Girls4Tech
Girls4Tech provides resources to educate, inspire, and equip young girls with the skills and confidence they need to envision themselves as future professionals in STEM fields.
The post Strategies for Encouraging Girls to Explore STEAM appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>Educators, administrators, and corporate leaders all agree: we need to encourage girls to explore STEAM skills and consider STEM careers for their futures. But how? We asked members of the Discovery Educator Network to share content, programs, and ideas they have found to be successful in bringing more girls to the world of STEAM!
Infusing STEAM Content in All Classrooms
A major goal of the K-12 experience is to prepare students for their next step in life. So, when thinking about how to encourage girls to explore STEAM topics or pursue STEM careers, bringing these concepts into the classroom is top of mind for educators. Exposing students to STEAM experiences frequently will help them see how their personal interests align with process used in STEM careers, like researching concepts, testing ideas, and sharing results.
Check out these top four recommendations from the DEN for infusing STEAM into all classrooms:
- Offer a variety of opportunities for creative expression in the planning phase of projects. Consider how students can draw, sketch, or creatively outline plans for projects to help bring the “A” of “STEAM” into the learning process early. Some students may choose to create sketch notes from their research on a topic while others may choose to draw a prototype for a model they will create later in the process—offering a variety of arts-forward options for planning helps students connect all letters of STEAM throughout a project.
- Find creative outlets for students to share their learning. On the tail end of a project or unit, allow students to use an artistic method—like designing posters, writing songs, performing skits, or creating digital visual aids—as an opportunity for them to reflect on and share their learning. STEAM learning can inspire innovation—sharing the successes should be an exciting part of the process and easily lends itself to artistic expression.
- Designate a Maker Space for students to work on independent and collaborative projects. Creating a Maker Space in your school or classroom can sound overwhelming, but it should just be a place where students can gather to collaborate on projects and access a variety of art supplies. It can be a space in a common area such as the media center or just a corner in a classroom!
- Find opportunities for all teachers to utilize content or concepts. Collaborative planning can help all teachers find inspiration for future lessons. For instance, if your students are studying laws of motion in science class, the Physical Education teacher may have some motion-focused games where students can test the hypotheses and theories introduced in science class!
STEAM lessons will pave the way for new innovations and collaborative experiences, and it can also help girls picture themselves as scientists, tech-wizards, artists, mathematicians, and engineers. Use content that puts successful STEM women in the spotlight so students can envision how their interests can align with a career they may not have considered or even heard of before.
Project STEM's course through the Amazon Future Engineers' program isa great way to showcase women in STEAM. I also incorporate this content for 6th grade, which includes a lot of videos and resources that discuss girls in STEAM and provide examples of accomplished women in STEAM fields.
Alexis Teitelbaum
PreK-6 Technology Explorations Teacher, PA
Explore STEM Career Resources
Career Tours by Amazon
Career Tours are free, interactive virtual field trips that showcase the real-life people and cutting-edge technology behind Amazon’s innovations.
If/Then STEM Professionals
Have you ever wondered who creates your favorite video game, or protects the animals in the jungle, or works to cure cancer? The IF/THEN® Initiative is committed to showing young girls exactly what a scientist looks like.
Five Ideas for Dynamic STEAM Programming
Finding space for girls to comfortably explore STEAM topics and collaborate with other girls can mean extending your programming in new ways through clubs, contests, and special events. Read on for five ideas from the DEN to make your STEAM programming fun and flexible for girls!
We cannot hope that girls turn their graduation tassel and suddenly take an interest in STEAM topics. Instead, we need to find ways for them to explore STEAM early, frequently, and in encouraging settings. STEAM learning can be exciting for all students when there are clear connections between the different letters and students’ interests!
