Bringing STEM
to
Kindergarten
Thomas Meagher, PhD
STEM Coordinator
Owatonna Public Schools,
ISD 761 Owatonna, MN
Mission: With STEM
we work together to
solve any problem,
overcome any
challenge and reach
every height!
What we’ll do today:
 Overview of various models of STEM
education.
 Owatonna Model of STEM Education.
 Building STEM literacy & fluency through
STEM experiences.
 Practice with STEM stations.
 Role of effective questioning in STEM
teaching & learning.
STEM Education in Minnesota
 Results of ACT analysis of the student interest and
performance in STEM fields on 2013 ACT exams.
 Differences in student interest and academic
performance shows more divergence when examined
by ethnicity. Results of their study did not explore if
students had previous schooling in STEM instruction.
2013 ACT Data Results for STEM
 Interest in STEM is high, 48.3% of all students taking ACT
have interest in STEM majors or careers.
 Achievement levels in math and science are highest
when students have expressed interest in STEM areas.
 More females reported interest in STEM than males.
 Academic achievement gap is more pronounced
among ethnically diverse students interested in STEM
fields.
 The College Board identifies a goal for ethnically diverse
student performance for college preparedness that:
“Essentially, stronger and earlier support structures and
interventions related to career and educational planning
and academic preparedness are needed to see real
differences in these still troubling numbers.” [ACT scores]
Minnesota College Readiness as
Measured by ACT Exam 2013
MN ACT Data by ethnicity & gender
What does STEM teaching &
learning look like?
 Science, technology, engineering and math can
be taught, but are separate subjects.
Science
Engineering Math
Technology
STEM subjects are
integrated.
Science
Engineering Math
Technology
STEM
STEM is embedded in all subjects
Science
Engineering
Math
Technology
Curriculum
What STEM means in ISD 761
 Teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, &
Math is shifting from traditional instruction to
integrated design process where students solve
problems and engineering challenges in all STEM
classrooms.
 Lessons are integrated and students experience
STEM seamlessly among all subject areas.
 Students recognize that the main goals of lessons
build with each other and relate to real world
learning.
 Lessons are designed and
implemented to build:
“STEM literacy & STEM fluency”
STEM integration & implementation
 Students engage in inquiry, focused on
their own questions, generated from
indoor and outdoor experiences.
 All students use journals to record
observations, measurements, ideas, and
information.
 Learning through STEM means students
work in teams solving problems and
learning together constructively.
 For grades 6-8, environmental education
standards are emphasized in lesson
design with an emphasis on sustainability
and sense of place.
Developing a learning model
 We agree with the emphasis for STEM literacy &
fluency, however we also believe STEM
experience is essential to develop literacy and
skills in fluency.
 Students are engaged in active investigations,
inquiry and engineering challenges as common
experiences.
 We want students to publish their work and
share it with others “Show-it”. This allows
for multiple forms of student dialogue and
publication.
 When all these ideas are combined
STEM learning model emerges:
A learning model for Owatonna STEM Schools
STEM learning model integrates with
other teaching & learning models.
 ELL: Using STEM experience for language development
 Environmental Education “ESTEM”: Builds STEM learning
on a foundation of environmental principles examining
how society, culture and ecosystems interact.
 Special Education: Integrating STEM into IEP
and inclusion learning creates opportunities for differentiation.
 Perpich Foundation Grant: Integration of Arts into STEM
 NEXUS: Using STEM to address social & racial
achievement gaps in student learning.
 PAGE: Addressing gender equity through
STEM education.
Use of Questioning in Instruction
 Strengthening memory and recall
 Helping students see relationships
 Guiding students towards deeper understanding
 Redirecting from misconception
 Emphasizing conceptual change
 Directing students to develop personal inquiry
based questions
 Others examples not listed here?
Questioning in teaching for
Access and Equity for all students
 Recognizing all students within a group and addressing
each during the course of a lesson
 Keeping discussion always focused on learning and
encouraging the integration of multiple subject areas
 Allow student direction with learning and questioning.
 Recognizing the status of students within groups and
addressing issues of inequity
 Eye contact
 Question direction
 Seeking input from all learners
 Using your voice effectively
 Body positioning
Summary of Effective Questioning &
Guiding Student Learning
 Types of questions
 Closed, open-ended, probing, challenging
 Levels of complexity based on Bloom’s Taxonomy
 Knowledge
 Understanding
 Applying
 Analyzing
 Evaluating
 Creating
 Importance of critical thinking
 Depth of Knowledge clarification
 Sequential questioning to build confidence and
understanding
Effective Questioning Lesson
 STEM learning stations with a focus on teaching
about physical and life science, Math, literacy and
art.
 As a teacher at each station what questions would
you ask to guide student learning?
 Record 3 questions on question strips.
 Move to the next station and record 3 more
questions, unique from those previously recorded
from another group.
 Continue moving from station to station until each
team has visited each station.
 We’ll collect all the question strips when the teams
are finished.
How to organize learning
through ORID questioning
 A system of questioning that builds upon each
level.
 Guiding students from concrete observations to
higher level cognitive decision making.
 Questions encourage students to find personal
meaning for what they’re learning.
 ORID facilitates student learning to relationships
among content areas.
Acronym for ORID questions
 Objective (Observational)
 Questions that focus attention on what can be
observed or noticed, utilizing multiple senses.
 Reflective
 Questions that encourage students to find personal
meaning or affective perspectives.
 Interpretive
 Questions that guide students to find meaning,
patterns or relationships among topics (e.g. STEM)
 Decisional
 Questions that help students to find value and
applicability to what they are learning. Helps
students find their own answers to “Why do I have to
learn this?”
Questioning practice
 Multiple learning stations with a focus on students
working in teams or groups.
 As a teacher at each station what questions would
you ask to guide student learning?
 Record 3 questions on question strips.
 Move to the next station and record 3 more
questions, unique from those previously recorded
from another group.
 Continue moving from station to station until each
team has visited each station.
 We’ll collect all the question strips when the teams
are finished.
Practice analysis
 Categorize the questions into groups as you see
relationships among the questions.
 Write and description for each of the categories of
questions the team created and share out with the rest
of the class.
 Read the descriptions of how questions are
categorized based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Webb’s
Depth of Knowledge or ORID.
 Reorganize your questions based on this new
information your team received.
 What changes do you notice? (O)
 How were questions rearranged? (O)
 How could the wording of any of the questions be edited
to make the them more effective? (R)
 How could these questions be used to develop further
lessons with inquiry? (I)
 How could this activity be used with students to develop
inquiry investigations? (D)
Questions?

Stem in early ed 2014

  • 1.
    Bringing STEM to Kindergarten Thomas Meagher,PhD STEM Coordinator Owatonna Public Schools, ISD 761 Owatonna, MN Mission: With STEM we work together to solve any problem, overcome any challenge and reach every height!
  • 2.
    What we’ll dotoday:  Overview of various models of STEM education.  Owatonna Model of STEM Education.  Building STEM literacy & fluency through STEM experiences.  Practice with STEM stations.  Role of effective questioning in STEM teaching & learning.
  • 3.
    STEM Education inMinnesota  Results of ACT analysis of the student interest and performance in STEM fields on 2013 ACT exams.  Differences in student interest and academic performance shows more divergence when examined by ethnicity. Results of their study did not explore if students had previous schooling in STEM instruction.
  • 4.
    2013 ACT DataResults for STEM  Interest in STEM is high, 48.3% of all students taking ACT have interest in STEM majors or careers.  Achievement levels in math and science are highest when students have expressed interest in STEM areas.  More females reported interest in STEM than males.  Academic achievement gap is more pronounced among ethnically diverse students interested in STEM fields.  The College Board identifies a goal for ethnically diverse student performance for college preparedness that: “Essentially, stronger and earlier support structures and interventions related to career and educational planning and academic preparedness are needed to see real differences in these still troubling numbers.” [ACT scores]
  • 5.
    Minnesota College Readinessas Measured by ACT Exam 2013
  • 6.
    MN ACT Databy ethnicity & gender
  • 7.
    What does STEMteaching & learning look like?  Science, technology, engineering and math can be taught, but are separate subjects. Science Engineering Math Technology
  • 8.
  • 9.
    STEM is embeddedin all subjects Science Engineering Math Technology Curriculum
  • 10.
    What STEM meansin ISD 761  Teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math is shifting from traditional instruction to integrated design process where students solve problems and engineering challenges in all STEM classrooms.  Lessons are integrated and students experience STEM seamlessly among all subject areas.  Students recognize that the main goals of lessons build with each other and relate to real world learning.  Lessons are designed and implemented to build: “STEM literacy & STEM fluency”
  • 11.
