Application

This is the application part of this course. Completing this component in addition to the 8 weeks of prompts will result in earning an additional 3 STEM clock hours, for a total of 15 clock hours. 

It can be completed anytime during the 8 weeks of the book study, but must be completed by the end of course. 

There are four parts to this component: 1) identifying, developing, and sharing your plan for applying your learning, 2) implementing your plan, 3) reflecting on your implementation and sharing that with the cohort, 4) commenting on someone else’s plan or reflection.

Part 1
Plan and Post: How will you apply STEM in your professional context.

Using what you have learned about high-quality STEM instructional practices, identify a natural place where you can incorporate a STEM lesson or STEM pedagogy into your existing curriculum sometime during this 8 week course. If you are not a classroom teacher, consider how you can intentionally and authentically promote and inspire STEM pedagogy with teachers and/or students through your role.

Post an explanation of your plan. Be sure to include the context (grade-level and subject), particular content, etc. as well as enough information that it’s clear how your plan addresses the essential components of STEM.

Part 2
Apply: Put your plan into action.

Part 3
Reflect: After implementing your plan, share how it went by replying to your original post. Reflecting on your plan, what successes, challenges, and/or insights did you and/or your students encounter? What might you do differently next time?

Part 4
Interact: Respond to another participant’s plan or reflection by the end of the course.

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Ashleigh Rocco (TSD)'s avatar

Ashleigh Rocco (TSD) · 179 weeks ago

Every year in my 2nd grade classroom we do a book study in the month of November for the book Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet. I use this book to teach text evidence among other literacy standards. This book is about the creator of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The idea all started when he was a boy and designed a lever system to feed his chickens without getting out of bed. The creator was inspired by the immigrants (himself included) who worked at Macy’s, and wanted to show different styles of parades and cultures from around the world.

After our book study I am going to let students build their own balloon floats. The problem posed to them will be that they must create a balloon float with a device to keep it in the air so the people in the crowd can view it. They will be given straws, tape, popsicle sticks, and toothpicks in addition to other craft supplies to decorate their design. Students will be given journals where they can pose the question, brainstorm and make predictions, plan, create, and reflect on improvements during the process. The STEM skills being addressed are that students will be asked to create a sketch and model to help their float function in solving the problem. Students will be analyzing data from multiple trials and also reflecting on the success of their design as well as their peers. This will be a great fun way to end our book study!
2 replies · active 174 weeks ago
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Ashleigh Rocco's avatar

Ashleigh Rocco · 176 weeks ago

Overall, I believe our activity went well. I feel a lot of the success and engagement was based around the day we took building background knowledge. We studied how the Macy's parade came to be and students really enjoyed learning about the immigrants who were employees that were the inspiration for creating the celebration. We studied photos and people who were originally involved to compare/contrast it with the parade they are familiar with today. The students were extremely engaged and I feel like I gave them enough direction to make them successful while allowing them to creatively think for themselves. The management for this particular project was difficult because I have had lots of parent volunteers in the past to help manage and troubleshoot needs. Due to this, I believe the design phase took a little more time than usual which cut into our time for student's to reflect on what changes they would make! On a positive note, I believe the kids were a lot more collaborative in helping solve problems with each other's designs. I love this activity, and I believe after this book study I found myself releasing control to my students more. A the real thing I am most thankful for was we didn't have any tears!
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JanineG (ISD)'s avatar

JanineG (ISD) · 174 weeks ago

This is awesome! We did something similar to this...I love that the kiddos learned about such a tradition! It sounds like they really enjoyed it and were excited to be doing such a fun activity!
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Danielle S. (SVSD)'s avatar

