LEARNING THEORY
PEDAGOGYGuided Discovery is central to the pedagogy of LA STEM Stories. We believe that students benefit from discovery, explorations, and guided experiences in inquiry that lead to more open opportunities to solve STEM challenges. In discovery, teachers direct the students by providing specific procedures for exploration. These processes yield opportunities for students to observe and draw conclusions about their findings. Differences in background and age of the students create a developmental difference in the degree of needed scaffolding.
Having developed some experience with processes and concepts developed in the lessons, students ultimately have the confidence and ability to ask their own questions, seek their own methods of problem solving, and engage in self-evaluation of their work. Inquiry is encouraged in each unit through either lesson extensions or through engineering challenges. The aim is to help students become independent STEM problem solvers, project managers and evaluators of products—highly desirable qualities for the future STEM professional.
