Failing in STEM

I get real excited when my students fail in STEM.  Wait!  What?!  Yes, I encourage failure.  Let me explain.

There is a movement in the business world called Fail Forward.  There are books and websites and consulting firms based on this concept.  A common phrase is "fail fast, fail early, fail cheap".  

In the Daily Beast article "Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win", Ryan Babineaux shares the story of a teacher who discovered something interesting about failing in class.  Read the article here.   

"They understand that feeling afraid or underprepared is a sign of being in the space for optimal growth and is all the more reason to press ahead." (Babineaux)

So, how do we help our students get out of their comfort zone and experience real growth?  Let them fail.  

I know.  I know.  It's real hard as a teacher.  Somehow, we feel as teachers that if our students fail, we have failed them.  By "fail", I don't mean the final grade.  I mean the process of learning.  I have blogged about our hot air balloon unit.  The students engineered hot air balloons.  After careful planning and measuring and gluing, they tested their designs.  Guess what.  They failed!  The balloons failed to gain lift and sustain flight.  Did any students stomp their feet or throw their books?  No.  They are comfortable with failure.  Immediately, they hypothesized what what wrong and how they can redesign their balloons so they would fly.  And they did.

http://pbskids.org/designsquad/

The same was true with their presentations.  Fail.  They had access to the rubric but their first presentations lacked polish and depth.  I didn't even have to ask them if they wanted to re-do their presentations.  They BEGGED to have time to work on them and do it again.  They are comfortable with failure.  In fact, they know it's an essential part of the design process.


I was in a fourth grade class, working on our Renewable Resources STEM unit.  The engineering challenge for the day was for the students to create a machine that will use the power of wind to lift a cup (with weights) from the floor to the top of the desk.  I have done this challenge countless times before (with students AND teachers) and had always seen success within 45 minutes.  But, something was different in this class.  After 90 minutes, no group had successfully lifted the cup.  


We had to clean up for the students to go home and I overheard one student say, "I failed".  Teachable moment!  I told them about Thomas Edison and his famous quote “I have not failed.  I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  


I always end a STEM lesson with some sort of short informal assessment.  Sometimes it is a diagram, but today I decided to do a quick writing prompt.  Their ticket to leave was to write 5 things they learned today.  

Here are some of the gems. 

·         I learned today that when one thing doesn’t work, try something different.

·         That doing stuff with a team makes stuff easier.

·         When something looks easy, it’s really hard.

·         I learned how to make something out of spare parts.

·         To not give up.

·         I learned that students should never give up on what you are doing.

·         If you try to succeed doing something you will never fail.

·         I learned that when you try to do something successful, sometimes you fail first.

·         I learned that every assignment will not be a success at first.

·         I learned that sometimes people FAIL a lot (emphasis students’).

·         I learned that no one can always win.

·         I learned that I had a ton of failures.

·         I learned that I had a hard time to get to success.

·         What I have learned today is trying to make success may be hard.

·         What I have learned is that the more you try, success will come.

·         I learned that Thomas Edison failed a lot.

·         I’ve learned that we are having a bit of trouble on our experience. (they probably meant experiment, but it’s still applicable)

And that, my friends, is a successful lesson.  How do you use failure in STEM?  Comment below or email me. 

Sparkly Science

I recently read an article in USA Today about girls in Science.

Whether they have skinned knees or constantly wear a tutu, we need to meet our future young women scientists where they are.

I agree with the points that the Carnegie Science Center made about offering what appeals most to girls.  And if that is lipstick and nail polish, then so be it.

But I have to admit, I still held off on offering "DIY lipgloss 101" classes.  Until now.

At the end of class sessions, I like to present a STEM Family Challenge to the students.  They work on a project at home with family and then report back to me with what they learned.

Today, I was walking out of class when three girls came running up to me.  They wanted to know if lipstick would count as a STEM Family Challenge.  As is my typical response, I responded with a question of my own.  What do you mean by that?

Well, they were very eager to explain to me that they had created their own line of lip gloss.  Lip gloss!  I asked about the materials and procedure.  They explained that they watched tutorials on YouTube and made them at home with ...............  you'll never guess..........CRAYONS!!!

Did you know crayons are pretty much harmless to eat?  Me neither!  Check out this Instructables about crayon lipstick.  

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-lipstick-with-crayons/

 I told the girls to come to my office during break to show me their line of lip gloss.  They only have two colors here today, but here they are:

They also had a blue lip gloss but it had a runny consistency.  It provided a great opportunity to talk about oils and water content.  

They can't wait to make me a custom color and to show me their line of nail polish as well. 

Hmmm, I guess sparkly girls really do like sparkly science.  

New Year, New Budgets, New Grants

Ahhh, the new year.  For many states, today will see new governors sworn into office.  Many legislators will return to the office to begin work on the new budget.  In most states, it won't be good news for education PreK-16.  And, even if you are fully funded for STEM, there is always "one more project" or "one more device" you want to purchase.

Enter grants.  Whether they be from non-profits, corporations, or wherever, grants are a wonderful way to supplement your budget.

