Drive them to Think! My Favorite STEM Challenges

One of the key elements of a PBL is to provide a driving question.  That driving question provides the open-ended challenge or problem that we want our children to work on.  Bottom line, the question should be open-ended, require collaboration, critical thinking and teach students new skills.  These building blocks of inquiry are why STEM education goes with problem-based learning like macaroni goes with cheese! 

Driving Questions

Driving questions can, among other things, challenge students to solve a problem, design a better way to do something, build something useful or educate others.  Build, design, create and make are all verbs that bring the element of engineering into your classroom.  Adding constraints to a problem (things that students may or may not use, size/weight limitations, safety rules, etc.) not only adds to the challenge but reflects the reality of every day problem solving.

One of my all-time favorite examples of constraints in problem solving is the square peg in a round hole problem that was given to the Engineers at NASA to help Apollo 13 astronauts.  It has all the makings of a great problem:  It’s real and has real constraints. I use this great  video clip from the movie to have students practice defining a problem and listing the constraints

My Favorite STEM Challenges

Here are some of my favorite STEM challenges that I have used with kids to cover a variety of content:

1.       Build a better ________________.  Your students come across design flaws every day.  Ask them to listen to the complaints of their peers or parents about something that “just doesn’t work right” and develop a solution to the problem.  It could be a machine (like a mousetrap), law (like immigration), toy, or whatever.  They should gather information about the product, propose a solution, build a prototype, and present it to the class.  Example:  I recently had to use an airline travel toothbrush for a week – it collapsed into two pieces every time I brushed. Surely someone can come up with a better design!

2.       Rube Goldberg Contraptions.  The best engineering programs in the world participate in Rube Goldberg challenges.  Share a few Rube Goldberg cartoons, a couple of great YouTube videos and challenge your students to design and build a Rube Goldberg contraption that can do any or all of the following:

a.       Uses both a chemical change and a physical change.

b.      Uses 4 different simple machines.

c.       Uses both a mixture and a solution.

d.      Uses 4 different energy transfers.

e.      There is a whole lot of physics and chemistry that can be learned here.  Video tape their demonstrations and explanations to share with parents and post them to share with the rest of the world.

3.       Build a solar cooker with recyclable materials.  Food is a great motivator!  (and S’mores demonstrate both chemical and physical changes -burnt marshmallow, melted chocolate, broken graham crackers).  Have students research, design and build a cooker that will melt the chocolate for your s’more.  (Just saw that they now sell flat square marshmallows just for s’mores in the microwave-build a better marshmallow?)

4.       Build a SCALE Model of a large object (NASA’s latest MMS satellite, the solar system, the continents) or a small object (a life size lego man, cell, the Jolly Green Giant’s cell phone) using tape on the floor or string outside.  Lots of math involved!

5.       Make a model with moving parts using just paper (research paper engineering), Legos or recyclables of any science concept:  life, water or nutrient cycles, mitosis, meiosis, laws of thermodynamics, etc.  

Build, design, create, make, are all words that are key to putting engineering in your STEM lesson and developing problem solving, collaboration, creativity and communication.   Put the learning in their hands!

What are your favorite engaging STEM Challenges?

Lesson Failed: Do you have a Plan B?

For those of us starting school after Labor Day, August Anxiety is setting in.  Those nights where you are tossing and turning with new ideas, things you know you want to do differently and the anticipation of being “back to school.”  The week before school starts the idea pad next to my bed has all sorts of scribbles on it (some of which I cannot decipher!).    Planning is the key to a successful year.  Most people think that teachers’ time is split between classroom and grading papers.  The truth is, planning takes the most time. A good plan has a diversity of activities, movement, student interaction, hands-on, differentiation, accurate content, assessment, tech integration, etc.   Most people can’t even handle all the planning it takes to keep ten kids busy at a two hour birthday party.  What would they do with double the amount of children, a tight budget and grandiose learning objectives?

Getting Started

The first week of school is perhaps the most daunting as both yours and your students’ routines have to be established.  Not just school routines, but home routines as well, sleeping, dressing and eating changes drastically for everyone!  Throw in all those extra housekeeping tasks – class lists, gradebooks, sub plans, and for many of us real housekeeping tasks…. it can be overwhelming!

Step one:  Planning your room out

I know a lot of teachers who have gone back to the building to decorate their rooms.   I have to admit, that some of the rooms are a bit intimidating!  My advice is to keep it simple and let the student’s work be your décor.  My best bulletin board was a brick wall background and letters that said “Wall of Fame.” On day one, I described how you could get on the wall of fame (it was not easy) and when you achieved it, you could use whatever font you wanted, write your name, print it out and post it.  Kids loved getting on the wall!

