First is the STEM survival camp. Next are those STEM Career Quest kits that are those quick one day challenges. Say that 5 times fast. And then 3rd are those engineer inspiration boards.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:20]:

What are some other cool summer STEM activities you like to try? Let me know. Send me a DM on Instagram at namiemeredith_. Or, if you are watching the video version of this, you can also add a comment below. Thank you so much. Hope you're doing well, and I'll see you in the next episode.

summer STEM projects for kids

 

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

 

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!

STEM celebrations

Your STEM Celebrations from the 2023-2024 School Year [ep.160]

Your STEM Celebrations from the 2023-2024 School Year [ep.160]

STEM celebrations

Check out the full episode on Your STEM Celebrations from the 2023-2024 School Year:  

 

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Have a STEM question? Leave a voice message for the podcast!

Episode Summary

Another school year has come to an end, and you may be thinking about all the things that went wrong and what you want to change and fix for the next school year. Instead of focusing on what you could have done differently or what you want to change for the next school year, I want you to think about your amazing accomplishments this school year. In today’s episode, we are talking about your STEM celebrations for the 2023-2024 school year. I’m also sharing what I accomplished this past year. 

 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • STEM celebrations teachers shared with me
  • My STEM celebrations for this past year

Resources Mentioned:

Episode Transcript: 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

You made it through the school year, and it is time to celebrate. I know it can be really easy to think about the things that didn't go well, and you wanna reflect and change that. Keep doing those things. But let's take a moment and think about all of the amazing things that you have accomplished in STEM, both big and small. In this episode, I am actually going to be sharing with you those accomplishments that you shared with me. And at the end, I'm gonna give you an update of what I have been up to this past school year as well. 


Naomi Meredith [00:00:52]:

What can be a little bit tricky when hosting a podcast is figuring out a way to connect with all of you out there. And it's always kind of awkward, but not anymore, we're 160 plus episodes in, where I'm in my office looking right at my phone, talking to myself, but I really am envisioning all of you and how we can connect and bring this podcast to life in different ways. So, I'm always thinking of new ideas to engage you, get you excited, and involve you in this show because, ultimately, it's helping you and your students. And so I asked over on social media in a couple of different places, mostly on Instagram, at NaomiMeredith_, what accomplishments have you had this school year? And I loved hearing these answers. It's just really cool to hear what you have done and make that STEM world a bit smaller. And so I want to share with you those things.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:13]:

Thank you so much for responding. You all should be so proud of yourselves. These were some really awesome accomplishments.STEM is not easy to teach. It's so much fun, but it's a lot. And so, again, definitely be proud of your hard work. If you didn't submit something, maybe you have something in common with the people out there, but I still want you to celebrate as well. Atlibbyd said, and she was talking with me in my Instagram stories, and they were also chatting in the DMs, that 3 of her students entered a design competition and won.


Naomi Meredith [00:02:50]:

So she actually sent me some pictures and all that. I'm not gonna post those because it's of her students. But we were chatting for a bit, and it was so cool because she and her students actually got to work with a professional designer and a design student in Detroit. And then they actually are going to be making their prototypes. I'm assuming for them, so for the kids. And then on June 3rd, so coming up that should be coming up. Yep. Coming up, there is a ceremony where they will actually get to find out if they placed gold, silver, or bronze for their design.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:26]:

So that is so amazing. And, hey, way way to go to find that opportunity for your kids. That's awesome. Joey M had a great success. He was able to host his 1st carnival-themed family STEAM night. And, again, putting on an event, when you guys do all this extra stuff, I know how it is, it's a lot of work to get all the details and make sure it flows well. And so he sent, he had posted a picture, and it was really cool. It was like a really cool booth as well.


