Now that the holidays (but not the snow days) are over, you may be looking for ways to re-energize your classroom. This week’s PBS LearningMedia content theme, Gaming & STEM, highlights a collection of games and interactive resources that will engage students in meaningful learning. Continue reading
STEM
HOW WE GOT TO NOW: Resources to Inspire Innovative Thinking Among Middle & High School Students
On Wednesday, October 15, WGBY premieres the new series How We Got To Now with host Steven Johnson. The programming begins at 9pm with CLEAN — Extraordinary ideas, innovations and unsung heroes who helped make America’s water supply cleaner, followed at 10pm with TIME — profiling the unsung heroes of time who helped advance navigation, technology and travel. A PBS LearningMedia Collection targets video segments, audio files, lesson plans, and guides with tools to drive this kind of innovative thinking among middle and high school students. Continue reading
Build a Magnetic-Field Detector With the Help of Design Squad and NASA
Kids love treasure hunts and a fun, yet surprisingly practical summer project allows them to design and build a magnetic-field detector and use it to find hidden magnets with students. Continue reading
3 Ways to Boost Students’ STEM Interest Now!
“STEM education is critical, but schools struggle to keep students interested.” So starts a report in the May 6th edition of eSchool News by Managing Director Laura Devaney. The article points out that while STEM education is one of the keys to a successful and competitive U. S. workforce, we are falling behind other nations in math, science, and engineering. Continue reading
Take the STEM TEACHER CHALLENGE
The STEM TEACHER CHALLENGE, sponsored by Google and WGBH Education, is a video contest seeking creative STEM teaching solutions. Upload your video to our YouTube channel and it may be selected for inclusion in a special STEM collectionContinue reading
Free Educator Webinar: Inspiring STEM Educators with NASA Physics & Engineering
On Monday, April 28, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. EST, you can attend this STEM webinar to learn how to bring exciting, real-world applications of physics and engineering into the classroom. You’ll receive an exclusive look into the resources in the NASA Physics and Engineering collection on PBS LearningMedia™ as well as advice for teaching with this digital media from NASA. Continue reading
STEAM: Tips and Resources for Getting the A(rts) into STEM
The need for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and proficiency is nothing new. But a movement is growing for STEAM education, in which the “A” stands for Arts. Laura Devaney, Managing Editor, eSchool News, reports in the March 3 edition that cultivating scientific and mathematical viewpoints and experiences through arts education is a critical need in today’s schools, so say STEAM advocates. Read more by clicking here.
Exploring the World of Science & Engineering
PBS Learning Media takes a behind-the-scenes look at the daily life of actual scientists and engineers for grades 4-8 and 6-12. As well as spending “A Day in the Life of a NASA Engineer,” you and students might be surprised to see some familiar faces, including television star turned neuroscientist Mayim Biyalik. There’s also a companion collection from NOVA. Continue reading
Teacher Webinars for Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
PBS LearningMedia™ is launching a new STEM initiative, “Teaching NGSS Engineering Design Through Media.” This collection offers 40 resources to help bring engineering alive for students. Attending a webinar for PBS stations about the collection, I learned about these media-rich resources and the myths surrounding engineering. To support teachers as they face demanding new standards, PBS LearningMedia and WGBH will host a series of teacher webinars later this month, introducing the Next Generation Science Standards collection and offering advice for incorporating the resources into their classrooms. Continue reading
STEM Grants for Middle & High School Teachers/Students
Here are two of several grants recently shared by eSchoolNews, each with February deadlines : 1) all-expenses-paid professional development opportunities for middle/high school teachers from the Siemens STEM Academy and 2) a chance for teams of high school students to hone their creativity with inventions for real-life problems, offered by the InvenTeam initiative, created by the Lemelson-MIT Program. Continue reading