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]]>The post Reflections on a Conversation about Advancing STEM Opportunities for Girls appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>The need for STEM jobs is expected to grow by 11% through 2032, creating more than 1 million STEM occupations in the U.S. alone. With women making up half of the college-educated workforce, but only 34% of the STEM workforce, now is the time to identify and address barriers to STEM education for girls and young women. Research by The National Girls Collaborative Project shows that girls’ achievement levels in math and science are the same as boys. Yet there is a notable difference in their interests, confidence, and sense of belonging in the STEM areas. Two key questions come to mind:
1. How can we encourage girls to pursue their interests in STEM?
2. How can we close this clear gap in STEM opportunities?
District and Corporate Efforts: A Combined Approach
During Discovery Education’s webinar in partnership with EducationWeek, Women Leaders Advancing STEM Opportunities for Girls, a panel of district and corporate leaders shared their combined efforts to close the STEM gap for girls and encourage them to explore their STEM interests. Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil, Superintendent of Schools at Uniondale Free School District, Dr. Elizabeth Alvarez, Superintendent at Forest Park School District, and Susan Warner, Vice President of Community Engagement at Mastercard, Girls4Tech all came together to share insights from their experiences encouraging and advancing STEM opportunities for girls.
The webinar underscored the power of collective action among corporations, districts, and educators. It has become increasingly apparent that increasing girls’ access to the STEM career pipeline requires a concerted, multi-dimensional approach. The panelists shared some ways corporate and educational partners can support one another:
4 Ways Corporate and Educational Partners Can Support Each Other
Retire old STEM models.
STEM is more than math and science; it is a multidisciplinary approach to how students learn and understand the world around them. There are many skills people need in STEM careers—communication, logic, creativity, and analytics to name a few. We can help learners hone these skills through different resources and activities, like those available through Discovery Education’s STEM Careers Coalition.
Engage students early.
The panelists stressed the importance of getting girls involved in STEM from an early age, leveraging the power of curiosity, exploration, and play. Early engagement can take various forms – science fairs, robotics clubs, family programming, and community events. Plus, these are materials and moments that corporate partners can help develop for the K – 12 space.
Elevate STEM industries.
The effect of seeing someone who looks like you in a field cannot be underestimated. Districts and corporations need to work together to increase representation of women in STEM. It’s critical that teachers showcase more women STEM leaders in everyday lessons to shift perceptions of what a typical STEM professional looks and sounds like. And when districts collaborate with corporate partners, there’s more opportunity to bring guest speakers, mentors, and hands-on engagement with successful women in STEM directly into our classrooms as well as afterschool programs.
Walk the talk.
If we want more girls to enter STEM careers, it’s essential that we introduce them to the wide variety of STEM careers and the growing demand for these jobs. Educators need to dedicate time for students to explore careers, and corporate partners need to support educators by developing and providing those classroom resources. Webinar speaker, Susan Warner, shared that we should provide girls with hands-on experiences that allow them to learn about a wide variety of STEM industries, such as data science, AI, data security, cyber security, computer science, and coding. For example, Discovery Education’s Career Connect provides educators with the opportunity to infuse careers into their instruction by connecting their classrooms directly with industry volunteers. These connections nurture student curiosity and empower students to visualize themselves in the many career paths that power our world.
Discovery Education's Corporate Education Partnerships
Discovery Education strongly believes that the K – 12 system and corporate landscape are aligned in regard to diversifying and expanding the STEM workforce. The work we’re doing with our corporate partnerships is bridging classrooms to industries and closing the STEM gap for girls. For example, our partnership with Mastercard’s Girls4Tech program works to close the gap between opportunity, awareness, and readiness by providing schools and community organizations with free resources to educate, inspire, and equip young girls with the skills and confidence they need to envision themselves as future professionals in STEM fields.
Additionally, the STEM Careers Coalition (SCC) works to support the STEM workforce by providing educators with accessible, ready to use resources and content and creating equitable opportunities for students to explore STEM. By bridging invested corporate and non-profit partners directly with schools, the SCC is uniquely positioned to create conditions for girls to see themselves in the future STEM workforce.
While it’s undeniable that more work needs to be done, the recent webinar highlighted the power of districts and corporations working together to advance STEM opportunities for girls. I left this webinar feeling inspired and excited about the work to come.
