Supporting scientific thinking & inquiry through play

1. Supporting scientific thinking & inquiry through play Erin McMahon Teacher Frederick County Public Schools

2. Workshop Agenda • Introduction • Why STEM • How can I use it? • Mindset • Engineering a Letter • 3D Model from environment • Rapunzel Tower Building Challenge • Build the Tallest Tower • How can we use this? • Closure • Questions, Resources

3. My Journey with STEM • 10 years teaching • Frederick County Public Schools, MD • 1st grade teacher • PK-5th grade STEM Teacher • Maryland Association of Science Teachers Outstanding Science Teacher

4. Why STEM all of a sudden?Skills all learners will need to have to participate in the 21st century workforce. • Innovation • Competition in global workforce • Disciplinary Literacy • Science • Technology • Engineering • Mathematics • Problem Solving Skills • Communication Skills (written & oral) • Collaboration • Inquiry (Questioning) • Apply technology • Interpret Data

5. What is Your Mindset ?

6. I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.Michael Jordan

7. I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.  ~Thomas Jefferson I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened. ~ Wilma Rudolph

8. Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. ~ Winston Churchill The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting in above average effort. ~Colin Powell

9. The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work. ~ Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine These individuals all have / had a “growth mindset”. By putting forth effort, and not giving up even when experiencing failure, they eventually met success.

10. What is Your Mindset? The American Heritage Dictionary defines “Mindset” as: A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations.

11. Carol Dweck, a Stanford University social psychologist found that people possess “fixed mindsets”, and / or “growth mindsets” https://www.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/cgi-bin/drupalm/cdweck She published a well known book, and several articles on her research. People around the world are very interested in her findings and apply what she has found to their lives.

12. Growth Mindset “In a growth mindset, people believe that their abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point…” “The growth mindset views challenges as opportunities for improvement.” http://www.mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/index.html 05/31/11 http://myhomepage.ferris.edu/~baconc/Mindset.ppt#259,4,Depending upon the area

13. I throw myself into difficult tasks I can ignore the low aspirations of my peers I believe that intelligence is not fixed I have learning goals My intelligence can be improved through learning I thrive on challenge I engage in self-monitoring I am self-confident I like feedback on my performance so I can improve I react to failure by trying harder http://growthmindseteaz.org/caroldweck.html

14. Fixed Mindset “The fixed mindset sees limitations on intelligence, personality, opportunities, etc…” “In a fixed mindset, people believe their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits…. They also believe that talent alone creates success— without effort...” http://www.mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/index.html 05/31/11 http://myhomepage.ferris.edu/~baconc/Mindset.ppt#259,4,Depending upon the area

15. I believe that intelligence is fixed You cannot get smarter. I was born bright / not very bright I like easy performance goals I do things in order to get praise I react to failure by switching off and avoiding the issues I don’t like challenge I don’t want to risk looking stupid I tend to conform to the low aspirations of my peers http://growthmindseteaz.org/caroldweck.html

16. So, If I have a “fixed mindset”, am I stuck with it? NO!!! Mindsets can be changed. Did you know that your brain and intelligence can grow?

17. You can become more intelligent! By challenging your brain (working it just like a muscle)you can grow more dendrites. Dendrites are little branch like fibers which grow from your neurons (brain cells) and create more brain connections. By continuing to challenge & work your brain, you can develop even more brain power!

18. Look for opportunities to challenge yourself. Grow dendrites! Be willing to take on risks. Don’t be afraid of failure. It’s okay to fail. Keep on trying. Use what you’ve learned from the experience to help you improve the next time. Don’t limit yourself, and don’t let others limit you.

19. Aim to be your BEST YOU! Be willing to work. Develop a love of learning. Be a creative problem solver. Don’t give up.

