STEAM | 10-Rep Learning ~ Teague's Tech Treks

Apr
6

What is a group of deer called? Little STEAM videos for procedural tasks in the learning environment

Category: #STEAM, Post Feed Tags: Animoto, Helen Teague, STEAM Leave a Comment

STEAM infusions of photography slide shows and short movies can enhance procedural tasks and task completion in learning environments.

Some classroom tasks across the curriculum that benefit from STEAM video/slide show infusions:

~Opening Procedures – As students enter and assemble

~Retrieving supplies, passing papers, uploading files, proofreading, peer review of short papers

~Class activity transition

~Inseat, calm break

~Learning Center station rotation

~Closing procedures

What else should be added to this list?

#STEAM

Oh, and a group of deer is called a rangale!

Mar
30

By Dr. Helen Teague

STEAM Icebreakers, Deep Space and Tolkien!

Category: #STEAM, Books, Concordia University, Post Feed Tags: Dr. Brian Welch, Earendel, Eärendil, Helen Teague, Icebreakers, J. R. R. Tolkien, Michelle Thaller, STEAM, The Lord of the Rings Leave a Comment

Let’s look at a few Icebreaker connections from Math… J.R.R. Tolkien… Deep Space!

The most distant individual star ever seen has been spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA said Wednesday, March 30, 2022. The star is believed to be 12.9 billion light-years from Earth and about 50 times as massive as the sun. The new star, coded as WHL0137-LS, was found on March 30, 2022 using gravitational lensing of a galaxy cluster.

In a wonderful STEAM connection, Dr. Brian Welch, lead researcher of the team of astrophysicists and astronomers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore gave WHL0137-LS the star name, “Earendel.” (Remember our Tolkien Reading Day Icebreaker from March 25? )

The star’s name, Earendel, is inspired by J.R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy writing!
In Tolkien’s book, “The Lord of the Rings,” Eärendil is the name of a character, ahalf-elf mariner who travels the seas carrying a jewel, or “Silmaril,” called the morning star. This star “has the wonderful name of Earendel, and that’s actually from Tolkien,” NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller explained. “It means the dawn star, and it’s an Old English word. It’s lovely. And this is a star, literally, from the dawn of time, the dawn of stars forming. This is the first star, the farthest star we’ve ever seen, and I think Earendel is a beautiful name for it,” Thaller said.

Now, it’s your turn! What Icebreaker questions would you create? Consider the “7 Pieces of Art Inspired by the Night Sky” website and/or numerical data.

Artwork Resource: Show students some artwork from digital sources:

7 Pieces of Art Inspired by the Night Sky: https://www.darksky.org/7-pieces-of-art-inspired-by-the-night-sky/

From Space.com: https://www.space.com/hubble-most-distant-star-tolkien-name-earendil

Super short movie from the Wall Street Journal – https://www-wsj-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/hubble-space-telescope-spots-most-distant-star-ever-seen-11648655351

From NetAtlas: https://newatlas.com/space/earendel-most-distant-star-hubble/

Here is some of the numeric data for the star, Earendel that would make great class Icebreakers!

12.9 billion light-years from Earth – how many miles is this? (for an approximate result, multiply the length value by 5.879e+12). See more https://www.calculateme.com/astronomy/light-years/to-miles/
1000 times brighter than our Sun.
50 times the mass of the Sun
2nd brightest star is Icarus, 9 billion light years away

#STEAM

Jan
20

By Dr. Helen Teague

EDP Cycle – Crowdsourcing the Beta Test!

Category: #STEAM, Concordia University, Education, Post Feed, STEAM, STEM Tags: Helen Teague, Snowbot, STEAM, STEM Leave a Comment

The EDP Cycle remains relevant! There is one phase of the grade 5-12 EDP cycle that every classroom participant can relate to, whether student or teacher, and that is “Build a model or Prototype.” In the K-4 EDP Cycle, this component is labeled “Evaluate.”

The “Build a Model or Prototype/Evaluate phase is continuously being applied in business using the word Beta test. Here is an example from current business news that fits with all of the snow of the Winter season.

The Snowbot is a square robot that shovels snow! Here it is in action!

https://youtu.be/rOnQM6gnYO8

‘https://youtu.be/8W6yC-u-8_A

Currently in development and Beta text by the company – https://www.thesnowbot.com/pages/become-a-beta-tester

STEM/STEAM Application:
Have you ever participated in a Beta test? It might be a fun class activity to show the Snowbot videos to Students who would serve in the role of Focus Group participants! What do you think about this and/or what other EDP applications come to mind when viewing the Snowbot videos?