Danielle S. (SVSD) · 175 weeks ago

In Kindergarten we know students learn through play. We incorporate this as much as possible and thankfully our district even schedules this into our day. We try to give them opportunities to build, create, learn how to work together and accept differences in all areas. During our Fall harvest celebration we have a great opportunity to incorporate STEM challenges into our rotations. This year we are going to give them Candy Corn Pumpkins and Toothpicks. Their challenge will be to create the tallest structure using only those two tools. This is a problem based challenge to see if they can engineer a structure that will hold given the weight of the candy and the thinness of the toothpicks. I will take pictures of all of them and we will rotate around to see everyone's projects. This is an individual challenge but they will be working at table groups so they can collaborate on ideas if they choose to.
2 replies · active 174 weeks ago
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Danielle S. (SVSD)'s avatar

Danielle S. (SVSD) · 175 weeks ago

This challenge was super fun and the students did really well. They had to work through a few issues, the candy corn kept breaking as it was a dry candy, or pieces of it would come off. Students had to figure out where the best placement of the toothpick was in order for it to stay in and support the structure. Some toothpicks were flimsy and others held better. Some even broke as they tried to put them into the candy. Some students built really well done structures that sustained throughout the celebration. Other's fell quickly or wouldn't stand up at all. A few students even built a 4 "story" tall structure that was pretty impressive! Next time, if we are allowed volunteers it would be fun to incorporate different types of candy to give students options. It would allow more creativity and would be interesting to see which they choose and why. Which ones held up, which ones were not successful and if they had persistence to continue building, or try new candies when one didn't work etc...
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Ashleigh Rocco's avatar

Ashleigh Rocco · 174 weeks ago

I love the idea of incorporating STEM into rotations. It makes the prep manageable and something that the kids can look forward to on a consistent basis. I always wish we would incorporate more imaginative play into the day even in 2nd grade. I feel like we are always rushing from one thing to the next. I think I am going to try this rotation idea. Thanks.
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JanineG (ISD)'s avatar

JanineG (ISD) · 174 weeks ago

Whew! I will be able to fit in my STEM holiday project just in time for this to be completed before the book study ends. I have never done 'Elf on a Shelf' in my classroom before, but this year i will be reading the book and doing activities around the whole idea. Mostly they will be writing activties, but we are going to incorporate a STEM challenge.
The students will be given popsicle sticks, playdough. elf cutouts of cardstock, and rulers. They will design a structure that will be the 'shelf' for their elf. The challenge is who can bulid the tallest shelf for their elf! We will talk about words such as: horizontal, vertical, joint, and balance. The students will draw a blueprint of their design, construct, make changes if needed, and then reflect on what they would do diffrently. We will do this as an individual project but the students will collaborate after and discuss what they learned and what they can learn from each other for next time!
4 replies · active 173 weeks ago
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Danielle S. (SVSD)'s avatar

Danielle S. (SVSD) · 174 weeks ago

Such a cute idea that incorporates many different areas! I can see the students really enjoying this activity as many of them have them at home and the ones who don't get to experience it in the classroom!
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JanineG (ISD)'s avatar

JanineG (ISD) · 174 weeks ago

This is what gave me the idea....last year as we were on Zoom...so many students would share their 'elf' and where he/she was that day. There were a few kiddos that didn't know about the 'elf on a shelf' concept. So, that made me want to do it this year in my classroom!
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JanineG (ISD)'s avatar

JanineG (ISD) · 174 weeks ago

Ok! Well the elf arrived in our classroom today! The kids were super excited. I told them that they'd each get to design a shelf for their own personal paper elf that will sit on their desks...and they thoroughly enjoyed this activity.
We started off discussing the vocabulary words and I handed out the supplies they could use. We then talked about different ways they might build their shelf and how they could make it the tallest. The students drew a blueprint of their design and then built the shelves for their elf to sit on. We had a few that couldn't figure out how to make it tall.....and they asked each other for ideas/help. So the collaboration aspect did happen! Some decided to do more than one....and figure out which one they thought was the best.
All in all, it was great! I believe this will be a yearly thing at this time of year! :)
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Erin K. (TSD)'s avatar

