By Maggie O’Brien
Each month, we list articles on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and project-based learning (PBL) that we find exceptionally inspiring and educational. These news stories support Defined STEM’s mission of empowering students to build future-ready skills through authentic project-based learning.
Here’s what we liked this month:
SPECIAL REPORT: STEM EDUCATION
Education Week
Government agencies, business groups, and policymakers continue to prioritize support for the STEM fields. But K-12 educators note that these fields present many places where kids can get stuck—from weak instruction in the early grades to traditional calculus classes in high school and college. Even the end goal, improved employment outcomes, remains murky. In this special report, Education Week takes a closer look at these STEM gateways, searching out ones that offer new avenues. read more…
What is the Point of a Makerspace?
Cult of Pedagogy
For as long as I’ve been aware of makerspaces, I haven’t quite understood them. I have seen plenty of photos on social media, with the towers made of marshmallows and toothpicks. I’ve walked through exhibit halls at conferences where the coding and robotics displays cause me to stop, stare, and try to look like I have some idea of what I’m looking at. read more…
How I Became a PBL Teacher by Making it My Own Project
Buck Institute for Education
Teaching through Project Based Learning can be scary and overwhelming at first. It took me nearly 10 years to even begin to attempt PBL in my classroom. My favorite college professor taught us about PBL and assigned students to write a project-based unit. Once I began teaching, I never used this method. read more…
Project-Based Learning Is Just the Beginning
Tech & Learning
Having a job may seem a lifetime away for a child, but by exposing them to different career paths, we can get them thinking about their life after high school and better prepare them for their lives after graduation. Three years ago, we transformed Kankakee Public Schools’ general education track into the College and Career Academy, which is 100% focused on using PBL to prepare students for future jobs. read more…
Project-based learning and standardized tests don’t mix
The Hechinger Report
Can the long-struggling Philadelphia school system change how we measure success by focusing on meaningful work instead of test scores? In a city that’s struggled to meet the educational needs of many of its children, especially its most vulnerable ones, a select group of district high schools is shunning the traditional classroom model in which teachers dispense knowledge from the front of the room and measure progress with tests. read more…
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