Naomi Meredith [00:03:56]:

Along those same lines, Leah V also was able to host their 1st school-wide cardboard carnival, and their 600-plus students played the games that their 5th graders made. So, what a cool way for students to share their work. Heather A also started STEM fairy tales with her preschool by implementing stations. And I know that STEM with the younger kids can be a great challenge. And so, one of the books we talked about in my STEM teacher bookshelf that we had is about STEM with the younger kids. So, way to go for you, Heather. Kelly from Mathematically Enthused which she has been on this podcast, so make sure to check out her episode, and we'll link that for you. She won a prize for their lab doing a Science Buddies challenge.


Naomi Meredith [00:04:53]:

She said that we've done it for 3 years, but it's the 1st year we entered our finished work. Then we took the prize money and put it towards LEGO Education Kits for next year. That what a cool way to win money for your school, and then you actually can put the money back into your program. That's awesome. Like, your STEM work actually helped out your program. That's a cool, full circle moment. Teaching fun in room 221. Oh, that rhymes when you read it out loud.


Naomi Meredith [00:05:22]:

That's so cute. Just her, she said just the students being introduced to a new way of thinking and how to solve problems. Also, how quickly they took anything coding related and how good they are at it. That is definitely a huge accomplishment. Having your students have a growth mindset in the projects that you're doing, it's, that is a huge challenge in itself, and I have seen it in my own program when I first started in the k through 5 STEM and also with the work that I'm doing in the community, kids who aren't exposed to these opportunities really, really struggle. I had an idea for an episode about that today, but that is definitely a huge accomplishment. All of these are. These are so great.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:06]:

Kim Koffler said I survived my 1st year of teaching elementary STEAM. Yes. Yes. You deserve all the adult milkshakes. I'm not afraid of coding anymore. Thanks for your podcast and the lesson ideas. You are so welcome. I'm so glad that you listened, and I can help you through that STEM journey.


Naomi Meredith [00:06:29]:

Alright. That wondrous teacher said, our school's opening a Makerspace this year. Students have been helping out by putting it together, and they also got funded by their school PTA. It's so exciting. And that is so exciting because it's so good to hear that there are programs that are getting up and started. They're not all getting shut down. I do see that a lot. But that is so good to hear that your school is supportive of this upcoming program, and can't wait to hear how it goes this next school year.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:01]:

Sarah from Miss Gigi Voucher said, and, Sarah, I don't know. Did I say your last name right? I hope I did. We talk all the time, but I hope I said your last name right. She said a big win for her was staying more consistent with units, doing our egg drop. Did any survive? Her first computer science night and the best was having a student dressed up as an astronaut for the solar eclipse. That is so, so cute. I love how they got all themed out. That's absolutely adorable.


Naomi Meredith [00:07:35]:

Thank you so much to those of you again for responding and bravely putting it out there on the Internet. I know you all did amazing things this school year, so definitely celebrate yourself. Do something not school-related. I mentioned adult milkshakes. That was something that I and my teammates would use as code when we wanted to go out after school and hang out, and we could talk about it. We actually didn't even say adult milkshakes. We just said milkshakes. Milk and cookies sometimes.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:04]:

That's how we would, like, say we wanted to hang out in front of the kids. So here's a little tip for you. Okay. Along the lines of celebrations, I said that I would update you with what I have been up to this school year. Back in episode 108, I actually talked about my journey in education. So, actually, how I got into teaching, what it was like for me being a classroom teacher for 6 years, being in then switching into the k through 5 STEM role for 5 years, and then what I was thinking about beyond the classroom. So I recorded that episode almost exactly a year ago, so you can hear that. I recommend watching it because I actually have a lot of pictures that I overlaid in that video.


Naomi Meredith [00:08:50]:

So that's actually a really fun video to watch. If you haven't seen it, it's on my YouTube channel. There's a tab that says podcast, so most episodes are actually recorded in video format. But I talked about my journey in that, and so a lot of you have been messaging me over the past few months or asking questions. What have you been doing? Yes. I'm not in a traditional STEM classroom, so I do talk about that in that episode. However, it's because I really am so passionate about elementary STEM that I knew I needed to get STEM out into the world in an even bigger way. And so that has really been my mission. A lot of things have been going on, a lot of testing things out and all these things.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:35]:

So, I wanted to share with you what I have been up to, and these are definitely an accomplishment. I forgot some of the things I actually had done. I'm like, oh, yeah. That was this year. Because I'm the kind of person I'm like, okay. I got it done. Awesome. What is the next thing I need to do? So here is what I have been up to.


