During the past two months, parents throughout the world have taken on the role of the classroom educator due to the COVID-19 pandemic and forcing the closures of schools. Educators have quickly adapted to bringing their lessons to an online learning format. However, it has not been an easy task for educators to provide quality, meaningful and engaging lessons for their students. It has come with great effort on educators’ parts to become educated on distance learning /remote learning best practices. The 2019-2020 school year has come to an end for many across the globe but learning must stay alive during the summer. I would hope to see K-12 students continuing their learning throughout the summer with having opportunities to explore science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Perhaps one of my favorite STEM investigations to introduce teachers and students to is during my STEM workshops is “deconstructing gadgets and tinkering”. As individuals are given the task to thoroughly analyze a broken household gadget or toy they are strengthening their 21st-century skills, nurturing their curiosity, and being introduced to engineering careers. Furthermore, an item that was destined for the trash, and eventually the landfill becomes a great resource for a meaningful STEM-based learning experience. Deconstructing gadgets and tinkering is ideal for home settings as well as classrooms since broken and outdated electronics and gadgets are readily available in almost all homes. Gather the necessary tools to take the gadget apart, a pair of safety goggles, a ruler, some tape, poster board or cardboard, journal, and writing utensils and you are ready to dive into deconstructing gadgets. I will be conducting a free one hour STEM webinar on Tuesday, June 9th, at 2:00 pm ET USA via Zoom “Engineering At Home: Deconstructing Gadgets and Tinkering.” The webinar is free, registration is required. The webinar is geared for educators and parents of K-5 students however, the content can be modified for upper grades as well. Participants will be introduced to inquiry-based practices, the engineering design process, reverse engineering, tinkering, and more. This is an interactive webinar, participants will be asked to have a broken gadget as well as a few other supplies that they will use during the webinar. To register for the free STEM webinar on Zoom click here.

To give you an idea of what participants will be undertaking within the confines of their own home as they partake in the STEM webinar check out the video below of a deconstructing and tinkering session I conducted at a local public library. We are in a time where many parents, educators, and students are overwhelmed but it’s also a time where we can bring about positive changes in the way we engage students in the learning process at school and home.