Recently, I asked "what do you want to read about in 2015?".  Of all the responses, "grants" was tied for first place.  

http://www.sfaz.org/stem/

Science Foundation Arizona recently completed a survey of teachers across the state.  The number one response for greatest need is funding for STEM and Science in the classrooms.  Since the release of the Rural and Remote report, SFAz has offered many grant opportunities to seed STEM programs.

Dr. Eric Savage is the STEM Field Rep & AZ Grant Manager for Science Foundation Arizona.  Dr. Savage is Mr. Grant.  He has not only been awarded grants, but has sat on the other side of the table and has reviewed grant applications.  He speaks at conferences around the state.  If you ever have the chance to be in one of his sessions, it will be time well spent.  

Before we go any further, are you familiar with Science Foundation Arizona and their work with the Arizona STEM Network?  If not, I encourage you to go to their sites and sign up for notifications.  Sign up for RSS feeds or like their Facebook page.  Then go to the Arizona STEM Network site.  It is full of resources (STEM immersion guide, STEM Clubs, etc.).  A team of STEM experts created a searchable resource database for STEM Resources, STEM Curriculum, Video Resources, and Competitions/Contests.     

Dr. Savage has compiled a list of grant opportunities for STEM.  You can download it here.  Before you apply for a grant, take a look at the tip sheet and Grant Writing 101 presentation.  Dr. Savage has many more resources available, so again, if you have the chance to see Dr. Savage at a conference, attend his sessions. 


When applying for grants, keep these terms in mind:

http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/STEM-Funding-Brief-10182012.pdf 

Most Popular of 2014

2014 has been a great year.

At our school alone, we built a garden, went to Science Camp, launched rockets with aeronautical students, held a STEM Festival, went on virtual field trips, had national park rangers visit us, were named Best STEM School in Rural Arizona, and secured funding to keep and expand our STEM program district-wide.

Personally, after two years of very hard work, I earned my National Board Certification.  I was honored with the Arizona Technology in Education Teacher of the Year award.  And, along with the daily STEM Curriculum Developer position, I have started a Tech Club at the local Boys and Girls Club, spoken at conferences around the country, consulted with teachers around the state, and have become a STEM Certified(TM) Trainer for STEM.org.

This blog has had a great year too.  What started out as a place to share some STEM ideas, has become a go-to resource for teachers nationwide.  Here is the top ten most popular posts for 2014 (in case you missed them):

10.  STEM After-School Enrichment Clubs
9.  Grandparents Day, STEM Style
8.  Innovation Nation STEM Festival
7.  Infographics for STEM
6.  Read Across America, STEM Style
5.  Going Places with STEM
4.  Arizona Sample Questions
3.  Finding Common Core Passages Online
2.  STEAMing Ahead to Stop the Summer Slide: Math
1.  How to Support Your Spouse When They Return to School

Looking into 2015, what do you want to read here?

What Do You Want?

In 2006, Time Magazine chose "you" as the Person of the Year.  It was all about how "you" can personalize and customize almost all aspects of your life.  It was a bold move and very apropos.

time.com 

In 2015, I would like to dedicate this blog to "you".  I don't need to blog to journal my curriculum.  I have disk space and the cloud to do that.  I blog to share ideas and breakthroughs.

So, my question to you is this: What do you want to read?  STEM units and curriculum?  STEM state of mind?  How to embed other subjects into STEM?  Ed Tech?  Digital Testing?  ???

Leave a comment below or email me at: STEAMingAheadWithSusan@gmail.com

Finals Week in a STEM School: Part 1

It was Finals Week all across the country as quarters and semesters finished up.  Students were tested from Kindergarten to college.  Never fun, usually boring, mostly multiple choice, sometimes "constructed response", and always "the end" of the unit.

Unless you are a STEM school.

So, how does a STEM school do finals?

Well, to be perfectly honest, there are still the district mandated assessments.  You know the ones.  The multiple choice assessments that are quickly graded by the computer and give the teachers good data on how well the students learned the standards.  We also have the reading tests where teachers listen to students read to determine their reading level.  But I'm talking about the STEM finals.

Public Display of PowerPoint

Our 4th and 5th grade students have been learning PowerPoint.  Yes, I know.  So very 2005.  However, we feel that we can't progress to Prezi and Weebly until the students have a firm understanding of the basic office programs.  Love them or hate them, office programs are the basics for college and career life.

I have seen PowerPoint final projects titled "All About Me" or "The Year in Review", but who really gets to view those?  The student and the computer lab teacher?  If ISTE's standards have given us anything, it's a "global audience".  What's the point in putting in all that time and effort if no one will ever see your product?  Solution?  Give them an audience.  That's exactly what we did.

Yesterday was our Holiday Musical.  Parents, community members, and fellow students filled the gym, eager to hear our precious kindergartners and first graders sing Christmas songs.  Our theme this year was "Christmas Around the World" and each song was from a different country.  We wanted to share the customs and traditions from each country with the audience.  What better way than a slide show while the students took the stage?

