Inspire

 

 

 

Editor’s note: This Q&A has been condensed from an article originally published on Media Planet. Below, six STEM leaders share strategies for engaging students in unfamiliar STEM subjects and encouraging career discovery in the classroom.

Donald E. Bossi, President, FIRST

How can education technology encourage students to become more interested in STEM education?
Education technology serves as a critical tool to help students prepare for a future that is increasingly technology- and data-driven. When students work together to build a robot or an app, they’re also building essential digital literacy skills and learning how to problem-solve, think critically and work as a team. FIRST^® programs use robotics challenges as a tool to spark interest and self-motivation in students because, well, robots are fun! In fact, FIRST was founded 30 years ago on the idea that if we celebrate STEM the same way we do sports or entertainment, we can show young people how learning is not just important but exciting. Research shows that students who participate in our programs become more interested in doing well in school, taking more challenging math and science courses and going to college.

What is one piece of advice you’d give to a teacher striving to engage a student in a subject he or she may not have interest in due to its unfamiliarity?
Inspiration leads to education, so focus on inspiring the student.  I’ve seen success when teachers encourage self-directed learning through hands-on, project-based opportunities for students. In this model, they can provide project goals related to the subject – ideally with a real-world connection – and then offer students gentle coaching along the way. Students will learn to think independently, experiment, troubleshoot and learn from failure, which are invaluable experiences. When they finally succeed, students gain the self-confidence to face future unknowns.

How can teachers and their community encourage career discovery in the classroom to strengthen our future workforce?
Teachers can encourage career discovery in the classroom by engaging professionals from the local business community to mentor students. Inviting an engineer, mechanic, marketer or business leader to your classroom can demonstrate for students how their lessons and activities translate into careers. That becomes even more effective if these professionals can serve as ongoing mentors, guiding your students and acting as a valuable sounding board throughout projects. Through FIRST programs, students get facetime and mentorship from professionals across many industries. This helps students develop the self-confidence that they can do anything they put their minds to.

Barbara Holzapfel, General Manager, Microsoft Education

What is one piece of advice you’d give to a teacher striving to engage a student in a subject he or she may not have interest in due to its unfamiliarity?
Learning is all about relationships – relationships between ideas and relationships between people. As our Class of 2030 research highlighted, students want teachers who know them, know how they learn best and are experts in their field. When taking a student-centric approach, educators can draw upon rich insights and data sets to understand preferred learning styles, learner ability, social contexts and other relevant data, then use that information to personalize learning. Beyond these insights and data sets, technology provides immersive multi-sensory experiences that inspire curiosity, collaboration tools that unlock the knowledge and skills of students, and communication platforms which help overcome time, space and even language to explore new perspectives and ideas. So my advice would be to always seek to humanize the learning with technology, not simply use it to digitize the curriculum. Learning is about relationships between people and ideas; technology can help extend these beyond the classroom and beyond time and space.

Charles Eaton, CEO, Creating IT Futures

How can teachers and their community encourage career discovery in the classroom to strengthen our future workforce?
Teachers can start encouraging interest in working with technology by busting myths that discourage young people from considering tech careers. Foremost among them: “Technology is all about coding and math.” Resourcefulness and common sense are more important to future success in a technology career than excelling in math and science, and there still are more jobs in tech infrastructure — working with hardware, networks, servers and desktops — than in coding. The next biggest misconception: “To work in technology, you need a four-year degree.” In my book, “How to Launch Your Teen’s Career in Technology: A Parent’s Guide to the T in STEM Education,” I share stories of people who learned about technology in high school and college, as well as others who started learning through online programs accessible to anyone, no matter where they live. Truth is, many people land a job in tech with some basic training and a certification.

Shelley Pasnik, Vice President, Education Development Center

Both parents and teachers lack confidence in their abilities to support early STEM. What can we do to change that?
It’s true; many adults in students’ lives are often unsure about STEM learning. In a recent national survey, for example, we found parents’ confidence about science trails confidence in other areas like literacy, math and social skills. An effective confidence booster is realizing you don’t have to know the “right answer.” Instead, parents and teachers can get in the habit of wondering aloud — asking who, what, where and why questions — and looking for answers together.

Marty Lange, SVP, Chief Product & Operating Officer, McGraw-Hill Education School Group

How can teachers and their community encourage career discovery in the classroom to strengthen our future workforce?
Many educators empower their students by connecting with local professionals or community businesses, allowing their students to ask questions about a career or even helping them gain experience through a mentorship. Facilitating conversations and connections this way can make ambitious career options feel more tangible to students. I think the key is not to view the classroom as a fixed space but a fluid one and to provide students multiple opportunities to learn and grow outside of school walls. Additionally, educators can position students for success in the workplace by fostering critical workforce skills such as digital literacy, effective communication and reasoning through project-based learning in the classroom.

Mark Elliott, CEO, Boxlight

How can education technology encourage students to become more interested in STEM education?
It’s important that technology is added in a way that increases value and takes lessons to a new level. Allowing students to measure, see, and experience their world in a new way adds deeper understanding. It also engages students with STEM in ways that wouldn’t be possible without the technology.

Read the full article on Media Planet’s Education and Career News.
 

If you have an inspiring story or piece of wisdom that you’ve picked up through your experiences in the FIRST community, please reach out to us at inspire@firstinspires.org and inquire about becoming a guest contributor for Inspire.