Step Two:  Planning your lessons:  Expect the unexpected

There is no such thing as a perfect plan- there are just too many variables in schools – if you were working with widgets or robots, you might have a chance, but kids (adults too) and all the business (read busy-ness) of a school, always has the potential wrench to throw in the works.  Even if you teach the same lesson objectives 5 times in one day, you will see that what works with one class, student or time of day, will not work with another.  Be flexible.  All classes do not have to be in the exact same place at the exact same time.  And above all have a PLAN B.

Plan B

The most important lesson that I learned over the years was to always have a plan B.  I used a mini PBL that I introduced at the beginning of the year for students.  Each student had a folder with their challenge check list in it – they worked on this challenge when they had extra class time, when class was disrupted for assemblies, field trips, when a sub was in, etc.  They kept their work in the folder and the folder in the room.  My mini-challenge was all about inventions – I had computer games, links, patent info, Rube Goldberg activities, 20 ways to improve the pencil etc.  Much more than a folder full of worksheets.  Students could do the parts in any order.  All challenge activities led to them coming up with their own invention.  The grand finale was showing off their invention prototype and demonstrating it to the class.  We have had some great ones!

We all know the importance of a great plan A, but having a great plan B can insure that the learning continues no matter what the circumstances

What’s your favorite plan B?

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone and into the Learning Zone

I worked with a colleague on an open-ended challenge this past spring….the MMS Mission.  She was a G&T teacher with a background in Language arts and the science content of the Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission and technology options were a bit out of her comfort zone.  Students were asked to determine why this mission, launching in 2014 is relevant to their lives and to find a way to share what they learned with the world.  I assured her that her students would rise to the challenge and learn the technology part on their own.  It was a stretch for both students and teacher, but the results were amazing!  (Check out some of their projects under the Student Sample Challenge Solutions tab)

The teacher’s assessment of the project:

“I do have to tell you that it was very exciting for me to do this project!   Way out of my comfort zone!   I learned so much about the magnetosphere and about learning!  As educators we are programmed to be the expert of the subject matter.  After a lifetime of teaching, I am thinking that it is stifling. 

Most of my students gained so much from this experience!  There were some who wanted the road map, the requirements, the RUBRIC etc., I get that.  But the curious and the "gifted" really loved the learning and the creating.”

The students' assessment of the Challenge:

“I like the way that our teams were able to collaborate.  Also, we had free reign over the project’s actions.  Finally, we had time and were encouraged to use social media in school.”

“I like that this challenge was actually a challenge.  It caused us to work harder and faster, challenging us to learn more.” 

“I liked how it was a project for the real world instead of just in the classroom.  I learned more ways to share my work and make it public.”

“I loved the flexibility and challenge of the challenge.  Because we had really no guidelines, my creativity was at its maximum.  That is why I’m very proud of my xtranormal animation video.”

“Throughout my journey with the MMS Challenge, I had learned about more than simply the magnetosphere.  For instance, I learned about commitment, teamwork, responsibility, listening, taking advantage of given tools, etc.  The livebinder provided my group and I with a handful of tools and features that we could learn how to use then use.  This gave me a sense of the unique possibilities that could easily be found and used for the largest or smallest of projects.  I was given the feel for the community connected by the internet and web.  …I learned about technology in the real world, the everyday life of a scientist working for NASA.  I had a taste of a dream”

Wow!  Is that powerful or what?  Imagine giving your students a “taste of a dream?”  Having them enjoy the “challenge” of being pushed? 

Here is what I learned:

1.     You do not have to wait to be comfortable with something.  Take the risk.  Teachers do not have to be experts in all content areas or perfect.  Resources abound! 

2.     Let them share!  One of the keys to the great enthusiasm, creativity and care taken in this project by students resulted from the knowledge that projects would be shared with the world (one of the criteria).  Want to see some of their projects?  Link to video.  Link to livebinder

3.     Let them choose.  Students loved being allowed to select the medium of their project.  They were encouraged to select a “career path” – artist, physicist, writer, or engineer to help spread the word about the mission.    

4.     You do not have to be a techno-geek.  Students were given a long list of 2.0 tools listed by function that they might use (web-site developing, video production, blogs, animation sites, etc.).  Not one student asked for directions!  They just get on and go (my get on and go is considerable slower than theirs, but I find that there is a video for everything!).