Naomi Meredith [00:09:55]:

So, in June, let's backtrack a little bit. In May, I ended my K through 5 STEM teaching position and knew that I wouldn't be returning. That was the whole thing. And then I got married in June, and so we had a wonderful wedding. We had a 20-day honeymoon in Europe. That was absolutely amazing, and then back to the grind coming back. And so once we came back, I kicked off officially my STEM into Summer group coaching program where I worked with teachers who were thoughtfully planning out their year, having an audit of their curriculum and their materials, and creating cohesive lessons for their K through 5 STEM programs. So that was so much fun.


Naomi Meredith [00:10:36]:

That was such a motivating thing to come back to and really jump right in. I'm not hosting that group coaching this summer. However, I do have an event coming up in July that will revolve around STEM planning that I haven't done before, so keep an eye out for that. And then, moving into the fall, I was really okay. I really wanted to work on those collaborations and connections. So I started reaching out, finding different opportunities and started up with a few different contract roles that I was playing around with, and that were all centered around elementary STEM. One of them, I actually got to teach LEGO education kits for a few months for a program, and that was super easy because I already had done these in my classroom. So, that was a really cool opportunity to be around kids.


Naomi Meredith [00:11:28]:

I had a different set of kids every day, every single day at the after school time. We did those LEGO Education Kids, and I also had the chance to coach teachers and give them strategies on how to work with kids, along with writing curriculum for a different LEGO education kit. So there's a whole different, thing using my skills in elementary sem during that contract time. I also connected with We Are Teachers and started creating video content with them centered around science experiments and STEM experiences. So you can check out their YouTube channel. It's really fun because I get to write the scripts and figure out how I want to film it, and then they do all the editing and make it so pretty. So, that's been really fun working with them on various projects. Likewise, I also started other local STEM teaching, and it's at a local roller skating rink where I actually teach an hour of STEM field trips.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:28]:

So the schools actually book with the roller skating rink. They pick 1 of 10 STEM lessons that are already created, and I go in, teach for an hour, and teach the lesson. It's, like, a 100-ish kids at a time by myself. Sometimes, I have support from the teachers. Usually, I don't. So it's me managing 100 kids or doing some basic science and STEM lessons together, and then I leave. I actually don't stay for the rest of the field trip. I am if you're watching the video, I have my hand under my chin.


Naomi Meredith [00:12:57]:

I am the talent, LOL. But it's super fun. It's a fun mix-up in my day just to get out of the house and, again, teach some kids. And a lot of schools out there actually do not have STEM, and I can actually tell with them out without telling me. So again, it is so important to have these opportunities for kids, and I'm so glad that I get to teach them. And I know I'm doing a good job because that is what I love and I'm passionate about, so that has been really, really fun. This was like a crazy time. Like, it's all kinda all happened at the same time, and a lot of these are actually still going on right now.


Naomi Meredith [00:13:34]:

Some are, some contracts are done, but some are still continuing to go. I actually had a school district in New York reach out and ask me to write a differentiated K through 5 STEM curriculum for their STEAM Saturdays. And so that was really cool taking the projects that they kind of had it had in mind, sometimes creating new projects, but actually creating lessons where they are building background knowledge. What is the science behind it? Why are you doing this project? How can this connect together? Creating and pulling extra resources to make it an actual meaningful lesson. So we're really hoping that that's funded through a grant. So we're really hoping that, more can get funded for this program, and I will continue doing the work with them. Also, with curriculum, I know you're like, how do I do management? I don't know you guys. When I look at this, I don't know how I did this.