Oct
1

By Dr. Helen Teague

Weekend Ed. Quote ~ October 1, 2021

Category: #STEAM, Ed. Quotes, Post Feed Tags: David Sousa, Ed. Quotes, Helen Teague, STEAM, Tom Pilecki Leave a Comment

On the importance of connecting STEAM units to thinking inside the box…

“In working with such a variety of schools, teachers, and students, as well as buildings, schedules, and budgets, the common and most important element in every situation was the dedication and determination of the staff to make STEAM succeed. This is where thinking inside the box was very useful. Teachers always have limitations with regard to, well, everything: budgets, schedules, space, and so on. STEAM not only encourages but also thrives on big ideas. By having to work inside the box, teachers developed incredibly creative solutions to most problems. In spite of the greatly varying accessobility to resources and staff time limitations, all schools were very successful in implementing STEAM.” ~David Sousa and Tom Pilecki, From STEM to STEAM: Brain Compatible Strategies and Lessons That Integrate the Arts, page 63.

References

Sousa, D. & Pilecki, T. (2018). From STEM to STEAM: Brain Compatible Strategies and Lessons That Integrate the Arts. Corwin Press, p. 63.

More Weekend Ed. Quotes

Sep
24

By Dr. Helen Teague

Weekend Ed. Quotes ~ September 24, 2021

Category: #STEAM, Creativity, Ed. Quotes, Post Feed Tags: creativity, Ed Quotes, H. Coon, Helen Teague, J. Lazenby, M. Herron, R. Conti, STEAM, T. M. Amabile Leave a Comment

On the importance of connecting innovation with creativity…

“All innovation begins with creative ideas. Successful implementation of new programs, new product introductions, or new services depends on a person or a team having a good idea-and developing that idea beyond its initial state.”
~Amabile, Conti, Coon, Lazenby, & Herron, 1996, p. 1154.

In 1999, researchers Sternberg and O’Hara provided the pioneering framework of five possible relationships between creativity and intelligence:

Creativity is a type of intelligence
Intelligence is a type of creativity
Creativity and intelligence are overlapping constructs (they have some traits in common)
Creativity and intelligence are part of the same construct (they’re basically the same thing)
Creativity and intelligence are distinct constructs (there is no relationship between them)

Here is a blog post (non-peer-reviewed) on creativity with some engaging design features and easy readability: What is creativity? The ultimate guide to understanding today’s most important ability by Kelly Morr at this link: https://99designs.com/blog/creative-thinking/what-is-creativity/

References

Amabile, T. M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J., & Herron, M. (1996). Assessing the work environment for creativity. Academy of
management journal, 39(5), p. 1154-1184. http://people.wku.edu/richard.miller/amabile.pdf

Morr, K. (2018). What is creativity? The ultimate guide to understanding today’s most important ability. 99 Designs. https://99designs.com/blog/creative-thinking/what-is-creativity/

Sternberg, R. J., & O’Hara, L. A. (1999). Creativity and intelligence.

More Weekend Ed. Quotes

Sep
17

By Dr. Helen Teague

Weekend Ed. Quote ~ September 17

Category: #STEAM, Ed. Quotes, Post Feed Tags: Dr. Nettrice Gaskins, Ed. Quotes, Helen Teague, STEAM Leave a Comment

Week 3: Thursday Thoughts ~ Quotes from Educators about STEAM Ideas!

On the importance of epistemological pluralism in students’ representational artifacts of learning…

“Making room for students’ cultural practices in standard education to important dilemmas for educators: How do they balance their students’ freedom and creative expression with academic constraints such as testing? Researchers (Archer, et al., 2015) are studying the ways that students bring their knowledge, aptitude, skills, and experiences, or capital, into learning settings. For students from groups underrepresented in STEAM, the gap between knowledge and skills is wider than with other groups (Allina 2018). This is a problem that educators are working to solve through culturally relevant teaching and with tools and methods that connect students to where they come from in order to develop more effective ways to support their engagement in STEAM” (Gaskins, 2021, p. 4).

References

Allina, B. (2018). The development of STEAM educational policy to promote student creativity and social empowerment. Arts EducationPolicy Review, 119(2), 77-87.

Archer, L., Dawson, E., DeWitt, J., Seakins, A., & Wong, B. (2015). “Science capital”: A conceptual, methodological, and empirical argument for extending bourdieusian notions of capital beyond the arts. Journal of research in science teaching, 52(7), 922-948.

Gaskins, N. R. (2021). Techno-Vernacular Creativity and Innovation: Culturally Relevant Making Inside and Outside of the Classroom.
MIT Press, p. 7.

Turkle, S., & Papert, S. (1992). Epistemological pluralism and the revaluation of the concrete. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 11(1),3-33.

More Weekend Ed. Quotes

Jul
20

By Dr. Helen Teague

Best Field Trip Since 1969!

