Making Connections with STEM Fall 2021 Cohort 8: Week 2

Week 2

This week we will look at careers you didn't know were STEM related.

Read:

Reflect: Post your response to the prompt below by Monday morning.

Think about a career that is often not considered as STEM. What aspects of STEM may be important in this non-STEM career?

What STEM strategies will students need to be successful no matter what career or educational paths they choose to follow?

Interact: On Monday, read your colleagues' reflections and respond to at least one other post by sharing a comment, insight, or interesting possibility by next Thursday.

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Ashleigh R (TSD) · 181 weeks ago

When thinking about STEM careers the usual thoughts of careers involving mainly math cross my mind, especially those that require a four-year college degree. The article which talked about design was insightful in providing a broader understanding of how the components of STEM can be applied to a vast array of jobs. A job that I wouldn’t think to be STEM would be cosmetologist. Cosmetology requires the ability to solve issues involving personal appearance and often math and understanding of mixing chemicals are involved.
I believe there are many important strategies that apply across all professions. I believe the most important strategy is to be able to problem solve. For every employee they will encounter a challenge at work and the need to successfully problem solve will follow them throughout life. I also feel that another strategy that students need is the ability to be intellectually curious and flexible. In this day and age, it is unlikely that a person’s career stays the exact same. Often employers are adapting and changing roles and they need people in those roles who can continue to adjust.

3 replies · active 177 weeks ago

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Erin K. (TSD) · 180 weeks ago

Ashleigh,

It is evident STEM is vital to every arts-related career, yet those seem to be the careers our school systems encourage students to shy away from. As I look to my current class of students, I see dozens of eager crafters and "makers". They have an impressive knack for transforming everyday objects, such as a piece of printer paper, into an intricate flower or decoration for their desk. I want to be more intentional in my efforts to recognize students not only for their artistry in these moments but also for their use of mathematics and engineering to produce these fraction-based creations. DeBarard (2021) quoted, "'Anyone who has modified a pattern so that it fits better, or to accommodate a different weight yarn, has engaged in mathematical thinking,” Gresalfi explains'". I clung to this quote as a piece of encouragement and recognition for myself and my students. We are thinking with STEM mindsets and engaging in these practices, even if we do not realize it. I hope to help my students realize this for themselves going forward.

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flaggna 34p · 180 weeks ago

I agree with you. I too see students are "makers and eager crafters". Often, I feel these students get ignored because everyone thinks of STEM as being synonymous with computers/coding. This is simply not true. Our crafters absolutely think outside the box and work to solve problems. They see the world in ways that others do not. We need to celebrate this kind of student in our schools and move to other forms of STEM. This also leads the the idea the STEM is not as appropriate a term as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math).

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Eric Richards · 177 weeks ago

Cosmetology. Now that isn't a career that would have come quickly to me, but you are so correct Ashleigh. There are so many aspects that involve STEM. NIcely done

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Erin K. (TSD) · 180 weeks ago

A non-traditional STEM career that I participate in outside of my role as a fifth-grade teacher is that of a choreographer and a dancer. While dancers and choreographers do not sit down at computers or stretch dozens of complex equations across a whiteboard, they do engineer combinations of movements together. The tempo of the music must match the counts of the movements and spatially, choreographers and dancers must be aware of their distance to others and how they interact with others in a set space. It many ways, choregraphing a dance is similar to programming a robot. I have several aspiring dancers in my class now and I believe it is imperative they see these careers as ones involving STEM. I think dancers and choreographers would enjoy far more respect if the general public recognized the relevancy of STEM to their work. As the article by DeBerard (20121) stated, it is essential students and adults recognize that STEM is a practice of "problem solving, play, mistakes, and personal judgment". These are aspects crucial to any successful career, regardless of its STEM-association or not. Students will need to develop an awareness of STEM's presence and profound role in their everyday lives rather than restrict their knowledge to only the most obvious examples of STEM, such as their mathematics courses. Peterman's article cited efforts to shift "students’ interest, awareness and understanding of engineering" through actionable changes in teaching practices. Any career expects its employees to comprehend and navigate the organization they are a part of and remain engaged in the work that they do. If we remain committed to increasing our student's awareness of STEM and the value of its function in their lives, we contribute towards our students' success as working adults. Instilling an appreciation for real-world applications of STEM and igniting a sense of curiosity and interest in STEM are among those essential strategies all students must learn and retain.

3 replies · active 180 weeks ago

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Katelyn V. (ISD) 12p · 180 weeks ago

I had not thought of dance! I think that that is a great example of STEM with math!

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Ashleigh R (TSD) · 180 weeks ago

Erin, thanks for explaining in details how a dance instructor uses STEM. Sometimes I think we do not consider these "outside of the box" professions because we do not understand the details and intricacies of them. These are some of the reasons I believe students should be able to job shadow certain professions because they can gain further understanding that way!