Naomi Meredith [00:14:29]:

But that, again, is my personality. Definitely working on my K through 5, 7 year long plan, making updates and changes to that, and thinking about how to best serve you in those ways. So, with my resources and recommending those, so really diving into my curriculum on the side. And then I also, was reached out to by one of my favorite ad tech companies. You might be able to guess who it is, but they reached out to me, and I've been running their social media since November. And so that's been really, really fun. Again, serving teachers with a product I am very passionate about and absolutely believe in that should be used with students. It does involve some coding, but it's something that I really, really love, and it's actually one of the first stem products that I ever used as a classroom teacher.


Naomi Meredith [00:15:24]:

And so it really is this full circle moment that I am actually helping share this product and showcasing it in a way that really is meaningful, and I really believe it works well in the classroom. So, that is a fun daily thing that I get to work on. Once the new year came around again, a lot of these projects were still going on. I also launched, a couple of workshops, and one of them actually was in the fall. But I launched a couple of workshops for you to help you with those extra things you might want to try. So I first launched my seller school-wide news workshop where I give you every single thing that I use to set up my prerecorded daily news that I did at my school. And I loved hearing the emails that you guys said, oh my gosh. I did this at my school.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:16]:

Thank you so much. We actually have news that is meaningful, and I love the systems and processes. So that's all set up for you. You can still jump in on it. All of my workshops are actually available at any time, even after I go live. So that is really helpful, something you might wanna explore this summer. Likewise, I also launched a workshop for you guys about setting up your own STEM career day. So taking you through the whole process, I saved every single email when I set that up for my school, and getting real experts into your school in front of kids and getting them excited about the possibilities in STEM.


Naomi Meredith [00:16:53]:

Along with that, that led to the launch of my kid podcast. I still have this one, the elementary STEM coach, but I also have a podcast for kids, the STEM Career Quest podcast, where I interview these experts in STEM fields to help inspire kids to what they wanna be when they grow up and hear these amazing and outstanding people who are so intelligent and really want to inspire kids. So 2 episodes come out in a month, and there are also extra resources inside of the club that you can make the experience come to life even more. This spring, while all these contract things were going, I also started branching out into pushing out my own programs into the local community. So, I started teaching STEM sessions at one of my favorite local coffee shops. I absolutely think they're all about bringing in community, so I've been doing those types of sessions. And then I'm working with and talking with other local programs and other locations and schools so that I can bring STEM into those schools, especially locations that don't have it. And so that's really awesome where I get to influence more kids in the community with things that I may or may not have taught before, but get them excited about how they can problem solve and explore the world in new ways.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:15]:

So that is a snapshot of what I've been up to. There are many other things. Feel free to ask me questions and DM me. I'm so excited for what is to come. I hope this time next year, there are some things I really am manifesting. I would love a Makerspace mobile, and I'm not lying about that. I would love to have my own Makerspace mobile. But there are so many cool things that I'm really trying to stay involved in STEM, teaching kids in different ways and making sure that I'm making an impact in this space by helping you, but really helping ultimately our future in STEM.


Naomi Meredith [00:18:50]:

Thanks so much for following along in this fun episode, and I will chat with you soon.

STEM celebrations

 

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More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

More About The Elementary STEM Coach Podcast

Are you tired of scrolling online for your next great STEM lesson? Do you feel like there is no time to plan, research and test meaningful STEM lessons, so you throw together a hands-on activity and hope that it works? What systems and routines should you set in place to help students be creative, critically think, and collaborate? 

The Elementary STEM Coach is a podcast for K-5 STEM teachers, classroom teachers, GT specialists, and homeschool parents looking for actionable STEM solutions. Each week, Naomi Meredith will share tools, resources and lesson ideas that are actionable in your classroom and create highly engaging experiences with your students. You’ll learn systems and routines that will create control in the chaos and that will keep you organized all year long. 

Your mindless scrolling days are over! Your new STEM-best friend is now here in your ear buds!