learning activities that engage and motivate students. Tese activities are designed to solve real world problems and reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside of the classroom. Ten, 21st Century skill development is folded into the units. Teachers help students learn to master skills in communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.
Capitalizing on the best of the STEM approach to educational design, educators learn to emphasize problem solving and investigation beyond the classroom. When approaching new problems students are asked to “think like an engineer”. Tis promotes inquiry and investigation in learning. When students are required to think critically about the information presented, their underlying understanding of the content expands and deepens.
According to Dr. Patricia Fioriello, K-12 Education Training Specialist, “STEM Education attempts to transform the typical teacher-centered classroom by encouraging a curriculum that is driven by problem-solving, discovery, exploratory learning, and requires students to actively engage a situation in order to find its solution.”
Integrating the Universal Design for Learning framework at the lesson level of a PBL unit, teams design lessons that support a variety of learning styles and needs. By removing curriculum barriers and scaffolding instruction with well-placed technology supports, a UDL lesson provides all students with the opportunity to effectively communicate, collaborate and think critically about a topic. Designing a UDL lesson means that teachers provide flexible methods and materials to present information, encourage students to use flexible methods, materials and media to show what they know, and design instruction that is relevant, offers choice and engages student interests.
Technology plays a pivotal role in the STEM MI Champions project. Well-placed technology tools support differentiating instruction, collaboration and communication, engagement, challenge, problem solving, inquiry and STEM. For example, technology tools such as interactive simulations make inquiry and exploration into STEM topics easy. Web 2.0 and social networking tools such as Wikis, Skype, Twitter, Ning, or Edmodo promote collaboration and communication. Science probes, Excel data tables, graphing calculators, digital measurement tools work together to support STEM education.
Technology also allows teachers to efficiently and effectively differentiate instruction. Providing flexible digital media and tools such as Web sites, video clips, and electronic text means that students can select and adjust the information to best meet their learning needs. For example,with digital content, learners canmanipulate qualities such as font size, contrast, volume, and text length or activate supports such as text-to-speech and online definitions for new vocabulary words. Providing a variety of electronic tools such as note takers, word processors, video recorders, audio recorders and multimedia authoring soſtware enables students to record and share information with others in a manner that works best for them, allowing them to show what they know.
When the learning in the STEM MI Champions Project takes place outside of the classroom walls, the technology tools need to be
MACULJOURNAL |
“on-the-go” as well. STEM MI Champions teams receive 5 digital backpacks to use during instruction. Digital Backpacks are designed as highly mobile, flexible and scalable technology solutions for project-based learning (Basham et al, 2009). Tey are designed to go anywhere that student learning occurs. Tey contain foundational technology such as iPads with authoring soſtware, modular technology such as audio and video recorders, digital cameras and science probes that change depending on the project. Tese tools are integrated into the lessons and allow students access to learning and to show others what they’ve learned.
Weaving together the best of PBL, UDL, STEM and technology, the STEM MI Champions project supports teachers as they learn to develop technology rich, relevant, challenging, supportive, flexible, and engaging learning opportunities. Te result: enthusiastic, engaged and successful learners who want to know more about the world around them.
Formore about the STEMMIChampions Project, go
tomacul.org.
To find the additional STEM, UDL, technology resources or to access the STEM MIC PBL units, visit
www.leadingpbl.org.
Susan Hardin is an Assistive Technology Consultant at Macomb Intermediate School District and serves as the STEM MI Champions Project Manager. She can be reached at:
shardin@misd.net.
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