20. Famous Successful People Who Failed… How did their failure lead to future success?

21. Henry Ford • Innovative assembly line • American-made cars • 5 early businesses all failed • He was broke • Lead to Ford Motor Company

22. R.H. Macy • 7 failed businesses • Big store in New York City • Macy’s Department Store

23. Soichiro Honda • Honda turned down by Toyota • Interviewed as engineer • Jobless • Started making scooters at home • Created Honda motor company

24. Walt Disney • Fired by newspaper editor • Said he had no imagination or good ideas • Failed business attempts • He went bankrupt • Movies, merchandise, theme parks now make over billions of dollars

25. Tasty Mistakes Chocolate Chip Cookies (1930- Boston Ruth Wakefield ran out of baker’s chocolate so she substituted with sweetened chocolate) Ice Cream Cones (1904- World’s Fair ErnistHamwi was selling zalabia, a Persian waffle, when the man next to him was selling ice cream and he ran out of bowls, so they served it on the waffles)

26. More Tasty Mistakes Potato Chips (1852- New York George Crum was a chef who had a customer send back his potatoes because he wanted them cut thinner and fried longer, so Crum got angry and cut them as thin as possible and served them with salt)

27. Accidental Inventions Microwave Oven Pacemaker Penicillin Vulcanized Rubber Teflon Super Glue Safety Glasses

28. Now how can we apply this to our learners? Even our youngest learners…

29. Building A Letter • * Background: In the book Alberts Alphabet, Albert designs and builds all the letters of the alphabet, using tools and scraps. A playground and path are then lined with the letters. • * Design Challenge: Build a letter of the alphabet that will stand by itself. Be ready to present your work to the class. • * Criteria: The letter must be freestanding. It must be made from materials found in the classroom.

30. What will you need… Materials: You may select from the items below. • cardboard • straight edge • scrap paper/cloth • tape • brads • hole punch • boxes • stapler • scissors/cutting tools • wood and wooden dowels • string • writing and drawing tools • glue

31. Things to consider in the classroom…

32. Engineering Design Process… • * Put students into groups • * What’s the problem • * Brainstorm solutions • * Create the solution you think is best • * Test your solution • * Evaluate your solution • * Photograph results • * Rubric to assess

33. Here are a few examples…

34. What did we learn through play? • • Look an engineering lesson plan • • Design a 3D model of a letter in your environment • • Letter model must have a moving part • • You must know the letter, the letter sound, and be able to build the same shape

35. How can we apply what we learned from this challenge to a S.T.E.M. career?

36. Tower Building Challenge • Work with the people at your table to build Rapunzel’s Tower • Your team will be judged on • Tower design • Tower strength • Tower height • Team collaboration • Team presentation (Shark Tank 30 second sell time) Rapunzel, Rapunzel!

37. What do we already know about towers?

38. Real life application… • Have you ever wondered how a skyscraper can stand? • Have you ever wondered how architects design a skyscraper and how contractors build them? • What are the forces acting on a tower? • What is the importance of a foundation? • Are there shapes that would increase building stability more than others?

39. What’s the tallest tower you can build using only two sheets of newspaper? • Here’s the challenge… • Getting the newspaper to stand up • Without using tape, staples, glue or other materials • You can bend, fold, or tear the paper itself

40. What you need… • 2 sheets of newspaper • Ruler • You may alter the newspaper in any way to combat the forces pushing and pulling on your newspaper tower. • Air pushing Building Load pushing Ground Pushing

41. Which way is most stable? How can you use this to build your tower?

42. Try it out… • Now construct your tower! • If you think you can make it taller, keep redesigning it until you can’t go any higher. • Walk around and observe other group’s designs. • When you are finished building, measure the height of your tower. • Earthquake Scientist

43. How can we apply what we learned from this challenge to a S.T.E.M. career?

44. Classroom STEM Challenges • Goldilocks and the Three Bears • Three Billy Goats Gruff • Three Little Pigs • Gingerbread Man • Humpty Dumpty • Jack and Jill • Hey Diddle Diddle • Tops and Bottoms • The Mixed Up Chameleon • Cinderella

45. Classroom STEM Challenges • Shapes All Around Us • Planting A Rainbow • Earth Friendly Bird House • Homemade Toys CEE Children’s Engineering Educators www.childrensengineering.com

46. How can we get students to collaborate in teams? • Teamwork Rubric • Presentation Rubric • Team Design Brief (Engineering Design Process) • Judging Criteria (Aesthetic Design) • Team Jobs • Materials • Designer • Project Manager • Recorder/Reporter

47. How we can assess STEM learning?

48. Time and Money… No.

49. Where it can begin • Catapults • Egg drop • Secret Codes • Paper Airplanes • Live Angry Birds • Parachutes • Recycled cars • Houses • Bridges • Garden • Marble Rollercoasters

50. Where we can start • stem-works.com • Pinterest • Youtube • PBS • Magazines • Talk to kids • Books  “Teaching STEM in the Early Years: Activities for Integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics” by Sally Moomaw