Now, of course, the music teacher or the computer lab teacher could have made the slide shows for each country.  But, it's not about us.  I'm pretty sure the parents in the bleachers came to see the students, not the teachers.  So, as 21st century teachers, we get out of the way.  We let our students "take the stage".

All the slide shows were researched and created by the 4th and 5th grade students.  Our computer lab teacher didn't have to talk about "correct spelling" or "use of transitions" because the authentic nature of the project provided all the motivation they needed.  Who wants to have their name on a project with a spelling error!?  Horror!  You couldn't get those kids to STOP working on their projects.  They worked on them right up to the end.

Presentations and Rubrics

Teachers have long used presentations as a way of finishing up a unit.  However, what usually happens is that students stand in front of the class and talk, while the teacher is the only one grading them from the back of the room.

We took a different approach to our STEM finals.  First, we watched a video of a bad presentation.  By bad, I mean the speakers looked at the whiteboard instead of the audience, they spoke too fast, they spoke off topic, they had spelling errors, and they had weak support for their arguments.  We actually had to watch the video twice, as the students cracked up the first time.

After viewing the video, we had a class discussion about how it could be better.  I pulled out a rubric and we "graded the teacher" in the video.  (I usually have my class create rubrics together, but this was the first time this class had used a rubric so I provided one for them.)

We used the same rubric for their presentations.  And here's the thing, the students had access to the rubric while planning their presentations.  They knew what was expected of them and how to achieve the score they wanted.

After some time of creating PowerPoints and practicing in groups, we had our big Presentation Day.  Every group had a rubric and scored the presenters.  As I walked around, I heard conversations such as, "well, they only gave 2 reasons instead of 3 so I think they deserve a 2 in this category" and "yes, they talked about the engineering process but they missed a few steps".  In the end, the teacher had 5 completed rubrics for each group and interestingly enough, their scores were very similar.

Now, I would like to say that the presentations were great and all groups scored well.  However, that wasn't really the case.  The students were nervous about speaking in front of the class for the first time.  There was some confusion about who was supposed to talk about which slide and "where did my transitions go?!".

When we asked the class how they might improve next time, the class came alive with wonderful suggestions!  They begged to be able to do their presentations again.  This, two days before the end of the semester.  On a day when most classes were holding parties, 5th graders were working on their presentations.  The classroom teacher and I decided that we would use the first rubrics as their PRE scores and their rubrics after the second presentations as the POST scores.  

Speaking of PRE and POST scores, we collected data on this class.  When the class began two months ago, I gave them a multiple choice test.  Yes, sometimes multiple choice is the best way to get quick data.  I then gave them the same multiple choice test this week.  Giving the same test as a PRE and a POST is a great way to evaluate student growth and evaluate weaknesses in the STEM unit.

So, how did the students score?  The class average went from 22.5% to 69%!

I have not looked at the scores for the final, final presentation rubrics, but I am sure the scores increased.  To see more about our 5th grade STEM unit, click here (includes a WAY cool video of our rocket launch!).

STEM Tubs

Our 3rd graders took their STEM finals this week also.  They used STEM tubs for their engineering project.  What is a STEM tub?  Finals Week in a STEM School: Part 2

******We have a growth mindset at our school and are always looking for ways to improve.  How do you do STEM finals?  Comment below or email me at: STEAMingAheadWithSusan@gmail.com 

STEM-tastic Holiday Musical

You have heard of Holiday musicals, but have you heard of a STEM-tastic Holiday Musical?

Next Generation Science Standards says that first grade "students will plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate" (1-PS4-1).  

That is exactly what launched our 1st grade STEM unit.  In the unit, students put salt on a paper plate on top of the classroom CD player.  As music played, students observed the rice vibrating.  They quickly diagrammed it in their STEM journals.  Then, they interacted with iPad apps to explore the inner ear and watch sound vibrate.  Students then engineered various instruments, including pan flutes, guitars, and drums.  After decorating their instruments, the students measured them with non-standard units (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A) to see the relationship between length and pitch.  

So, what does this have to do with Christmas?  When you are a STEM school, STEM is embedded into everything; including the holiday musical.

Our music teacher selected Christmas songs from around the globe.  As the kindergarten and first grade students learned the songs, they also learned how those countries celebrate Christmas.  

Our computer teacher directed the fourth and fifth graders in creating the slide show for the musical.  The students first researched the customs for each country.  They then created a slide show for each country represented at the musical.  The slide shows played while the students were walking on and off the stage.  

Our first grade teachers have been teaching the STEM lessons.  They have allowed their classrooms to become maker spaces as cereal boxes, coffee cans, and paper towel rolls piled up.  The students played the instruments while singing in the musical.  

Where did the students get the paper towel rolls and coffee cans?  Our cafeteria staff supplied us with the necessary cans.  Instead of throwing them away daily, they washed them and saved them for first grade.  Our custodians provided the paper towel rolls.  Again, instead of disposing of them, they saved them.  

Today is the culmination of months of work....and the students couldn't be happier.  

Merry Keshmish (Merry Christmas in Apache)!