Learning Technology Coordinator and Science/STEM teacher at St Mary’s High School, Gateshead, Newcastle. St Mary’s is a Year 7 -10 Catholic School that will be expanding to Stage 6 in 2018. He has been teaching at the school since 1994 and initiated the iSTEM classes as a Stage 5 elective course. The implementation of this course has been extremely well supported by the Hunter ME Program. The aim of the course is to increase real-life problem solving, creativity, innovation and collaborative skills with a focus on increasing the uptake of higher order Science/Mathematics based subjects in later studies. The program has proven to be extremely popular and he is extremely proud of the outcomes being achieved. Inspired by the ‘Maker Guru’, Gary Stager, it has transformed his pedagogical approach to teaching. As a keen advocate for STEM education he has been fortunate to present at Dioceses throughout NSW, workshop how MaKey MaKey can transform learning in the classroom at the ELH ‘Changerous Ideas’ conference in Melbourne & as guest speaker at Criterion conferences in Sydney.
Workshop Overview STEM concepts shape the world we live in. From the smartphones kids can’t put down, to the houses we live in, the cars we drive every day, the building blocks of STEM fuel our modern lives. It can be tough for kids to learn the basics of programming, engineering and physics. Often these concepts are seen as scary and intimidating, it is important to find new tools/resources to get kids interested in a fun, exciting way. STEM teacher’s cupboards are filling up with ‘toys’ that teach kids the basics, encouraging them to learn while they play; from simple vibrating Bristle Bots to fully programmable LEGO EV3 robots. These toys are so cool, kids don’t even realize they are learning - something often referred to as “stealth learning.” To maximize the learning potential of toys, the best approach is to first teach the fundamental subject matter that is necessary in order to play, second, have the learner play and then third, extend the learner by reflecting upon the learning. But most importantly connecting the learning to the real world, making the outcomes explicit.
First new follower on Twitter First person to tweet something ‘nice’, with me tagged
Promotion of iSTEM Course
“PROBJECT” Learning
While there is no doubt in my mind many of our students will benefit http://thomascmurray.com/prepackaged from these products , and I do wish they had been invented while I was still stem/ teaching fourth grade…something is missing if we’re not doing much than placing these items in the hands of our students and teachers, crossing our fingers, and hoping for change. At the end of the day, these are tools or resources that can help in shifting mindsets and culture, but I do believe an over-reliance on them means too much time and energy is being spent in the wrong place. • If you’re a traditional teacher putting a pre -packaged STEM product in front of your students, what are the chances you’ll be able to do add any value aside from reminding your students to follow the directions? • If you’re a traditional teacher putting a pre -packaged STEM product in front of your students, what are the chances the product’s values – prompting of Over the last handful of years we problem solving, collaboration, critical thinking, etc. – will then start to have seen an explosion in science, permeate the rest of your teaching? technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. • Are some of these prepackaged products so polished and overly contrived And, coinciding with this that they ignore any type of problem solving, productive struggle, and iterative movement has been an influx of process by paving for students a clear path from Point A to Point B? new STEM-related products that While prepackaged STEM products certainly have a place in our schools, are school friendly. we must remember to invest in teachers as learners and professionals. Otherwise, students will view STEM as nothing more than “play time” that serves as a break from the real (and traditional) learning.
Module 1: iSTEM Fundamentals One e of of my stu tudents fir first projects ts: PASTA VEHICLES Design and Construct a transport vehicle using Pasta. Take photos of your design at different stages and add to your presentation. You will be awarded additional marks for displaying the process. More able students could fix a camera in position and create a stopmation video of their construction.
Module 1: iSTEM Fundamentals {Electrical Circuits} http://shaneabell.wix.com/circuits
Hunter ME Program and Univ iversity of Wollongong, , Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences’ NSW STEM and iSTEM Competitions Blayke Reeves 2 nd Place Overall & Winner of Innovation Award
Module 1: iSTEM Fundamentals {LEAN Manufacturing} Lean manufacturing or lean production , often simply " lean ", is a systematic method for waste minimization within a manufacturing system without sacrificing productivity. Lean also takes into account waste created through overburden and waste created through unevenness in work loads. Working from the perspective of the client who consumes a product or service, "value" is any action or process that a customer would be willing to pay for.
Module 1: iSTEM Fundamentals {Pascal’s Law}
Syringe Arms
Bridge Testing
Module 1: iSTEM Fundamentals {Paper Challenges}
Module 2: Aerodynamics http://shaneabell.wix.com/hang-glider http://shaneabell.wix.com/powerup
Module 2: Aerodynamics {CO 2 Dragsters}
Module 2: Aerodynamics {Power Anchor}
Module 4: Motion {Electricity & Electronics}
Module 4: Motion {Coding & Sensors}
Sphero
MaKey MaKey But the key message is that learning how to program is not the endpoint, but part of the journey of equipping children with the necessary digital skills to solve problems. Our high-level aim should be to develop technology-independent skills and techniques, such as data literacy and computational thinking. So let’s change the focus from just writing code to developing the crucial thinking skills and the ability to solve problems. To quote Jeannette M. Wing , Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University: “ Computational thinking is a fundamental skill for everyone, not just for computer scientists. To reading, writing and arithmetic, we should add computational thinking to every child’s analytical ability. ” https://storify.com/ShaneAbell/makeredau-twitter-chat-on- makey-makey https://www.youtube.com/user/disshane/ Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHMEY_6Dgcc
MaKey MaKey videos
Module 4: Motion {Water Bottle Rockets}
Module 4: Motion {EV Festival} http://www.hunterevfestival.net/
Links Microsoft Onedrive https://mncatholic- my.sharepoint.com/personal/shane_abell_mn_catholic_edu_au/_layouts/15/guestacc ess.aspx?folderid=15024a0e74f4547deb095f024f49fa67e&authkey=AcrS3whkh22hjTo HjUuogWE OR https://goo.gl/diTuqb Pearltrees Account http://www.pearltrees.com/mrabell Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/disshane/ Twitter https://twitter.com/ShaneAbell
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