STEM is all around us, from the complex to the simple. Take your smartphone, for example. This device wouldn’t be possible without the brainpower of engineers. Additionally, improved treatments and cures for diseases are possible because of scientists and medical professionals who have a deep understanding of the human body, but you can find STEM […]
It was with apprehension that Kelly Abraham sat down in July for her first day of STEMpact’s two-week STEM Teacher Quality (STEM TQ) Institute at Washington University in St. Louis. Of the 150 K-8 teachers taking part, she was the only fine arts teacher, and not really sure how much of it would be applicable. […]
From the playground to the pool to the ballpark, science is all around us. Through Everyday MySci activities, the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis helps parents nurture their child’s natural sense of curiosity, wonder and discovery. The debut 30-second video, Everyday MySci: Introducing Plant Life, shows parents how a walk […]
It’s often the case that teachers go to seminars and workshops and get really excited, but then life takes over and that energy fizzles out. That’s exactly what Lisa Graham, a K-4 special education teacher at Coverdell Elementary School in the City of St. Charles School District, and Jessica Lawrence, who teaches fourth-grade at Harris […]
STEMpact’s Leadership Series is a series of workshops for school and district administrators, principals, coordinators, coaches, teachers, and leaders. Directed toward individuals and/or teams interested in bringing a stronger STEM mindset and intention to school and classroom practices. The leadership series focuses on: STEM best practices for classrooms and schools, resources and opportunities, strategies and successes […]
Like the nation’s former First Lady Michelle Obama, teachers at Barack Obama Elementary School are using gardening to teach students about health, math, and science. Working under the guidance of teachers and Monsanto volunteers, students at Obama Elementary recently took to the school grounds to prep planting beds for fall veggies and greens native to […]
It’s the moment of reckoning exclaims an excited Kathleen Dwyer as she hands two Chinese youths the makings for s’mores. Turning the treat over in their fingers, the boys eye the dessert with some suspicion. “Ready?” asks Dwyer, a chemistry teacher at Maplewood–Richmond Heights High School. “Try it. It’s beautiful,” she says. Slowly the boys bring […]
Natalia Cantu attaches electrodes to a cockroach leg and taps its spiky hairs with a paintbrush.The neurons in the leg fire rapidly in response, appearing as sharp peaks and valleys on her smartphone. Cantu, who teaches ninth-grade biology in Edinburg, Texas, is in her second year of Washington University’s Master of Science in Biology for […]
To help fill a pipeline of future scientists and engineers, many teachers in the St. Louis area are “stemitizing” — integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts into all school subjects. One such effort, STEMpact’s Teacher Quality program, trains 150 kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers on how to incorporate the concepts into their curriculum in hopes […]
It’s mid-June and while students are out on summer break, teachers never stop learning. Victorious arms shoot up in the air as towers of playing cards sway precariously on tables. This simple card activity is an example of how teachers can help students develop identities as STEM-capable learners. About 50 educators from school districts throughout […]