Category: #STEAM, Engineering Design, Post Feed, STEAM, STEM Tags: #NewShepard, Blue Origin, Engineering Design, Helen Teague, STEAM, STEM, Van Horn Texas Leave a Comment

The Best Field Trip Since 1969!

On this day, 52 years ago, Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Buzz Aldrin (born 1930) landed on the Moon in the greatest engineering accomplishment of the 20th century!

Today, just outside dusty Van Horn, Texas a small team of private citizens blasted off in the Blue Origin rocket called the Alan Shepard. The rocket was named after Alan Shepard (1923-1998), the astronaut who, in 1961 became the first American and the second man to travel into space. Ten years later, Shepard also walked on the Moon.

Best Field Trip since 1969! Private citizens Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk, & Oliver Daemen became astronauts after an 11-minute space flight w/ 3 minutes of weightlessness in the 1st Field Trip 66.3 miles above Earth on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket! @blueorigin (Links to an external site.) https://t.co/Y1FvwsdlKu (Links to an external site.)

— HTeague (@TweetTeague) July 20, 2021 (Links to an external site.)

New Shepard Blue Origin Crew

Field Trips or Field Excursions have been a foundational component of educational and instructional practice . Two notable Critical Thinkers, Friedrich Froebel and John Dewey encouraged educational excursions (Woods, 1937). The Existentialist Henry David Thoreau and his brother John are considered to be the first teaching pair to include field excursions in their Concord curriculum circa 1839 (Lunsford, 2019).

The Blue Origin private citizens Jeff Bezos, Mercury 13 aviator Wally Funk, Mark Bezos, and Oliver Daemen became astronauts when they took an 11-minute field trip, including 3 minutes of weightlessness in the first Field Trip 66.5 miles (351, 210 feet) above Earth!

What are your thoughts on today’s flight?

Read More Here: https://www.space.com/blue-origin-jeff-bezos-first-astroanut-launch-crew

Taking a Field Trip from PBS Learning Media: https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/educators/technique-guide/taking-a-field-trip/ (Links to an external site.)Oregon Public Broadcasting, (Links to an external site.)2014.

References

Lunsford, M. (2019). Lunsford Column: The Real Value of Field Trips. Indiana News and Tribune. https://www.newsandtribune.com/opinion/lunsford-column-the-real-value-of-field-trips/article_e4b9c688-2b37-11ea-a88c-e38452f95e29.html (Links to an external site.)

Woods, H. (1937). A study of the origin and development of the educational excursion and field trip. https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4940&context=etd/ (Links to an external site.)

Dec
29

By Dr. Helen Teague

Nerd Research Minute: #STEAM up Reading with Drawing

Category: #STEAM, Reading Tags: Drawing, Helen Teague, Janine Elliott, Nerd Research Minute, Reading, STEAM Leave a Comment

Summarizing with Drawings: A Reading-Comprehension Strategy

by Janine Elliott

Science Scope, v30 n5 p23-27 Jan 2007

Available from NTSA: National Science Teaching Association

Description: When teachers ask their students to read something in class, they often encounter students who just wait for everyone else to finish reading before they do. These type of students are the ones most likely to dislike reading and they are just content to wait it out. Teachers may counteract this by requiring students to answer questions in writing or by requiring them to skim the reading until they find the answers. In this article, the author shares a strategy she developed to motivate students and engage them in the reading process. Her strategy requires students to read an article and then draw pictures that summarize the main ideas of what they had read. (Contains 6 figures and 6 resources.)

“When students summarize by drawing they must form a visual representation of the information they’re trying to convey. This provides an opportunity for students to elaborate and encode the information in a personally meaningful way. In addition, drawing after reading encourages students to reflect on what they have read and allows time to process the information. In some cases, I found that students admitted reading more carefully when they knew they would have to draw. In essence, they paid more attention to what they were reading in order to be able to do the drawing activity afterward. Finally, drawing can be used as a motivational tool. My students generally found it enjoyable, partly because they felt it took less effort than having to complete a written summary.” ~Janine Elliott

A motivational strategy for students acknowledging that there is a personal value (drawing) attached to the task of reading. Elliott scientifically tested her strategy in class and describes the breakdown of specific data in this short article.

Reference

Elliott, J. (2007). Summarizing with Drawings: A Reading-Comprehension Strategy. Science Scope, 30(5), 23-27.

Descriptors: Reading Comprehension, Reading Processes, Reading Instruction, Reading Motivation, Freehand Drawing, Teaching Methods, Middle School Students

National Science Teachers Association Web site: http://www.nsta.org

Access More Nerd Research Minutes Here

Nov
12

By Dr. Helen Teague