Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Roblox, PLTW team up for immersive STEM experience

Key points:

  • Immersive learning experiences are highly engaging and give students another way to grasp key STEM concepts
  • Roblox and Project Lead The Way are offering 3D immersive learning with a new STEM experience
  • See related article: Are you teaching with Roblox? You should be

Immersive learning experiences are all the rage, and for good reason—they engage students and help make challenging concepts–particularly STEM concepts–a bit easier to learn thanks to they way they are presented.

Pathogen Patrol, a new 3D immersive learning experience from Project Lead The Way, brings important STEM learning content to life. These learning experiences give students another way to learn educational concepts, such as space exploration or different processes in the human body, which are typically challenging to teach with traditional methods.…Read More

Outdoor learning helps our district’s students see sustainability in action

Key points:

  • Sustainability initiatives are increasingly important to school districts, students, and their communities
  • One school district is combining sustainability initiatives with STEM learning to empower students in their learning
  • See related article: How outdoor learning spaces lead to STEM engagement

Modesto City Schools is located in Northern California, and we receive more than 260 days of sunlight annually. While the sunshine typically provides ideal climate conditions, it can also be a double-edged sword. For several years, California residents have been affected by drought and have gained a thorough understanding of the need for water frugality and sustainable lifestyles.

Modesto City Schools has prioritized sustainability initiatives designed to address climate change, reduce our carbon footprint, combat air pollution, and educate the next generation of students about a sustainable lifestyle—and that includes renewable energy.…Read More

The state of STEM

The new normal for post-pandemic classrooms continues to be a mixed bag. There was a ton of learning loss and missed experiences, especially when it came to hands-on lab time. At the same time, there was a surge of teacher innovation, student agency, and new remote tools and processes to compensate. 

For the past 13 years, Ann Woo, Head of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung, has been paving the way for students at US public middle and high schools to embark on solving real-world problems with STEM-based solutions through Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow national STEM competition. This year’s contests concluded with three national winners who created inspiring STEM solutions tackling their community issues of pollinator collapse, veterans’ PTSD and heat stroke in sports. Their projects should be an inspiration for any STEM educator. Click through for the whole conversation. Below are some edited highlights:…Read More

Global Impact STEM Academy Senior Receives Inaugural Waklatsi Service Scholarship

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Cooper Johnson, a graduate of the Global Impact STEM Academy class of 2023, has been awarded the first-ever Waklatsi Service Scholarship. The $500 scholarship recognizes Johson’s exceptional commitment to service and his dedication to making a positive impact in the community, and was established this year by Global Impact alumnus and current Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy, Kordell Waklatsi.

“Cooper was chosen as the recipient of the Waklatsi Service Scholarship because of his remarkable understanding of the importance of giving back to others,” said Waklatsi. “From an early age, he was an active participant in 4-H, which fostered his passion for community engagement. Inspired by his own experiences, Cooper became a camp counselor to ensure that other children have the opportunity to enjoy the same enriching camp experiences he had.”

In addition to his involvement in 4-H, Johnson has made significant contributions to the local Honor Flight program since his freshman year. Through this program, he has provided veterans with the opportunity to visit and pay their respects at memorials in Washington D.C., creating lasting memories for those who served this country.…Read More

5 fun STEM videos for hard-to-engage students

Key points:

  • STEM education can be challenging, but engaging tools can help
  • Explore these videos on various STEM topics, found on TED-Ed Lessons

STEM education is a critical topic for all students, but it’s also notoriously difficult to engage students in STEM topics–particularly as the content becomes more challenging. But with a few fun STEM videos, students might be a bit more interested in learning.

The videos below are all found on the TED-Ed platform. Educators can build lessons around any TED-Ed Original, TED Talk, or YouTube video. Once you find the video you want to use, you can use the TED-Ed Lessons editor to add questions, discussion prompts, and additional resources.…Read More

4 ways to use ChatGPT in your STEM classroom

Key points:

  • ChatGPT isn’t a tool to be feared–it can contribute greatly to STEM learning
  • AI tools aren’t going away, and harnessing their capabilities is important

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.” – John Dewey

Back in 2007 when I was teaching Algebra I at the local middle school, the biggest question for mathematics teachers on our campus was whether students could use their calculators while doing classwork and on standardized tests.  A few years later, the discussion changed to an argument about the pros and cons of using a Desmos calculator on their classroom iPads.  Using Desmos was seen as being particularly egregious, as educators feared that students may have access to the internet and may surf the web while they should be learning or during summative assessments.  …Read More

Why STEM is more important for students than ever

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) has long been a popular acronym in education circles. Providing teachers with the tools and techniques to deliver these subjects to students has never been more important. In this podcast, Lauren Tarshis, SVP Editor-in-Chief & Publisher, Classroom Magazine Division, Scholastic Magazines+, and Patty Janes, Vice President, Science, Math, and Art at Scholastic, break down how one of the world’s great curriculum providers approaches STEM subjects and provide insights on how teachers can integrate these concepts into everyday teaching and learning.

Can we make STEM more accessible for girls?

Are girls really underrepresented in STEM? Yes. 

In the U.S., the workforce is pretty evenly split between men and women, but in STEM fields men make up 73 percent of the workforce to women’s 27 percent. Why?

It’s easy to want to find a well-meaning solution for this disparity, or even to brush it off as unimportant. But achieving a gender parity in STEM fields (particularly computer science, engineering, and programmers, among others) isn’t just a feel-good social justice crusade. The number of open tech jobs far outpaces the population of traditionally qualified candidates—data projections have pointed to a global shortage of 85 million tech workers by 2030.

It’s not a matter of encouraging girls to pursue STEM programs just for the heck of it, to prove they can and earn a good paycheck—it’s a matter of graduating enough highly-skilled workers to meet economic demand.

Still, the imbalanced statistics for the genders in STEM are damning. What can K-12 schools do to play their part in preparing the next generation for a talent-hungry workforce?

Let students lead…Read More

Poor math scores could be a result of student burnout

With math scores falling globally, top high school math students point to academic burnout as a key factor. Among their recommended solutions to boost math performance? Tackle the root cause of burnout, get diversion through non-academic activities, and make STEM classes more applicable to everyday life.

That’s the finding of a survey of 16- to 18-year-olds in the U.S. and U.K. conducted in March by Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The survey gathered responses from 1,000 11th and 12th grade students from across the U.S. and sixth form students in England and Wales, as well as some of their teachers, to get their insights on the impact events of the last three years have had on math performance. The students queried are participants in this year’s MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge (M3 Challenge), an annual internet-based, intensive math modeling contest organized by SIAM.

“The poll shows that even top students have been struggling with school-related pressures, with 83 percent saying that they have experienced or somewhat experienced academic burnout in the last two years, and 32 percent saying their anxiety over math has increased,” said Dr. Karen Bliss, Senior Manager of Education and Outreach at SIAM. “Yet, rather than following the downward math performance trend, the majority still did well in math, with 35 percent landing even better math grades than previous years and 55 percent maintaining their average.”…Read More