STEAM

WHY STEAM?

• Becuase children are natural scientists
• Children are driven to explore and discover
• The younger they are, the fewer boundaries children acknowledge

STEAM is all about:
designing, experimenting,
problem-solving,
social interaction.

With STEAM, children are presented with real-world challenges, and encouraged to solve problems and present their ideas.

TEACHERS CAN SUPPORT STEM LEARNING WITH:

• Intentional design
• High-quality child-teacher interactions
• Scientific explanations and vocabulary
• Active Whole Brain delivery

TEACHERS CAN SUPPORT STEM LEARNING WITH:

• Hands-on lessons, prepared ahead
• Lessons which allow for independent discovery

WHAT IS STEAM

At HDLL, STEAM is:

• Hands-on
• Project-based
• Inquiry-based
• Both active and reflective

STEAM IS HANDS-ON LEARNING

• Students change variables & observe immediate results
• Students learn by doing

WE WANT STUDENTS TO:

Use a scientific process to solve problems

• ask
• imagine
• plan
• create
• test
• redesign

Form hypotheses. Ask "What would happen if..." and make guesses as to the answer.

Use senses & tools to measure, compare, gather information, investigate, & observe processes & relationships.

Investigate to test hypotheses &observations.

Draw conclusions & form generalizations.

Develop growing abilities to collect, describe & record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, projects & charts.

Establish a scientific vocabulary, and comfortably use that vocab in discussion and written records.

At HDLL, we especially want students to
learn to fail.

By which, I mean we want students to create, test, make mistakes, and learn from them.

Students will learn more from an initial failure which they experiment to fix, than they would from a few hints from teachers to produce an okay design.

If they create it and fix it themselves, students feel a sense of ownership, not just of their design, but of the learning.

TEACHER EXPECTATIONS

PREPARE

Prepare

Prepare

Stick to Pacing Guide

• Guides are paced to scaffold lessons
• New Mission Monday schedules lead to a weekly challenge

ENGAGE

• Use Whole Brain strategies to deliver engaging lessons

ASK

• If you don't know, ask!
• At trainings, ask questions if things are unclear.
• If you need help, ask!

ASK

• Ask students "what if..." questions.
• Use scientific vocabulary

We want staff and students to have a positive experience with STEAM.