I can create a more inclusive classroom environment for students by ensuring all students are respectful to each other's needs. One important way to do this would be leading by example: make sure to make an active effort to make students feel heard. This (discerning a particular student's needs so that you can make them feel heard) might be hard the first time you meet a student, but over time I believe it is important to recognize what each individual student needs and make an effort to make the classroom respond as such. Some students last year needed quiet working, but others needed group work, so we would frequently have lessons that had both group and individual sections that both types would enjoy. Some students were more quiet/shy than others, so we would start each class off with a quick recap on brainstorming so that those students felt more comfortable sharing their ideas even if they thought the ideas were "bad." However, to truly lead by example one must show other students that you care about each person's needs. We did this by trying to talk to everyone in the class individually at least once per class, not only to hear their needs but demonstrate to everyone that we cared. Sometimes, it would just be a simple "wow, that looks so good," but other times we would learn valuable information about what those kids needed (e.g. "I don't even know where to start" -> we would adapt the lesson to include more checkpoints; "it's too loud" -> we would tell other students to quiet down; "I'm bored. I would rather do ..." -> we try to see if we can make the lessons more exciting to that group in the future).
Student Engagement Strategies
One student engagement strategies that I personally use is group work and collaboration. Especially in a summer camp context, many students enjoy working with their peers much more than by themselves, which leads them to be much more engaged in the lesson itself. I also encourage students to share their work, if they are comfortable. Especially with younger students it starts a chain reaction where students are more comfortable sharing their own ideas if others share theirs. In the lessons I design, I like to include as many checkpoints as reasonably possible. Not only does this ensure the entire class is on the same page, making instruction easier, it also makes the task less daunting to students. Some student engagement strategies that I could work on incorporating into my teaching and lessons are better engaging with students' interests, getting students moving as part of the lesson, and asking questions that drive student engagement and rich discussions.
Current Trends for Kids 6-10
Kids 6-10 are excited about 5 main groups: video games, collecting, creativity, STEM, and outdoor play. Some specific examples include Minecraft and other creative focused games, Roblox games, consuming media through YouTube and streaming platforms, trading and collecting things like Pokémon cards, sports cards, plush collectibles like Squishmallows, hands-on play such as building with LEGO sets, arts and crafts (like slime and bracelet kits), drawing, designing their own worlds or characters, beginner robotics kits, coding games, simple science experiments that make learning feel interactive and fun, riding bikes and scooters, playing sports, creating backyard obstacle courses, and exploring outside with friends.
Engaging Teacher
My science teacher in middle school is one of the teachers who has kept me most engaged. Looking back, she used many strategies to make her lessons engaging. One strategy was blending classroom style learning with hands on experiments. For example, to teach covalent bonding, she described the sharing of electrons but also showed us how electricity can be used to "rip apart" these covalent bonds in the electrolysis of water. Many times, the lesson would also start with an engaging hook as well, such as showing how magnesium powder was used as a camera flash to demonstrate an exothermic reaction.
Intro/Be the Machine
This lesson is targeted towards younger students (likely those at or below third grade) as seen through its imagination heavy content and its proper use of the subjunctive mood. It involves drawing and sharing rather than building things like older students may enjoy (grades three through five). To adapt this lesson for these students, I might add on a segment to be the machine where students are able to build their machines, or a portion of those machines, using cardboard, legos, lego motors, etc.
Harry the Puffball
I feel like this lesson is targeted towards a middle age group (maybe second to fourth grade). The fact that the premise of the lesson is keeping a puffball safe form a dust bunny might not engage older students (those in fifth grade and above), whereas the competitive aspect of the lesson might not appeal to those below the second grade. To adapt the lesson to this younger group, I might remove the competitive aspect and replace it with a show and tell aspect that demonstrates that peer review is an important part of the engineering process.
Spaghetti and Marshmallow Challenge
This lesson is more suited to older students (those above grade three) due to the dexterity required to place brittle spaghetti into the marshmallows. Since it is a challenge, younger students may also not be as engaged. To adapt this lesson to appeal to younger students I might make it more like Harry the Puffball.
Paper Airplanes
This lesson is suited for all of the age groups covered by STEM Ambassadors (kindergarten through sixth grade) through adapting the lesson. Younger students enjoy making a simple paper airplane, often with adult help, and then coloring it. Older students enjoy competing to make the the plane that flies furthest or fastest, as well as folding and sharing their complex designs. The main challenge with this lesson is ensuring that the kids, especially older ones, handle the paper airplanes safely and do not throw them at each other.
Balloon Cars
This lesson is best for older kids (those in second or third grade and above) as it involves using hot glue, cutting cardboard with scissors, and being able to blow up a balloon (which I also can't do so I just use a pump). Most challenges in this lesson come from adapting it to the younger end of that range (kids in second or third grade). Because we would hot glue all of the wheels for the kids, it would take a long time for the kids to finally be able to use their cars.
