In early Spring I traveled to beautiful Sunnyside Washington to introduce early childhood teachers of Inspire Development Centers to STEM practices and content. During the two day STEM training 50 School Readiness Liaison and Early Head Start Teachers were introduced to foundational principles of STEM education and content appropriate for early childhood classrooms. The second day of training introduced the School Readiness Liaison Teachers to STEM explorations that can be incorporated in Family STEM programs and at home. Throughout the two-day training teachers were actively engaged in conducting inquiry-based STEM explorations from building with recycled materials to conducting STEM explorations outside, water science, incorporating affordable and meaningful technology, incorporating children’s literature within STEM lessons, journaling for preschoolers, and more. It was a great group of dedicated educators who will go onto share what they learned during the training with their students and their parents, making a positive impact on the children of the Migrant Workers and the community. Check out some of the photos taken during the two training.
Tag: 21stcentury
Teaching STEM Through Children’s Literature Training for 21st CCLC Staff
I had the pleasure of presenting at the 2018 Promising Practices- Proven Strategies Extra Learning Opportunities Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The conference was open to schools with established 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC). I conducted a session entitled “Teaching STEM Through Children’s Literature“, the session was designed for afterschool staff working with 3rd-5th graders. During the three-hour workshop participants were introduced to approximately sixty plus STEM-themed children’s titles that are ideal for incorporating within STEM lessons. Titles included many from the NSTA list of Outstanding STEM Trade Books for 2017-2018. Participants conducted numerous hands-on-minds-on, inquiry-based STEM investigations during the training from materials science, to reverse engineering, engineering journaling, and exploring electricity-based kits and more.. Throughout the nation afterschool programs are continuing to incorporate more STEM experiences for the students within their programs. From conducting building engineering challenges to robotics STEM is making its way into afterschool programs. For more information about the conference check out the following link. The following photos were taken during the hands-on-minds-on, inquiry-based workshop. For more information about scheduling STEM professional staff development for 21st CCLC Staff and K-12 teachers complete the Contact Form on Contact Page.