EEA 2012 – Middle School STEM Day 3 Content Session

Choose one of the following… Use the STEM 5E Lesson Plan Template to create a STEM centric lesson to add to one of the unit seeds presented. Use the STEM Unit Plan Template to develop a STEM unit outline based in your content area. Use the e-portfolio instructions and exemplar presented to create an e-portfolio for your students to reflect on their STEM experiences in middle school.

Three Step Interview Cooperative structure that helps participants listen to, appreciate and learn from the ideas and thinking of others as they share information.

Participants will: develop an understanding of the Core Beliefs of STEM Education in Maryland. understand how the “E” in STEM could be incorporated in classroom instruction. practice using the engineering design process as a model for including the “E” in STEM.

Stem – Science rigor is stressed with a connection to engineering and math as appropriate. Scientific tools (technology) are used as an aid to develop science understanding. sTEm – Technology and Engineering rigor is stressed with an application of science and math as appropriate. steM – Math rigor is stressed with a connection to science as appropriate. Technology is used as an aid to develop mathematics understanding.

Core Belief 1: STEM Education integrates all four contents of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and promotes application of this integration in other content areas.

Core Belief 2: STEM Education is rooted in problem and project- based pedagogy where students answer complex questions, investigate global issues, and develop solutions for challenges and real world problems.

Core Belief 3: The goal of STEM Education in Maryland is to increase access to learning that prepares students for post-secondary study and the 21 st century workforce.

Rigor in all four subjects This aligns with the goals of the Common Core Curriculum.

“ Engineering is the profession in which knowledge of the mathematical and natural sciences, gained by study, experience, and practice, is applied with judgment to develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind.” (William C. Oakes, 2006)

Engineers can do anything! Engineering Education Service Center

Can you draw a connection between the STEM Standards of Practice and the STEM career of Engineering? Did you note any strategies that middle school students could employ to begin to prepare for a career as an engineer?

Similar: “ Engineering and science are similar in that both involve creative processes, and neither uses just one method. And just as scientific investigation has been defined in different ways, engineering design has been described in various ways.” (National Research Council, 2012)

Different: The scientist searches for answers to questions to obtain a knowledge of why a phenomenon occurs. The engineer also searches for answers to questions, but always with an application in mind. (William C. Oakes, 2006)

Research & Development TestingDesign SystemsManufacturingOperations SalesConsultingManagement “Engineering is sometimes thought of as applied science, but engineering is far more. The essence of engineering is DESIGN and making things happen for the benefit of humanity.” (William C. Oakes, 2006)

So, What is the in STEM Education?

STEM modules Students employ the EDP to design solutions to real world problems or issues. Contact: “A Collaborative Project between the University of Maryland Baltimore County and University of Maryland School of Medicine. Funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation.”

INSPIRES:

Establish the actual problem clearly Identify sources of information to help understand the scope and nature of the problem Restate the problem you are solving in your own words. Establish preliminary goals or success criteria which will provide a means to compare possible solutions during the design process.

Is there a solution to the problem that may already be available? Is there a solution to a similar problem that could be modified to meet the goals of the current problem? Creatively develop as many potential solutions to the problem as possible. No idea is eliminated from consideration.

Examine the list and eliminate duplicates. Allow the team to ask clarifying questions. Ask the team to evaluate the ideas.

Mathematical Models – relate conditions and properties as functions; may use computes to assist in visualizing the changing parameters. Scale Models – may not include all of the features or functions; useful for visualizing the actual product. Diagrams or graphs – tool for visualizing (e.g. electrical circuit diagrams, system graphs)

Test the solution against the established goals/criteria established in the first step of the engineering design process. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed solution.

Methods of communication include detailed written reports, technical presentations, diagrams, drawings and sketches, computer printouts, charts, and graphs.

INSPIRES: