Teacher Training By Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski

Finished up the first of five days of STEM teacher training in Dugger, Indiana today. Eleven K-6 teachers were introduced to the foundation of STEM including the Engineering Design Process, reflective journaling, inquiry-based science, critical thinking, and more. We started off exploring patterns and shapes in nature and man-made objects then onto math and architecture. We finished off the day with beginning to build 3-D structures with readily available materials. As always it’s  a pleasure to meet motivated and dedicated teachers who are willing to think outside of the box. Looking forward to the next four days.

Great new ebook out on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) by Ainissa Ramirez, a well-known science evangelist, and material scientist. Ramirez provides sound support for the need to introduce students to STEM learning experiences. We are all born curious, we are all natural scientists. But what happens to that curiosity when we enter the traditional science classrooms? The curiosity is lost, and boredom sets in. Ramirez believes that STEM education provides the answer to inspiring a new generation of scientists. Check out the article by Anna Kuchment in Scientific American with excerpts from Save Our Science: How to Inspire a New Generation of Scientists by Ramirez.