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Danielle S. (SVSD) · 180 weeks ago

Yes! Dance makes so much sense for this. The counts and beats and intricacy of the choreo is definitely STEM or STEAM related.

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Katelyn V. (ISD) 12p · 180 weeks ago

From the reading I was reminded that any career using math can be STEM. This puts careers like fashion designers and people who sew or knit in the STEM field. Math is big in both of these careers and also big for STEM. To be successful in any career field, students should have a basic understanding of math to allow them to go into pretty much any field. Basic math only needs to be at around the level of Algebra 1.

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Megan Mitchell SVSD · 180 weeks ago

After reading these articles I was really thinking about the idea of math in STEM and how it sometimes has a negative affect on how we approach STEM because of it's reputation. The article points out "Many students and adults alike find the idea that mathematics involves problem solving, play, mistakes, and personal judgment inconceivable." I think when we think more along these lines that mathematics can be all of these things: problem solving, play, mistakes and personal judgment rather than just through listening, replicating, and practicing we open a whole other world of possibilities for STEM. Before becoming a teacher I was a chef for 12 years. While this career might not be considered a STEM position, it certainly taught be more about mathematics, science, engineering and problem solving than I could have ever imagined. I would often think that if math or science had been presented in a similar way to me while in grade school, I would have been more successful in understanding the subjects. I think students regardless of the career path they choose need to be able to problem solve and that includes failing and starting over--sometimes again and again. They need critical thinking skills, strong communication skills, the ability to change and adapt because any occupation will require those skills if not daily, at some point.

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Hannah J (ISD) 35p · 180 weeks ago

I think there are so many more careers out there that use STEM and STEM strategies than we realize. I think of careers such as a seamstress, a chef, a construction worker, a coach and so many more! Some aspects of STEM that I think would be important for these careers would be: critical thinking skills, collaboration, problem solving, design, making mistakes and creativity. Just because the career does not appear to be STEM, doesn't mean it doesn't involve STEM skills.

I think you can take all STEM strategies and apply it to any educational path which is why I think students should be able to: problem solve, collaborate and communicate with others, think critically and ask questions. These skills are essential no matter the career path that a student takes. After reading these articles it got thinking about how I can push my students to look beyond the typical STEM careers and think about how we can find STEM in about anything that we do.

1 reply · active 180 weeks ago

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Danielle S. (SVSD) · 180 weeks ago

Hi Hannah,

I completely agree with your "unusual" STEM careers. Chef's especially stand out to me as needing those critical thinking, problem solving and math/science skills. Ratios, fractions and the science of ingredients together is so important in this career.

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Danielle S. (SVSD) · 180 weeks ago

A career that comes to mind that you wouldn't initially think as STEM would be a gardener or farmer/grower. In this career you would need math skills, substantial problem solving skills as well as creativity and knowledge of science and the environment. Planning and sustaining a garden takes much skill in planning and requires knowledge in math, science and technology. Especially in today's day and age where we are growing food for huge amounts of people.

STEM strategies that are beneficial no matter what field students choose is problem solving, critical thinking and curiosity. We can easily encourage students in these areas in any subject matter. Children and naturally curious so designing lessons that encourage and challenge them are important in any grade level. I really appreciated the article about knitting and fashion and how much is involved in those that we wouldn't have thought of. Problem solving and persistence through challenge is something many students are struggling with right now.

2 replies · active 179 weeks ago

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Rachael S (ISD) · 179 weeks ago

My father tried having a small farm when he retired, and oh boy are you right that it involved many STEM skills. When trying to maximize growing space and plan how to rotate his fields, my father sought help from architect to learn how to draw out his planting diagrams. He also analyzed results from soil and water tests. I found the science of compost very interesting and it was almost like he was cooking! A farmer/gardener is absolutely a place for STEM thinking.

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Hannah J (ISD) 35p · 179 weeks ago

Hi Danielle,

I agree, a farmer/grower is someone who definitely uses STEM skills! I love your idea of leaning into student's curiosity and designing lessons around it. I had that same connection to the knitting article. It got me thinking about all of the different activities and life skills that we can practice with our students to better support them in their problem solving skills. My students are also working on persevering despite challenges and I think through more STEM based skills/activities, we can better support them with this!

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Stephen Elms · 180 weeks ago

When thinking about where STEM applies in careers outside of education, my first thought is always construction - mostly because I love to build and create when not teaching. Obviously many pieces of STEM in construction. I also think though that almost all jobs have the principles of STEM in them, that of collaboration, critical thinking skills, problems solving, etc. I had fun thinking about how STEM played a part in every job I've ever held - teaching, cashier, retail sales, repossessions, coaching, even landscaping. That reinforced, at least to me, that I want to make sure my students think about how it applies to any career choices they might like to pursue - and how integrated STEM is into everything we do already because I think they believe it's just those careers represented by the "letters" when in all reality, the important aspects and skills that accompany "STEM" are equally important.