    STEM integration &implementation  Students engage in inquiry, focused on their own questions, generated from indoor and outdoor experiences.  All students use journals to record observations, measurements, ideas, and information.  Learning through STEM means students work in teams solving problems and learning together constructively.  For grades 6-8, environmental education standards are emphasized in lesson design with an emphasis on sustainability and sense of place.
  • 12.
    Developing a learningmodel  We agree with the emphasis for STEM literacy & fluency, however we also believe STEM experience is essential to develop literacy and skills in fluency.  Students are engaged in active investigations, inquiry and engineering challenges as common experiences.  We want students to publish their work and share it with others “Show-it”. This allows for multiple forms of student dialogue and publication.  When all these ideas are combined STEM learning model emerges:
  • 13.
    A learning modelfor Owatonna STEM Schools
  • 14.
    STEM learning modelintegrates with other teaching & learning models.  ELL: Using STEM experience for language development  Environmental Education “ESTEM”: Builds STEM learning on a foundation of environmental principles examining how society, culture and ecosystems interact.  Special Education: Integrating STEM into IEP and inclusion learning creates opportunities for differentiation.  Perpich Foundation Grant: Integration of Arts into STEM  NEXUS: Using STEM to address social & racial achievement gaps in student learning.  PAGE: Addressing gender equity through STEM education.
  • 15.
    Use of Questioningin Instruction  Strengthening memory and recall  Helping students see relationships  Guiding students towards deeper understanding  Redirecting from misconception  Emphasizing conceptual change  Directing students to develop personal inquiry based questions  Others examples not listed here?
  • 16.
    Questioning in teachingfor Access and Equity for all students  Recognizing all students within a group and addressing each during the course of a lesson  Keeping discussion always focused on learning and encouraging the integration of multiple subject areas  Allow student direction with learning and questioning.  Recognizing the status of students within groups and addressing issues of inequity  Eye contact  Question direction  Seeking input from all learners  Using your voice effectively  Body positioning
  • 17.
    Summary of EffectiveQuestioning & Guiding Student Learning  Types of questions  Closed, open-ended, probing, challenging  Levels of complexity based on Bloom’s Taxonomy  Knowledge  Understanding  Applying  Analyzing  Evaluating  Creating  Importance of critical thinking  Depth of Knowledge clarification  Sequential questioning to build confidence and understanding
  • 18.
    Effective Questioning Lesson STEM learning stations with a focus on teaching about physical and life science, Math, literacy and art.  As a teacher at each station what questions would you ask to guide student learning?  Record 3 questions on question strips.  Move to the next station and record 3 more questions, unique from those previously recorded from another group.  Continue moving from station to station until each team has visited each station.  We’ll collect all the question strips when the teams are finished.
  • 19.
    How to organizelearning through ORID questioning  A system of questioning that builds upon each level.  Guiding students from concrete observations to higher level cognitive decision making.  Questions encourage students to find personal meaning for what they’re learning.  ORID facilitates student learning to relationships among content areas.
  • 20.
    Acronym for ORIDquestions  Objective (Observational)  Questions that focus attention on what can be observed or noticed, utilizing multiple senses.  Reflective  Questions that encourage students to find personal meaning or affective perspectives.  Interpretive  Questions that guide students to find meaning, patterns or relationships among topics (e.g. STEM)  Decisional  Questions that help students to find value and applicability to what they are learning. Helps students find their own answers to “Why do I have to learn this?”
  • 22.
    Questioning practice  Multiplelearning stations with a focus on students working in teams or groups.  As a teacher at each station what questions would you ask to guide student learning?  Record 3 questions on question strips.  Move to the next station and record 3 more questions, unique from those previously recorded from another group.  Continue moving from station to station until each team has visited each station.  We’ll collect all the question strips when the teams are finished.
  • 23.
    Practice analysis  Categorizethe questions into groups as you see relationships among the questions.  Write and description for each of the categories of questions the team created and share out with the rest of the class.  Read the descriptions of how questions are categorized based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, Webb’s Depth of Knowledge or ORID.  Reorganize your questions based on this new information your team received.  What changes do you notice? (O)  How were questions rearranged? (O)  How could the wording of any of the questions be edited to make the them more effective? (R)  How could these questions be used to develop further lessons with inquiry? (I)  How could this activity be used with students to develop inquiry investigations? (D)
  • 24.