Love Learning Stem

Building Independence From the Teacher in Students During Stem Challenges

stem challenges for elementary

 

When I first started teaching STEM at the district level 3 years ago, my first instinct anytime a student needed help was to immediately give them hints or tips on how to solve the problem or make their design better for project. I knew that doing that would rob them of the potential experience the Engineering Design Process can give them for their problem solving skills and perseverance. 



The hardest part is when the students are in the middle of a stem challenge, and they are just about to start building their design. You hear, “teacher, teacher, teacher” all around the room. With so many questions being thrown at you, in the moment it seems easier to simply give the answer and move on. As enticing as this is, I’ve learned myself and also trained my students how to struggle through this challenges. 
 
Read on to see how you can get your student groups in STEM challenges to be more independent from the teacher. 

Ask 3 Before Me Strategy

 

This is a concept that is very familiar to many teachers, but can be underutilized. As a stem teacher, we are merely facilitators. We are being minimized in the student learning experience, and this is a very non traditional way of teaching. 
 
To do this, teach your students that they have resources to use all around them. They are able to use their peers, Google, or Youtube to get their information or questions answered. 
 
ask 3 before me
 
 
Teach your students how to use Google and Youtube in a safe way and effectively. This means that you can play out a few scenarios with examples of what to go to for help before you go to the teacher. 
 
Students also don’t necessarily know how to use Google or Youtube effectively. It would be wise to explicitly teach how to get to Google, what to search, how to find a link that is most appropriate for the search, etc. After a few times, you can get your students fairly used to the process. 
 
 

Ask These 10 Questions

Your students will be asking you a lot of questions. One of the ways you can help your struggling students in STEM is by asking questions instead of giving answers. 
 

 

The questions down below can help you guide the students to the right thinking, but won’t spoon feed them the answer. These teacher question prompts have also worked tremendously well with my English Language Learners and students in Special Education.
 

 

inspirational quote for stem teachers

 

Ten Questions to Ask Struggling Students 

1) What problem are you trying to solve? 
2) How do you want to solve it? 
3) What are you going to do to try to solve the problem? 
4) Why do you think it’s not working? 
5) What can you use instead of that material?
6) Why do you think that material is not working well? 
7) How can you use that material in a more efficient way? 
8) Do you think your design will work? 
9) Why do you think your design will not work? 
10) How can you improve your design?

 
With time, you will see how much more independent your student groups will become. It’s important to remember that our students also grow in their own speeds, so some students will be off and running without you. Others will require some more patience and teaching. Both are growth, and both are worthy of celebration. 
 
If you’re looking for any stem challenges for your students to practice these skills, you can find digital and print and go stem challenges that students are able to use any materials from home during distance learning or learning stem at home. 
 
 

This Freebie is on me!