Amy Nakamoto
The post Reflections on a Conversation about Advancing STEM Opportunities for Girls appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>The post How to Develop Creative Thinking in Students with STEAM appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>Why Developing Creative Thinking in Students Matters
Educators have an extraordinary opportunity to ignite a passion for learning by embracing the dynamic world of STEAM learning. Incorporating STEAM isn’t just about teaching science or math—it’s about nurturing a mindset of curiosity that empowers students to question, experiment, and grow.
The beginning of the school year is a great time to help students establish this mindset and begin building a culture of curiosity, creativity, and innovation in the classroom. Here are some ideas and advice from Tim Needles, a technology integration specialist, DEN STAR, and author of the book STEAM Power from ISTE, for weaving Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics into your classroom.
Using Curiosity to Develop Creative Thinking in Students
One of the easiest ways to get students excited about STEAM learning is through igniting their curiosity. Curiosity is an element found in professionals of every discipline! To inspire my students to think critically and creatively, I begin by modeling the behavior. I pose authentic questions about STEAM topics such as space, the future of architecture, and improving the environment, then lead students through finding resources with tools like Discovery Education to learn more about it. Showing students how to ask questions and find the answers can show them that the sky is the limit when you’re willing to search for information!
Between Discovery Education Experience and other resources, there are endless ways to find answers to your students’ questions. The key to inspiring creative thinking without overwhelming students is working as partners in the process to help find the best videos, articles, and other online resources. We explore the resources together and I find it helpful to give students multiple avenues to share so it’s not just one or two students raising their hand—we form groups so students can collaborate.
Fun STEAM Activities That Foster Creative Thinking
Another important part of a creative mindset is enjoying the process! We all remember having fun learning in the classroom as students, and a great way to introduce a fun learning activity to any level of students is through Virtual Field Trips. Some of my favorites are Living with Polar Bears in the Arctic, Generation Beyond: Mars Exploration, and STEAM Careers Take the Spotlight: Country Music’s Biggest Night. These let students have an experience together that is new and authentic, and it allows segues into all different kinds of conversations on STEAM ideas, careers, and innovations. The great thing about these Virtual Field Trips is that the students always enjoy them, and they are always a favorite, fun part of the learning.
Tie Creative Projects to Real-World Relevance
It’s particularly useful to tie learning experiences into local and community issues to connect the learning into the students’ lives. I love blending Discovery Education resources together with creative projects that encourage students to think outside the box and serve as a formative assessment. Consider how you traditionally assess student learning and add options for students that move past question-and-answer style work. Encourage students to bring their work to life by creating a structure with cardboard or writing and producing short video poems.
Use Hands-On Projects to Build Creative Thinking
Providing students with the opportunity to complete a project can help them grapple with problem-solving, making and moving past mistakes, and finding new ways to express their learning and opinions. When students learn about space exploration from the Generation Beyond: Mars Exploration Virtual Field Trip, ask them to create a cardboard structure depicting the surface of Mars, or ask students to produce a short video poem about life in the arctic after they learn about it through the Living with Polar Bears in the Arctic Virtual Field Trip. Extending learning experiences past the “new content” and into the application of knowledge through innovative projects can help students demonstrate what they’ve learned and think creatively throughout the process!
Build a Culture of Creativity and Possibility
Implementing these ideas will help you open doors to innovation, creativity, and critical thinking for your students. You can see the joy on their faces as you embark on hands-on explorations and encourage collaboration with exciting projects through a multidisciplinary lens. This year, let the spirit of STEAM infuse your classroom with boundless enthusiasm, guiding your students towards a future where possibilities are endless, and their potential knows no limits.
Tim Needles
Tim Needles is an artist, educator, performer, and author of STEAM Power: Infusing Art Into Your STEM Curriculum. He is a TEDx Talk speaker, a technology integration specialist, and teaches art, film, and emerging media at Smithtown School District and Five Towns College. His work has been featured on NPR, in the New York Times, Columbus Museum of Art, Norman Rockwell Museum, Alexandria Museum of Art, Katonah Museum of Art, and Cape Cod Museum of Art.