Make a Compass
This lesson is best suited for older kids (fourth through sixth grades) because it involves sharp needles that are easy to lose and easy for younger kids to swallow. It also involves water, which younger kids struggle keeping inside the container. To adapt this lesson for younger kids, the compass could become a teacher-done demonstration and the kids could make their own "compasses" out of cardboard.
Map-Making
This lesson is more suited for younger kids as it involves drawing and imagination. However, the lesson could be adapted for older kids by giving them a ruler and telling them to map out a specific area to a specific scale + a possible competition element with a reference map of the area.
Scratch Jr./Scratch
Both of these lessons center around scratch. Because of the two editions (Scratch and Scratch Jr) this lesson works for all age groups, but younger students often will struggle a little more than older ones and need a little more help. Overall I think this lesson is best done when it can be stretched into two (or more) days because it takes many students a long time to learn the basics, but they still have ideas of things they want to make that can't quite be finished in one day.
Code a Dance/Loopy Dance
This lesson is best suited for younger students. It involves creating a dance and creating clear instructions to reproduce it which is a helpful precursor for writing code for the robots later in the week, but ultimately not that engaging for older students because their motor skills and communication skills are more developed such that this task is trivial for them. In my opinion loopy dance and code a dance should be taught as one lesson, but with both older students are bored.
Makey Makey
Last time I taught makey makey we made our own lesson because this game is not really engaging for any age group. It is targeted towards older kids I think, but they get bored after a while, where younger kids don't have as developed of a sense of rhythm so they aren't as good and become frustrated. We do makey makey as a two day activity where the first day is purely testing conductivity and the second day is playing games (for younger students) and making games (for older students). Because this builds on scratch lessons usually we would teach scratch (just the basics, not as in depth as in the lesson) at the end of the first day for older students because they become bored more quickly.
Sphero
This lesson can be well adapted to any age group. I think as is the lessons are a bit long which is a drawback. The older students get bored with drawing letters though and enjoy the later parts (eg maze) more, while the younger students are often satisfied with drawing letters but need more help/encouragement with it.
Invent an Animal
At Heinz, we love this lesson for second grade and below. Kids really enjoy inventing their own animal. Older kids are obviously bored with it, though. I have no criticisms.
Owl Pellet Dissection
This lesson is intended for older students who won't put things in their mouths and can be trusted with blunt tools (maybe third or fourth grade and above). We haven't done this lesson yet because it is difficult to obtain enough owl pellets for a full class but it seems fun.
Zoo Habitat
We also love zoo habitat at Heinz. This lesson is also mostly for younger students as it involves imagination and building which older students are quickly bored of. Often we do creating zoo exhibits for the animal the student invented last time.
Dash Robots
This lesson is good for any grade, like sphero. Older students sometimes become bored but other than that it is an age appropriate lesson easily adapted to any group (younger students just don't get as far in the obstacle courses we build).
Hurricane-Proof structures
We find that this lesson is best for older kids because many younger kids don't like seeing their towers fall. Older kids enjoy the competition overall but it is hard to make it "fair" in their eyes so we often drop the water part and just use air to represent a hurricane. Also, as I've said earlier, the kids (and fan!) don't do a great job keeping water inside the bins.
My experience last year was good overall. I learnt a lot about how I deal with people and how to exude confidence when teaching. Memorable moments for me were making my own lessons for the kids. They really enjoyed having a say in what they did rather than just being told what to do so that is something I hope to continue doing. It was also memorable to see how each student learned differently and responded to different things better than others, and I found it interesting learning how to deal with that. I struggled with getting every kid interested, and I struggled with acting like I knew what was going on even when I didn't. I want to learn more about what makes a good lesson. Last year, for most of the time, I just taught the premade lessons, but I really want to learn how to make lessons quickly while also making them more enjoyable. I also want to learn how to better get the attention of kids.
I am Nathan Chu, a student at Fox Chapel High School interested in science and technology. Right now, my hobbies include being on an FRC team (3260) and rowing. I learned to program in 2020 which was the start of my interest in computer science. I want to be able to teach things to others so that they may discover their own interests in STEM, whether in computers or not.
- What is something that you think will be invented in the near future, and how will it improve peoples' lives?
- Make a Rube Goldberg machine with only the materials you can find around the classroom.
- Take something very simple in the classroom, and ask students how they think it is made. For example, for a bottle of hand sanitizer, ask students how they think the pump works.
- Zooming out- find a picture of something STEM related and zoom in. Have students guess what it could be, and zoom out after each incorrect guess.
- Maybe when introducing students, have them talk about their STEM identity (e.g. "I'm Nathan and I enjoy engineering")
- Breaking down something complex. Come up with a topic of something advanced (a rocket for example), and have students discuss what systems work together and how they work together.
- Try to come up with the worst invention you could think of. The goal with this would be to build a culture of learning by encouraging good brainstorming.
- Iteration circle (to help with teaching engineering design process and encourage good brainstorming and collaboration) - students are put into groups and draw an invention on a piece of paper. After a few minutes the papers rotate and the next group cannot erase anything- they can only add to the design. The resulting designs are shown at the end.