Erin K. (TSD) · 173 weeks ago

Janine,
It is exciting to read about the unprompted collaboration that occurred amongst your students! It is clear your students see one another as support and value their ideas and advice. Did you anticipate students constructing multiple prototypes? I worry that in these situations, I would not have prepared enough materials to accommodate multiple drafts for every student. The pattern tends to go if one student makes two, then every other student wants to make two in a trickle effect. Part of successful STEM instruction comes from the ability to adapt to the environment as our students' thinking changes while maintaining our role as facilitators. As an "over-planner", I tend to be frazzled by the unexpected and try to think ahead to every possible scenario or outcome. I am learning to let my students lead and accept that not every aspect of an activity will flow effortlessly or at least align with my intended plan. STEM is boundless and we must not confine our students to any barriers, physical or invisible. It is evident your students saw this activity as their own and leveraged the freedom of the task to their advantage. Thank you for sharing this creative primary STEM activity!
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Erin K. (TSD)'s avatar

Erin K. (TSD) · 174 weeks ago

Though I have been intentional to incorporate a number of STEM-based lessons and activities, one I wish to highlight is related to our study of ecology and human impact on the balance of abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem. After several weeks of investigations, research, discussions, and intense study around the state of declining oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay, students are tasked with designing an oyster reef that meets the required elements of a healthy reef: hard surfaces for oysters to latch onto, close clusters of oysters, a tall and wide reef structure, and access to water with low turbidity. Students are given pasta shells, rocks, clay, sand, a bowl, and a beaker of water. Students take time to first sketch a model of their design using the outlined constraints and present their designs to their peers for review. In groups, students gather their materials and collaboratively assemble and "play around" with their reef design. When they are satisfied with their design, students will add water to simulate the submersion of the reef in ocean water and determine whether any oysters have detached from their rocks and how the shape of the reef has potentially affected the turbidity of the water. As simple as this design may seem, I anticipate my students will be highly engaged and enthused by this project. They are science fanatics and love to participate in any activity posed as a challenge. In addition, my students are environmentally conscious and show a great deal of concern about the state of the world. I know that engaging my students in this science-based design challenge will provide a meaningful opportunity for my students to practice STEM thinking and put their newly acquired knowledge to the test.
1 reply · active 173 weeks ago
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Erin K. (TSD)'s avatar

Erin K. (TSD) · 173 weeks ago

Our oyster reef simulation went swimmingly! This was a highly anticipated activity considering the month-long research and inquiry that went into it. My students had drafted their design for their oyster reefs the day prior so it was merely a matter of using the physical materials to construct their designs. I readdressed the norms of collaborative work before launching students into the actual build which I believe alleviated some of the potential peer conflicts that frequently emerge with my strong-willed fifth-graders. Each student was respectful when handling the materials, was open to modifying their design as construction began, and took great pride in their reef models. Students were challenged in deciding what quantity of sand to line the bottom of their reefs with. Many groups overestimated the volume of sand and found difficulty in keeping their oysters submerged underwater. Other students realized that they had applied too little clay to each rock in their reef and lost oysters to the current as a result. Other students sought to simulate turbidity as a side experiment and mixed the sand and water until we lost clarity in the water. Other students improvised and included other small aquatic animals native to the Chesapeake Bay including small crabs, fish, and vegetation. The successes arose in the tangible application of learning and the students' unprompted recognition of it. Several students shared that they told their families about the experiment and wanted to try it again at home. Though I have had students frustrated or uninterested to the point of total disengagement with other tasks, this STEM simulation of an oyster reef sparked intrigue amongst every student. The materials were very inexpensive, easy to distribute, and required little clean-up. Though this was simpler than other STEM challenges I have implemented over the years, it was one of the most effective. I look forward to revising and enhancing this task going forward by adding new layers of challenge, additional materials, and a deeper reflection element. Our readings and interactions on this discussion board over the past eight weeks contributed to my confidence in implementing this activity and have inspired new ways to continue to provide meaningful opportunities to engage with STEM in my classroom.

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