Productive Struggle: An Approach that Fosters Critical Thinking

Productive Struggle: An Approach that Fosters Critical Thinking

This guest post was written by Kristin Owens, Assistant Director of STEM area. Why is math class not the setting for most made-for-TV movies? Frankly, it is often lacking many of the elements we find most entertaining: suspense, drama, edge-of-your-seat action. TV...
4 Tips to Integrate Project-Based Learning in STEM Curriculum

4 Tips to Integrate Project-Based Learning in STEM Curriculum

How often do teachers or administrators hear those dreaded words, “Will we ever use this again?” or “Why are we learning this?”. Learning skills separate from their real world situations can make it difficult for students to understand the post-academic applications....
Slowing Down a Fast-Moving World to Attend to Precision

Slowing Down a Fast-Moving World to Attend to Precision

In our series on the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice (CCSSMP), we’ve reached number six: Attend to precision. For students who communicate instantaneously by thumb-typing emojis, doing a task slowly and attending to detail can be maddening;...
STEM Instructional Design for Greater Engagement

STEM Instructional Design for Greater Engagement

With advances in technology, we have increasing options for teaching STEM subjects, and also more avenues to share successful methods. STEM learning is great for building critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The challenge is how to engage the broad range of...