5.     Challenge yourself and your students.   Both teachers and students were excited to learn the challenging vocabulary involved with the MMS mission.  Push each other to learn a little more!

10 Simple Challenges for Hands and Minds

As a mom (of two “active” boys), teacher (of thousands), Science Olympiad and Robotics coach (my self described "Geeks"), scout leader and neighborhood kid magnet (I make a mean pancake),  I have accumulated a great many simple and fun (learning) activities appropriate for home, camp or school.  I always had some kind of “experiment" going on my kitchen counter (and not much else!).  My boys were never one to sit still and do a craft, but if that “craft” became an experiment…they were all in.  Living at a lake we crafted habitats and trapping devices (nets, buckets, jars, boxes, etc) to collect, examine, identify and study the multitude of critters.  (I am sure there are still plenty of turtles with a dab of nail polish on their shells).   For those days when we just couldn’t get outdoors,  I established quite a repertoire of activities that all kids enjoyed (and learn from).

My Box O' Fun

These activities were great for those days when we had outside disruptions (assemblies, field trips, etc) but you wanted your kids engaged and learning.  I called them discovery days at school – where the focus was on engineering, experimenting and re-engineering.  I kept a “box o’ fun”  in my classroom that contained treasures like file cards, old film canisters, plastic water bottle lids, masking tape, cardboard cereal boxes, oaktag, marbles, straws, wooden skewers (my husband could never figure out where they went) and any other thing that could be used as building materials.  Ruler, measuring tapes, stop watches, etc. all added to the fun. 

All I had to do was list a limited number of materials, post a challenge on the board and give them a limited amount of time before they would have to test and share their solutions.  Here are some tried and true problems that I used (any materials can be substituted):

Safe Transport

Materials:  file card, 12 inches of masking tape, two wooden skewers, four plastic bottle caps (you can also add things like scissors, stop watches etc)

Challenge:  Build a vehicle that will transport a Lego man (plastic frog, eraser, whatever) safely down a ramp.  We measured distance and speed, averaged runs, changed ramp angles, talked about variables, graphed data, etc.  (Caution, principal may visit to see what the hubbub is about!)  Motivated by bragging rights, lots of learning occurred – and of course you could challenge them to improve on their designs!

Straw Rockets

Materials:  Straws, clay, tape, cardboard

Challenge:  Make a rocket that will travel the farthest distance (or land closest to the garbage can, etc).  Although there are commercial straw rocket launchers, you can make one (or the kids can) easily out of a juice bottle with these directions.

Even simpler straw rockets can be made with bendy straws and launched the old fashioned way with these directions. http://manmadediy.com/chris/posts/1168-how-to-make-a-bendy-straw-rocket-launcher

Balloon Rockets

Materials:  Balloons, string, tape

Challenge:  Make a rocket that will travel fastest along a string.  Students can hold the string at both ends.  I liked to get a couple of stop watches from the PE people to time the rockets as they go. There are even links and questions found here.

Want students to study payload?  Change the challenge and have them launch the rocket straight up as in this Rocket Transportation activity.

Parachutes

Materials:  one square foot of saran wrap from the cafeteria, 3 feet of thread (home ec room), tape and paper clip weights.  .

Challenge:  Build a parachute that will spend the longest time aloft.We used the stair wells and stop watches for testing

Boats

Materials:    one square foot of aluminum foil and pennies or golf balls, container of water for floating

Challenge:  build the boat that will hold the most pennies (or golf balls).

Catapults

Materials:  Popsicle sticks (rulers, etc) tape, rubber bands and cotton balls.

Challenge:  Build a catapult that will launch a cotton ball the farthest.

Writing S’more

When we learned about robots, I had the students write the “code” for making a s’more –if I could build the s’more from the directions, they could have it.  Of course they had to write every step…you cannot just “pick up a marshmallow”….you fingers have to open and close on it, etc. Great way to introduce students to programming.

Write it, Build it

Materials Vary:  Legos, clay, toothpicks, Lincoln logs

Give students two identical sets of 10 Legos (or whatever) and have students build something out one set.  Have them write building directions for their partner.  Give the partner the directions and other set of identical legos and see how close they get using the directions.   

Stop-Motion Animation:

Looking for a little techno-fun?  Kids love stop-motion videos.  Show them some great examples (from youtube) and ask them to create their own to demonstrate a concept they learned this year.  Stop motion videos.  Here's how to make them with Windows Movie Maker

What's in your bag o' tricks?  Do you have simple challenges to add to the list?