Teacher Training By Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski

Had a great second session of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) consulting at Beaches Episcopal School. I will be their STEM Specialist for the 2013-2014 school-year. The first of four STEM professional staff development training sessions took place on June 4th. During the day-long training teachers were introduced to STEM philosophy and investigations, as well as reflective journaling in the STEM classroom. It’s great when a school or district provides professional staff development early in the summer, as opposed to waiting until August. By August most teachers have already planned out their entire school year. Professional staff development during the early part of the summer, and throughout the year provides a strong foundation for implementation of new curricula, teaching pedagogy etc. I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge and expertise of STEM with the staff, administrators, and parents of Beaches Episcopal School throughout the upcoming school year. Check out the STEM investigations teachers conducted during the training.

My philosophy of teaching and learning is in line with inventor, MIT Ph.D. engineering student Jay Silver. What a breath of fresh air Silver delivers during this 19 minute TEDx Talk on his transformation of his own thinking, and the evolution of his latest invention the Makey Makey.

Silver  has several other technological-based inventions including: Drawdio, Singing Fingers, Twinkle, and Glow Doodle. The type of thinking Silver conveys in the TEDx video below is how we should be teaching all children from the youngest to tertiary level. As Silver says “the world is your construction kit.” He is all about encouraging individuals to design, build, and experiment. This is the foundation of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) practices. However, so much of what I see happening in STEM classrooms and curriculum still tends to be the cookbook approach, and the extensive use of kits with specific directions, and accompanying consumables. This leaves little room for creativity.

Jay Silver is a member of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT. The philosophy of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT is to foster creative adults through a “kindergarten style of learning” that emphasizes designing, experimenting, and exploring. The Lifelong Kindergarten group at MIT has the right idea. It’s imperative to never lose that childlike wonder that we all came into the world having, and that diminishes as we go through adulthood. If your school or district is looking for a STEM facilitator who conveys the message that Jay Silver does, please check out the STEM and other science teacher training workshops I offer nation and worldwide. If we want to provide all children with a quality education, we have to start with the educators. I plan to introduce teachers to the  Makey Makey, Drawdio, and other joylabz tech gadgets during my 2013-2014 STEM teacher training workshops.

Check out Jay Silver in this enlightening, and transforming TEDx video.