He’s the recipient of ISTE’s Technology in Action Award and Creativity Award, NAEA’s Eastern Region Art Educator Award & ArtEdTech Outstanding Teaching Award, and The Rauschenberg Power of Art Award. He’s also a board member of NYSCATE and NYSATA, a DEN STAR, National Geographic Certified Teacher, Kami Hero, Formative Champion, PBS Digital Innovator, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, an ISTE Community leader, NAEA ArtEdTech interest Group chair, a teacher leader in the CAN Connected Arts Network PLC, and an Adobe Creative Educator Innovator. He’s active on social media at @timneedles.
The post How to Develop Creative Thinking in Students with STEAM appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>The post Bringing ‘Non-STEM Letter’ Teachers into STEM Teaching appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>No matter how many times we say STEM is “strategies that engage all minds” it is still viewed as simply science, technology, engineering, and math. How do we include ‘non-STEM letter’ teachers in STEM lessons to showcase the strategies that really do engage all minds? How do we increase their confidence in using project-based learning and inquiry? Here to share her ideas for bringing teachers of all content areas into STEM lesson planning is DEN STAR and middle school science teacher, Karen Clark!
Karen Clark
Karen Clark teaches middle school science in North Carolina. This is her 20th year teaching, and she’s been reaching out to other subject area teachers long before it became the thing to do. Karen has helped lead her school to the National Green Ribbon certification and is a key member of two accreditation teams for her school. She is also the author of a recently published children’s book, Justin’s Tea Party.
This is my 20th year teaching middle school science, and I always made it a priority to look for ways to connect my class topics with other teachers. While I found it challenging sometimes to connect with teachers in other subjects, I’ve discovered two promising ways to bring Social Studies and English Language Arts teachers into STEM planning conversations!
1. Reach Out!
The first step to collaborating is simply reaching out! Flexibility and a willingness to compromise from all teachers is essential. It can be challenging, but it is worth it to create lessons where students can make connections and thrive where they didn’t before. Simply ask what Social Studies and English Language Arts (ELA) teachers will cover in the next quarter and see how you can connect to it or have further planning conversations.
My own daughter hated to read, and last year her first required book was Wonder by R. J. Palacio. Along with the reading, her ELA teacher had students design and create a paper mâché mask. They had to wear it in public for at least an hour and write about how it felt, connecting to the main character of the book. This year they are making these masks in their STEM class to free up ELA time, which helps the ELA and STEM teachers collaborate and unify their plans. The science teacher is also involved by having the students design their own lab to test paper mâché recipes!
Shortly after this unit we noticed my daughter reading in the car, or while sitting at her brother’s baseball game. It was amazing to see the switch flip! I truly believe her new interest in reading is due to her making a connection to a subject with which she felt comfortable.
2. Search for New Connections
Where are these possible cross-curricular connections? Everywhere! While bringing together two different subjects with unique sets of standards can seem overwhelming, start by considering where there is natural overlap in the topics of study.
For example, I connect my study of evolution and conservation with the Spanish teacher’s coursework. In Spanish class, students look at differences and similarities among islands in the Galapagos and create presentations in Spanish for cruise ship passengers visiting the islands. In my class we study how these islands use conservation principles and how their animals have evolved.
In Social Studies, they study Asian cultures and the importance of tea for trading, so in my class we can build on that! I designed a lab to learn about making tea and determining what makes the ‘best’ cup of tea. This lab goes well with my standards on understanding diffusion and chemical reactions!
There are so many ways to create seemingly small connections between all content areas, and over time, they can grow into larger projects and learning moments. One great example is the study of ancient Egypt where students get to build a sarcophagus. One year some creative kids wrote an ancient Egyptian funeral song when they “interned” our chicken legs in the school garden!
Another great example is when the 8th grade students read The Martian by Andy Weir. They design a lab about heat retention and specific heat capacity so the main character can keep his potatoes warm in emergencies. Building on what students are studying in other classes helps me reinforce concepts in my class and make sure my lessons are relevant!
This school year, when you’re supervising the playground or helping with car line, talk to your co-workers about what they’re teaching! That quick conversation could lead to an open line of communication for new collaborative, cross-curricular lessons!
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]]>The post Why Creativity and the Arts are Critical to STEM appeared first on Discovery Education.
]]>What do you want to be when you grow up?
