STEM is an interdisciplinary and applied approach that keeps students engaged and learning through a “plan, design, and improve” method of solving a problem. Throughout this flow students apply their current knowledge, build and test their thinking, and then make improvements from information they’ve attained.
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
The incorporation of these content areas along with “problem-solving” questions provides a great learning opportunity for students that becomes engaging, collaborative, and thought-provoking.
In the video linked below, students are discovering forces and interactions in the “light bulb lab”. As they create and implement their own tests they incorporate new learned vocabulary words, such as friction, gravity, incline and motion, into their discoveries and understanding.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ny6d81ri04Bq-tI4R7Kudw5ZyekUSZ7E/view?usp=sharing
Working kinesthetically provides a deeper knowledge of these terms and how they interact and affect one another.
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Students collaboratively plan, discover, and share their learning with peers.
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“I noticed, the heavier the object the more friction was applied”
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“I noticed each object created a different amount of friction”
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“Gravity’s pull on objects is increased as the incline increases”
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Steve Emery is the Elementary Principal of Georgia Elementary Middle School. He is a regular contributor to THE FWSU STORY. You can follow him @Emery_Gems.
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