Fall of 2020 has brought on its own set of challenges, and the stem learning is being reevaluated as it is moving to online learning. Teachers have been reading Tips for STEM Teachers and asking for more. Educators are wondering what stem challenges during distance learning will look like? How will students be collaborating with peers during online stem activities?
Read on for engaging strategies on how to teach STEM during distance learning or blended learning.
1. Have Students Collaborate in Breakout Rooms
Students need some sense of normality during this time especially, so allowing our students to collaborate with one another is necessary. They’re used to bouncing their ideas off of a group of people, so it’s important to provide that space.
Collaborate During the Ask Step of the Engineering Design Process
One way you can manage that on Zoom or Google Meets is by separating students into breakout rooms. Before your students are sent off in their breakout rooms, you can give them the criterias and constraints of the stem challenge and have them brainstorm ideas.
They can then come back and present their group’s idea to the rest of the class.
Collaborate During the Research Step of the Engineering Design Process
You can have students gather research on their own and then come to class. Once you breakout the students, you can have them share their research and get input on which ideas to more forward with.
During distance learning, stem challenges are completed individually or completed at home. This does not mean that there can’t be collaboration at all amongst peers.
2. Have Students Collaborate in Shared Documents
Google slides and docs have made this really easy for teachers to create a template and have students join in the same document to complete together. You can assign students in a group a different color, and every time they see that color, they have to input their answers.
This is my Boat STEM challenge that students complete during the year. In the slides, I created a space for students to claim a color to write into.
They will see their color box pop up during the stem challenge digital resource, so that’s when they know to fill out their portion.
3. Allow Students to Use ANY Materials From Home
There is so much going on already in our students’ and students’ families lives. I cannot expect my families to be forced to go to the store and buy materials for stem challenges, no matter how big or small the amount is. Allowing students to use any materials from home gives my students the push to get really creative!
I model this by going live with my students and showing them around my home. I pick up anything around the house that I can use in a stem challenge. Very quickly, I create something right in front of their eyes, and they are amazed every time! It gives them lots of ideas for the stem challenge ahead of them.
For more info on this you can sign up to view a Free Webinar on How to Teach Stem Challenges During Distance Learning.
4. Use Digital Engineering Journals
Continue using engineering journals, but transfer them to be digital journals. Include spaces for your students to input sketches, images, and videos. This can be a landing ground for all things related to that particular stem challenge.
For example, students can complete all parts of the engineering design process by going through different slides. Give students options of sketching using the Google Drawing Tools or teach them how to upload images from the web or from their computer. To learn how to use
Here’s an image that can be created using the Google Shapes Tool.
Although, stem challenges online learning is unfamiliar to us, it can be done. The more we do them, the better they will become.
Hi! I wasn’t able to access the engineering journal, can you help me with that? Thank you!!
Hi Jillie! Here is the link to sign up to get the free engineering journal! Best of luck this Fall! 🙂
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5f231ac56844c60026ee7418