The age-old question that stumps the younger generation as they wonder what job would allow them to follow their interests and dreams. What role can they see themselves in? In the words of Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Unfortunately, girls may have a harder time envisioning a future in STEM fields for a variety of reasons—one of which sticks out prominently.
Most girls and young women identify as creative and want to have an impactful job that helps the world. But relatively few see STEM careers to pursue these interests. Our understanding is evolving, however. Skills like problem solving and collaboration are critical assets for any individual in the STEM disciplines. But creativity in particular is being recognized as a core element to STEM success. By adding the “A” (the Arts) to STEM, we can infuse creativity throughout the S-T-E-M and create a new way to look at STEM disciplines that girls can connect with and fully enjoy. It will also spark girls’ curiosity and show them how they can use STEM skills in areas they may not have considered before. Most importantly, it will allow girls’ natural desire for personal expression and empathy to flourish in a career they didn’t know they could explore.
Sciences provide an understanding of a universal experience; Arts is a universal understanding of a personal experience... they are both a part of us and a manifestation of the same thing... the arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity.
Mae Jemison
Astronaut, Chemist, Biologist, Accomplished Dancer, Humanitarian
Adding Confidence to Creativity
Creativity is a driving force of innovation. When combined with a confidence in one’s own creative abilities and learning capabilities, there’s no telling how far an ambitious young student can go. However, while some of our brightest girls have STEM abilities, they do not necessarily have the confidence to follow through on their goals. Researcher Carol Dweck from Stanford University found that “bright girls believe that their abilities are innate and unchangeable, while bright boys believe they can develop ability through effort and practice.”
A critical fostering of girls’ confidence in their abilities is rooted in their understanding that STEM skills aren’t just natural talent that you’re born with, they can be learned and cultivated. They need to know that “mistakes” are great because they allow our creativity to flourish and are part of the pathway to the right answer. Dweck has found that interventions to help girls understand how the brain works can help them reset their thinking, counteract stereotypes, and raise achievement in math or science. “Every time [girls] stretch out of their comfort zone, do hard things, stick to hard things, their brains form stronger and stronger connections and over time, their abilities can grow.”
What better way to strengthen their confidence in STEM than creating a learning environment that fosters their creativity and where they feel comfortable? The arts are a natural fit for girls and young women to enjoy every aspect of their learning experience because it is rooted in something in which they easily identify—creativity. This can greatly increase their confidence and opportunity to pursue a STEM career, especially one that they may not have recognized before.
But creative learning environments don’t have to be limited to just art classes. Here are just a few ideas of how to help your faculty and staff create interdisciplinary classrooms that foster creativity.
- Incorporate STEM concepts into the Arts curriculum and vice versa. For example, studying the physics of sound waves in music class or using art as a way to visual concepts in math class.
- Invite guest artists, experts, and professionals who can speak and demonstrate how STEAM careers can foster creativity.
- Allow teachers to assess student knowledge through creative methods like visual presentations, artwork, music, or performance. Not all assessments need to be pen + paper!
- Align the scientific method with design thinking to show how the two complement one another. Scientists can think creatively and artists can think scientifically.
- Invite art, science, math, and technology teachers to work together to create cross-curricular projects, challenges, and programs.
- Ensure that middle and high schools have technology and engineering options to show firsthand how science, math, and the arts can be applied together.
- Implement educational technology with the content and resources to support cross-curricular activities and technology applications, as well as career preparation in STEAM fields.
The combination of analytical and creative skills is a powerful thing. It results in a person who can present innovative new ideas and find a creative way to make those ideas a reality, especially if she is driven by a greater purpose to help others.
Future STEM careers are responsible for driving innovation and positive change in our society. By coupling creativity and focusing on the beauty of objects and processes, solutions can also inspire others and bring move joy to their lives. For example, when designing content to describe complex science ideas, our team doesn't just write text for students to read. We think carefully about how multimedia and visual designs can help bring the ideas alive for students and inspire them to dive deeper into the science.
Amy Gensemer
K-12 Education Leader in STEM
The post Why Creativity and the Arts are Critical to STEM appeared first on Discovery Education.
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