Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

Becoming an elementary STEM teacher is quite a journey. My experiences and needs definitely changed when I was a young teacher for 5 years. And a lot of those things, I know that you can definitely relate to as well. In fact, I broke down a typical STEM teacher's pathway with what you are experiencing at different points in your role. The different types of needs that you have, and even the ways that I can best support you. This is the first episode in the STEM teacher pathway series, and I am so excited to jump right in. 

Naomi Meredith [00:00:49]:

Before I was a K through 5 STEM teacher, I was a classroom teacher for 6 years. I taught 2nd grade for 2 years 3rd grade for 4 years. When I made the transition into K through 5 STEM, I was so excited, but I was also very overwhelmed. And let's be real. I didn't know everything.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:36]:

Even if you have been teaching elementary STEM for a while or maybe you are just getting started, I wanna make sure that you're not making the same mistakes that I did. With that in mind, I have put together a bonus private podcast with 3 episodes where I am sharing my not so straight pathway to teaching elementary STEM. And what I would be doing different today. It's absolutely free of this private podcast, but you do have limited time to listen to it. So as soon as you get the link, you can binge all three episodes, and they are actually shorter than my typical episodes. These episodes will be available from September 14th, 2023, all the way to October 6. This is going to be linked in the show notes for you, or you can grab this at naomimeredith.com/STEM pathway pod. When I was mapping out this podcast series for you guys, I was legit journaling it.

Naomi Meredith [00:02:43]:

I have always been a journaler off and on throughout my entire life, but I was legit sitting on my back deck with my little dog, Frederick, and thinking about my STEM journey. And with that in mind, I noticed that throughout my years in elementary STEM, there are certain things that I needed my 1st year that were completely different than the middle of my career and also the 4 5 years and beyond. And you probably are feeling the same exact way. So I came up with the STEM teacher pathway and the 3 phases that You typically go through in this elementary STEM role. Those are the investigator, the navigator, and the connect These phases are, again, based on my experiences as an elementary STEM teacher and 11 years in education. But more specifically, those years as a STEM teacher, and also all of the conversations that I have been having with all of you over the years. Whether it's been in my online workshops, my STEM teacher bookshelf membership over on Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore, all of those different places and all of those different conversations is where I gathered information and really categorize these different STEM teacher phases and this pathway that you typically go through. Now I'm gonna be explaining these 3 different phases, but it's okay if you're feeling like, oh, I really resonate with 2 of these or all three of them.

Naomi Meredith [00:04:23]:

And guess what? That is absolutely okay. There are no technical pull rules to it. There isn't a quiz to take or something to pass if you feel like that you are in 1 phase or another This is to really help you understand where you might be in your STEM teacher journey and how I can best support you. Likewise, when it comes to the resources that I will be talking about, again, these aren't tied a 100% to each of these phases. I really wanted to go through and categorize all of these things so I can be your best support in your STEM teacher journey And if you were feeling overwhelmed and you don't know where to start or where you are even at or how to grow and keep going, this episode is perfect for all of you. The 1st phase in the STEM teacher pathway is being the investigator. When you are in this phase, you have taught elementary STEM for about 0 to 1 year. So you are very new to this elementary STEM position.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:29]:

You're typically a former elementary teacher in whatever type of capacity. So you have some background in teaching already, But this elementary STEM position is brand new to you. You are typically walking into this role with limited lies and 0 curriculum. And more often than not, you don't have any formal training when it comes to elementary STEM. You might be really good already at hands on learning, engaging your students using technology in effective ways. And someone might have thought, hey. You'd be really good at that elementary STEM thing. Why not you give it a shot? That was exactly me.