- Video games (minecraft, roblox)
- Superheroes (Marvel)
- Lego
- Pokemon
Harry the Puffball (60 min)
0-5m Talk about classroom rules and growth mindset. Ask questions to engage students as needed. Make sure students understand it is okay to fail and that they should learn from failure.
5-15m Questions about the upside down house. Encourage all students to ask questions and make sure everyone has a chance to ask one.
15-25m Split students into groups and have them brainstorm. Encourage everyone to contribute to the process and give time warnings so that each group settles on a design toward the end.
25-40m Students use the engineering-design process to iterate on their designs.
40-50m We have a discussion on what approaches worked and didn't. Groups reflect on their own designs and on other groups' designs.
50-55m The designs are measured and students vote on which they like the best.
55-60m Clean up
For a culture of learning, I would want to ensure that every student feels comfortable with failure. This idea is part of having a growth mindset- something I would like to encourage for students. Failure can be very discouraging, and I feel like it will be a challenge to teach students to use their failures to improve in the next iteration of their project. I would also like to encourage students to brainstorm. I think it might be difficult to have all students feel comfortable participating in brainstorming, especially if they feel like their ideas are "bad."
To address these challenges, I have ideas for tools which can help to solve them and encourage a culture of learning:
To help students have a growth mindset and learn from failure, I could devote a section at the end of each class where students talk about things that didn't work. To make it fun for the students, my tool would be a ball that students could throw around. The ball would be covered in stickers, and when a student describes something that didn't work and how they fixed it, they would add a sticker to the ball. This shows students who are less comfortable with failure that everyone fails, and that they can learn from it.
To help with encouraging brainstorming, I could make an "ideas box" out of a recycled cardboard box. Each student would have to put an idea (or more than one) on a sticky note into the box, and they will be randomly placed on a table when all students are done so that the authors remain anonymous. This allows less comfortable students to participate in the brainstorming process, and hopefully learn that their ideas aren't "bad." Instructors would still have to play an active role in ensuring that any criticism is constructive.
I liked that the mint tea lesson was well explained and very easy to follow. I especially liked the note that an instructor would be making a cup of mint tea along with the students to better explain it. I think that this would be an effective method for me if I were learning how to make a cup of tea. However, I think the lesson could benefit from the students being put into groups. This makes it easier for the instructor to manage the classroom, especially when kids could burn themselves with the hot stove or boiling water. Assigning tasks to each student in the group could make the lesson more manageable to students who are making tea for the first time while still ensuring that each student plays an active role.
I will be teaching Java (the programming language) and targeting people who have little to no experience programming.
This quick 30 minute lesson covers output to the console via System.out.println, int and double variables, and the operators +, -, *, and /.
Further lessons could include manipulating strings, handling user input, and using arrays.
0:00 - 0:05
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("hello");
// this is a comment
}
}
Output:
hello
The first 5 minutes of the lesson will be spent explaining the basic structure of the code above, specifically the System.out.println("hello"); line, and what comments are.
Students should understand that the code inside main is run when the program runs, but do not need to understand other aspects (e.g. classes).
If students have access to computers they will be able to write a program which prints whatever they want.
0:05 - 0:10
5 minutes will be spent to cover basic arithmetic operators (+, -, *, /) and using them with variables of type int.
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int variableName = 1;
// creates a variable, `variableName`, which stores the value 1
// we can update a variable as well
variableName = 2;
// the variable `variableName` now refers to the number 2
// we can add, subtract, multiply, and divide using +, -, *, and /
// parenthesis are used to group operations
// when using int, dividing rounds down
variableName = (3 + 4) / 5;
System.out.println("variableName is now:");
System.out.println(variableName);
}
}
The teacher can ask the class what variableName is and explain why it is 1 if needed (not 1.4).
0:10 - 0:20
In the next 10 minutes students will work on a project.
Given a user's age in months, print whether their age in years (round down).
Students will start with the following code:
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int ageInMonths = 122;
// your code here
// expected output: 10
}
}
Answer:
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int ageInMonths = 122;
int ageInYears = ageInMonths / 12;
System.out.println(ageInYears);
}
}
Once students reach this, move on to the next portion which will introduce if statements.
The program should print whether the user is an adult (≥ 18 years).
This will be done as a group, and eventually the following will be written
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int ageInMonths = 122;
int ageInYears = ageInMonths / 12;
System.out.println(ageInYears);
if (ageInYears >= 18) {
// adult
System.out.println("Adult");
} else {
System.out.println("Not Adult");
}
}
}
0:20 - 0:30
It will be explained that int variables cannot store values that are not integers and doubles are commonly used to store numbers which may or may not be integers.
The teacher will explain the the following code in detail:
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
double variableName = (3.5 + 4.5) / 5.0;
System.out.println(variableName);
}
}
Output:
1.6
Then, given the formula 1.8c + 32 = f, students write a program to convert celsius to fahrenheit.
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
double celsius = 22;
// your code here
// expected output: 71.6
}
}
An example answer:
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
double celsius = 22;
double fahrenheit = 1.8 * celsius + 32.0;
System.out.println(fahrenheit);
}
}