One downfall I see in education these days is that districts don't necessarily promote to our students that being an architect is ok, or a plumber, or a chef, or electrician, or any of the other thousands of jobs people do everyday that keep our lives running are not considered "higher education" and they should be exposed to and understand that these are important jobs as well, and use STEM!. It's all about a "4-year college education" and "higher learning" education - which IS important don't get me wrong, but it's not for every student - but by not making them aware in some ways we don't introduce them to other fields that DO use STEM (as the articles impress). I'm old enough to have had the opportunity to take shop, home ec., botany, and others - where did those go? We need to bring them back! Sorry for the rant ;-)~

1 reply · active 179 weeks ago

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JanineG (ISD) · 179 weeks ago

I agree that most schools don't encourage students to be a chef, plumber, or an electrician. I think more than ever these trade jobs are and will always be important...and we need to encourage students to do what they feel like they'd love to do!

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flaggna 34p · 180 weeks ago

"We need a diverse set of problem solvers...for a diverse set of problems." This quote truly resonated with me. When we look at STEM with an equity lens, we begin to realize the there is not as much diversity within STEM programs as one might hope. It is more important now, than ever, that we work in include a broad spectrum of learning in STEM activities. This can be done in creative ways and does not always need to be driven by a classroom teacher. I quite enjoyed how some schools are thinking outside of the box to draw in creative thinkers and doers (knitting, fashion design). This allows for all persons to access STEM activities and work collaboratively to solve problems. As a special education teacher, this is one area that I want to explore during my social groups. I am always being encouraged to have collaborative activities for students, and find that my students with social/emotional or behavioral needs don't always work well in groups. I am open to any suggestions people might have for including collaborative problem solving activities into my social group. All students can benefit from this practice. We need to broaden the talent pool to be a truly inclusive one.

2 replies · active 179 weeks ago

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Meg H (SVSD) · 179 weeks ago

Yes, I love that quote also! This year has been tough working in collaborative groups when the students haven't been together for so long. I'd be open to learning some new, collaborative group activities also. We have been discussing providing a variety of materials to solve a problem and letting the students use what they want.

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Stephen Elms · 179 weeks ago

I love this quote too - one of the things students came back to school lacking in simply because they've been out so long - but the exciting part of this is that "we are working the problem" and using all these skills that STEM actually teaches, so a downside that provides opportunities!

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Rachael S (ISD) · 179 weeks ago

When I think of a typical non-STEM career, I think of manufacturing. Typically or traditionally we think of an assembly line workers who add their part to the line and just preform that one task over and over in a given shift. However with automation and technological innovation increasingly manufacturing companies need workers who can look at the progress and find areas to improve upon or make more efficient. This takes integrating engineering and math. They need to look for new ways to solve problems to help the company grow and be more successful.
One skill that all students require is perseverance. Not giving up when it gets hard or an idea fails is very difficult for some students, however it is a life skill that directly relates to success in the workplace. Any career needs potential employees to not give up and see projects through until the end. STEM is invaluable in creating this determination in students. When they are engaged in an authentic problem, they feel motivated to keep trying no matter what!

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Meg H. · 179 weeks ago

I love the idea of makers and crafters. I do find knitting to be frustrating so wonder how the students would handle making something. We use math so much in cooking too and use it everyday. As a teacher librarian, we have had maker classes for a few years and the kids favorite thing was free design. I like the idea of getting more training and ideas of ways to build and design using less materials. Less is more is a hard concept for elementary.

1 reply · active 179 weeks ago

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Megan Mitchell SVSD · 179 weeks ago

Hi Rachel,

I love that you make the suggestions of doing more build and design activities with less materials and I'd also like to have more training around this. I think that's one thing that holds me back from doing more design activities is the materials and the prep needed to get all of them ready.

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JanineG (ISD) · 179 weeks ago

When I think of careers that are STEM career, I would typically think of an engineer, construction worker, or architect. These articles helped me think diffrently and I realize how many careers/jobs actually use STEM as a major artery in their every day life.
I feel a non-STEM job is more of an accountant or a realtor. After reading these articles, I realize that STEM can play a role in either of these, just in different ways. Each has to collaborate with others around them and also maybe look at a different way to solve the problem.
I do love the crafting and artistic ideas in the first article. They all do use some aspect of STEM.
It's all around us and as educators, we need to put the concepts into the hands of the children/students.

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Eric Richards · 177 weeks ago

Hello,

I think about a career in arts when I think of a career that doesn't directly connect to STEM. But math is immersed in art. Certain types of art rely solely on geometry, ratio, perspective, and proportion. I am not sure however what profession you could find that does not have STEM connected to it in some way. Every job has elements to them of STEM.

Making Connections with STEM Fall 2021 Cohort 8

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