Naomi Meredith [00:06:11]:

There are a whole lot of things that you need to do when jumping into this role, but typically the main focus in this investigator role are a few things. First, you are really focusing on building your systems and routines. Especially if you are going from teaching the same class all day to teaching multiple classes all day In a variety of grade levels, you need to figure out those systems and routines that are going to work for the entire day. Likewise, you are really building up those relationships with students. It does take some time to get to know those kids, but you you know as a teacher that it's important to build relationships no matter how many students you have. Also, the lesson planning can be a bit overwhelming because you're really focusing on those systems and routines, which is definitely the foundation of your program. And so you took definitely need ready to go lessons that are standards based that you don't have to think about it quite so much this year. So you can focus in on those really foundational things in your classroom, and you can learn the tools as you go.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:24]:

You are in this phase where you are just gathering all of this information. You are in all sorts of Facebook groups. You are just soaking in all of these resources and all the different things that elementary sim can be. So you can build up the program and really have it be a well rounded experience for your students. Now when it comes to specific resources that can be really helpful for you, that I can help you with is, of course, this podcast. And if you're here, thank you so much for listening. This podcast is definitely here for you. And I really encourage you if you haven't already go back to the beginning of my podcast.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:03]:

There's stuff for — all the things, but really go back into the beginning and see all of those back to school types of lessons. I also have all my podcast episodes categorized, which I will link that in the show notes. So if you're looking for something specific while you are definitely getting started or really new stage, definitely check that out. This podcast is here for you. When it comes to ready to go lessons where you don't have to think about it, I definitely encourage you to check out my K through 5 STEM, your long bundle of lessons. There's a lot of great updates that are always coming to those lessons and I'm always thinking about how to improve those. So when you have those ready to go lessons, you don't have to worry so much about the lesson planning quite yet. They are there and ready to go so you can focus in on those systems and routines.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:53]:

When it comes to what things you should be doing in terms of building out the program. I talk all about that in-depth in my STEM teacher 101 course. Which there is actually a podcast component to that. But inside of that course, I will walk you through all of the things you need to do when it comes to setting up your classroom basic lesson planning. So you already have those ready to go ones with my bundle of resources. But really talk about, okay, here's some lesson planning structures and other ways to keep going in your program. So this is the course you never knew you needed. You probably didn't have much coming into this role.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:35]:

So I put it together in this nice little course where you can have it all ready to go and you can even do it in a weekend. Moving along in your STEM teacher pathway is You're becoming a navigator, and a navigator has been in this STEM role for about 2 to 3 years. And you're really gonna hang the hang of this elementary stent position, and it's really a lot of fun. You are getting to know the students. You have some tools that you absolutely love and feel confident about. There's other tools that you are excited to learn and you're feeling comfortable enough that you are ready to be creative with your lesson planning, and you're adding in your own things to make it your own. Along with that, you are excited to try other teaching strategies. So maybe your 1st year, you really focused in on whole group instruction So you can get the hang of things and how you are gonna actually teach the lessons to your students.

Naomi Meredith [00:10:38]:

But now you're ready to try something new, maybe like STEM stations with your students and how to have all of these different things going on at once. With that, your main area focuses when you are a navigator is you are building behind students prior knowledge. You already know your kids a bit. You have that relationship building going, but you are focusing on, okay. So here's what the kids did with me the past year or so. Let's continue to build upon that knowledge so they can grow in their STEM skills. You are also starting to have the time where you're not so overwhelmed by just the whole building the STEM program, but creating those original lessons. So you still are have those lessons that are built out for you, but then you are adding in your own twist of things based on what you're seeing with your students, and your comfortability level.

Naomi Meredith [00:11:34]:

Now that you have some things under your belt, you're also ready to collaborate with other like minded teachers to help you continue where you are at in your STEM journey and where you are headed. This also will help you see those different holes in where you are at and what you're missing. So meaning with other like minded teachers is extremely helpful now that you have that year under your belt. When it comes to specific resources in which I can help you with, I have a quite a few options for you. My podcast again is always going to be an option for you, and I do have that private podcast that is available for a limited time. So definitely check that out in the show notes where I do talk about my journey in elementary STEM and the mistakes that I met made and what I would do different. Also, when you're thinking about different planning structures and ways that you want to enhance your teaching strategies, My k through 5 STEM planning workshops are broken up into k through 2 and 3 through 5 are a great opportunity to have Awesome success within 2 hours. You get example lessons and also I talk through that structure so that you can easily implement that into your room.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:53]:

There also are a few ways that I can provide you some opportunities to connect with other student teachers. I remember how hard it was just finding other people who were doing what I was doing. Now I was lucky enough to some people in my school district who were other elementary STEM teachers, but it was also really amazing talking to other people who were not in my district because you get a lot of different perspectives and hear what things could be. You kinda get one-sided when it's just your district because your district tells you one thing. But it's nice hearing other people's perspectives all over the country. So inside of my STEM teacher, a bookshelf membership, This will help you not only with your professional reading, but also where you get to connect with other like minded teachers in our online discussions and in our monthly live calls. Now if you're needing more guided support and really ready to dive in, My group coaching program is opening up really, really soon for the fall of 2023. And you will have the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers and, again, have weekly live calls where we can focus in on where your lesson planning is going.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:07]:

So creating those original lessons and also how we can use the materials that you have and also grow your program as well. So that's coming up really, really soon, so keep an ear out for that. As you were traveling along this STEM teacher pathway, and you've taught for about 4 and plus years and beyond, You have become a connector, and you are in love with elementary STEM. This is your thing. You are never going back to whatever you taught before. That's not happening again. Someone's gonna have to pull you out by your coattails because you are ready and staying in elementary STEM. You just love it so much.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:50]:

You are, at this point, about 4 plus years in, you are confident about your STEM, your long plan, you have a whole year of lessons with a mix of already made lessons and also some of your unique lessons, and you're ready to adapt to those STEM trends. So you have a firm foundation of what elementary STEM currently can be, but you are very open to adapting your lessons based on the things that your students need on those STEM trends, but also you are really focusing in on Okay. My kids have had me for a while now. They're ready for harder things. I actually talked about this with Jennifer Mahhen in a past episode. We were actually talking about grant opportunities, but she noticed the same thing in her program that the longer she had the kids talking years, The kids had more capabilities and skills and in turn, needing more tools, needing more sophisticated lessons to meet her students' needs and really challenge them. You are also focusing in on wanting to add more community building things when it comes to STEM outside of your classroom. That might be when it comes to collaborating on district wide events, or even adding in after school clubs that are bringing together your community.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:14]:

Maybe you've done some after school club before, maybe in those 1st couple of years that are just some quick and fun things like Lego building or makerspace challenges. But maybe you really want things where it's more competition based where students are showcasing your skills or ways that you can in more kids like doing video school wide news where you're really bringing your community together in bigger ways. Maybe you're also planning STEM events where you are bringing outside resources where there are parents or other people in community who are sharing about how STEM is used in their real world. So you're all of the pieces are coming together. And when you're at this point, You're ready to do all of those extra fun. I haven't quoted you in March because STEM is always fun, but all of those extra things in your role. You also might be trying some different teaching styles. So again, those STEM stations are might be things that you are doing, but I'm even talking about things like co teaching with other teachers in your building.

Naomi Meredith [00:17:16]:

It could be ways where maybe they're doing something in their homeroom classroom and then they're bringing it into your STEM classroom and expanding on that idea. Maybe you are collaborating with other teachers outside of your building. Maybe they're in your district or in another state or another part of the world. So you're really thinking about those ways where you can enhance those global collaborations with your students and maybe even your own professional development. Since you are loving this role, so much. You definitely need an opportunity to continue your passion and have some help when looking at your program in a different way. And to push you along and having that feedback. Again, that group coaching program that I will be hosting coming out really soon for fall 2023, will be a great way for you to collaborate and really challenge yourself when it comes to how you can continue to build your program But then if you also need more guidance and just really want to brainstorm and bounce ideas back and forth, I love doing that, and I do have one to one coaching spots that are available, which those are open at any time, unless for some reason, I close them, but they're open at any time, which, again, you can find that in the show notes.

Naomi Meredith [00:18:33]:

Teaching in elementary STEM is definitely a Ernie, and it's okay if you don't have it figured out going into this role. We talked about those different phases in your STEM teacher pathway. And we start off as that investigator. So you've taught 0 to 1 years, moving into that navigator role and then into that connector role. And who knows? Whatever it is beyond. Which phase of the STEM teacher pathway are you in and which ones are you really connecting with? Now don't forget, I do have my private podcast coming out for you for a limited time only. So if you're listening to this episode while it comes out, that is available for you. And I am sharing my journey in elementary STEM and the mistakes that I made, my not so straight pathway in elementary STEM, and what I would do differently if I were to do it all over again.

Naomi Meredith [00:19:30]:

You can find that private podcast link and all of the resources that I talked in this episode in the show notes. And for that private podcast, you can grab it at naomiemeritus.com/ STEM pathway pod.