Thank you for the support!!

Thank you! Yes, the Fellows have done a lot of work in vertical teams to build each others' STEM self-efficacy. All of the Fellow benefit from this collaborative work. Our elementary school Fellows are especially well versed in integration because it is a part of their daily practice-- we have all learned a great deal from them!  

Hi! Thank you for your question!

My name is Kiowa Garcia, one of the STEM Master Teacher Fellows. To support the 7th grade curriculum, we also sent out STEM Kits for two engineering projects. Although it took a lot of work and collaboration from many other teachers, we managed to prepare individualized kits for 85 students. It was well worth it. The pandemic made it extremely difficult for us to provide the much needed project-based inquiry science our students loved, so we decided to send it home to them. This increased engagement and participation during online instruction, and made science come to life for our learners!

Hello, I am one of the Fellows in this program. One of the best aspects of the Fellowship is the opportunity to share with our Fellows. We are able to share our ideas, current projects, and troubles. This has been very valuable. Currently, I am working on the FLORES project. My team consists of other non-fellow teachers in my school who are interested in STEM. There is a kindergarten teacher, a first grade teacher, and an ENL teacher. Other Fellows in my district have already implemented this project. It has been wonderful being able to collaborate with them, they have been very helpful to the implementation of FLORES in my school. Other teachers have noticed the work being done and have demonstrated interest to participate next year!

Thank you for your comment and question! I am sure one of our Fellows can share their experience directly, but from a research angle, we have observed an increased STEM self-efficacy for many of the Fellows in this work. While many of the Fellows came into this program already familiar with and leaders in STEM teaching, they have expanded their use of STEM integration. The examples shared in the video are just a few of the ways that the Fellows considered innovative ways of incorporating STEM concepts into their other core content areas (such as, ELA or social studies). 

As a STEM Fellow in the program I can attest to the slow but steady interest in incorporating more STEM activities throughout the curriculum. Each project is chosen so to integrate many aspects of the grade level standards within the first, second and third grade. They are also chosen based on the interests of the group. My students are excited ablut and actually ask for STEM activities everyday. Other educators have begun to inquire how best to include projects within their rooms. Change is slow but it is slowly coming. Students problem solve and hold accountable talk conversations supporting the work of one another.

Thank you for your question.  I am an elementary STEAM teacher and one of the Fellows in this program.  When I first started the program, I was more tentative when incorporating integrated, hands-on challenges and investigations.  I wondered how I would manage the student groups, their questions, the many materials, etc.  After going through this program and having the support of my professors and the other Fellows, I am far more comfortable with this work.  It is amazing to see the students working collaboratively again after more than a year of remote learning.  They are strengthening their problem solving, communication, and perseverance skills daily.  By the end of the year, students are able to develop and run their own investigations with minimal support from the teacher.

As one of the STEM Fellows I can speak to my projects which always include a writing component. I teach a multi-age classroom in a Montessori Public School grades1, 2, 3. My students and I come up with the ideas based on their interests. We share books on topics and write responses to the stories. Then groups are fromed to include all grades in each group and the students pick. I vary the process each time allowing the students to all have a chance and there is a nice blend of varying strengths and levels. The projects include planning sheets and at the end self assessments to suggest what could be done differently next time. Several years back I wrote a writing around Lego work where students designed a Lego display and wrote a story based on the creation. This work was also done in group. Students are with me for three years and I enjoy watching the growth as well as seeing their interests change over time. The astronaut we joined was a graduate of the Yonkers Public Schools and had attended school in our building years ago before it was Montessori and then went to the high school around the block. Students were motivated to write and ask questions which we sent in before his broadcast so it was a wonderful experience.

Thank you so much for your comment!

Thank you so much for your comments and questions. As a team of Noyce fellows, we meet once a month to discuss our projects and are provided with an opportunity for others to bounce ideas around. In addition, our Mercy professors provide professional development on how to facilitate these projects into our school building/district. In terms of the turnkey into the school buildings, it looked different in each school district on whether it happens during the day or after school, participating teachers funded through a separate program etc. Each of the fellows makes a tremendous effort to reach as many people within their building/district that want to be part of engaging students in STEM learning. 

Thank you for your comment and question! I hear from the Fellows many ways that they are maintaining some of the ideas that they implemented during the pandemic. I am sure they can provide specific examples here, but one of the elements that stands out most to me is the way that Fellows were able to continue pursuing collaborative STEM work that transitioned well even when the students returned to in person classes. At least two Fellows had students pair up to collaborate across contexts. In other words, if a student was in person, their partner would be attending class remotely so their work always bridged the two spaces. This surely helped when all students had to return to in person this past September.

Thank you for your question!

Actually this year, I decided to have our students participate in our yearly Science and Engineering STEM fair differently this year. We usually have students create and present in school, but this year new constraints were added! Students had to create their poster boards digitally, engineer solutions to problems while at home, collaborate with peers using technology, and present their findings using flipgrid to their fellow classmates. Even the judges will be viewing their flipgrid presentations, which were done at home. The added constraints mimicked virtual learning, even though we have physically transitioned back to school. This week we choose the winners, and I am excited to get feedback from the students. As I reflect on this new way of hosting this yearly event, I am pleased to report that students were not reluctant to use technologies to present, and it was a great way to incorporate computer literacy into the activity.