Escape the Ordinary - Steps for Engagement

Our students have a variety of challenges that may prohibit them from participating in STEM courses. These obstacles can range from not having access, personal or external misconceptions about STEM, lack of support, or overwhelming events that take them away from school work. Many of our students are multilingual, are below grade level academically, have unstable home lives, or other struggles. The idea of the STEM Fair was to make it accessible for all to participate in their best capacity. The list below highlights the specific steps we took to increase engagement from all learners.

Providing different formats for ALL stages

This includes introducing the STEM Fair (slideshow on Apple TV, individually on iPads, flyers) visually and auditory. Students were able to do a science experiment project or they could do a research project. There was flexible choice on how to complete the project or presentation. More differentiation examples can be seen below in the differentiation and personalization component.

Delivery of instruction in multiple formats

Students learned about the STEM Fair in various ways to hit all types of learners. We discussed it with visuals on large and individual screens, talked out loud in class and at conferences, conveyed through hands-on explorations, flyers, and more. Our learners do better when they have multiple opportunities to soak up information and ask questions or clarification at a later date. Students can also deliver and research their projects in any formats from powerpoints, podcasts, poster board, etc.

Supplies provided: materials, board, time (during and after school)

Our school did fundraising and utilized grants to fund students to be able to complete the STEM Fair. This included providing boards, material (for experiments and posters), and other items that may need. Some families may need extra help in providing for their students to fully dive into STEM and areas that they are interested in. We are eliminating this barrier by allowing access to whatever they may need within reason. Some students could not stay after-school for transportation or other obligations, so we did during and after-school preparations time to research and complete their projects.

Another way to increase buy-in for students and stakeholders to partake in STEM is to involve the stakeholders more. We did this by making all the material and information readily available to them through conferences, newsletters, and flyers. Several educators and students went to local businesses to involve them in the process by mentoring student projects, volunteering for after-school preparation, visiting during the fair, and donating supplies. Stakeholders such as families were involved by helping their learners prepare, flexible fair hours so they could attend, and vote on displays. As the community members had the opportunity to actively interact with learners, their creations/ideas, and understand why they are doing it -- their engagement will easily increase. The aforementioned challenges that deter engagement have been discussed and resolved, giving them very little to worry about. In the subtle ways to increase involvement, students will be more likely to participate and have positive attitudes towards STEM.

DIFFERENTIATION AND PERSONALIZATION OPPORTUNITIES :

Topics to research or experiment (unlimited choice as long as it follows the safety guidelines)
Presentation Formats (trifold, podcast, slideshow, research paper, drawing, etc. as long as approved by science teacher)
Independently or group work
Support provided at different capacities, community members helped those who needed guidance
Had examples to model and Student Resource page
Virtually, physically, or mix of both for their presentations (type or handwrite)
Encouraged to tie to something that they are interested in or connected too
Many different formats of presenting materials and for them to complete it
Made their projects unique with supplies and art material
Modified rubric to fit all student presentations and needs
Multiple locations to retrieve resources, tools, and support

A STEM Fair has so many opportunities for our learners to make real-world connections and applications. A few examples of this is that they are taking control of their own learning. The students can work individually or in small group to research experiments or items that have significance in the STEM world. Many of our students chose modern day challenges for the research and the experimentation projects followed the up to date engineering design process. Both of these strategies incorporate students using 21st Century Skills. With the idea of students being able to "essentially" do whatever they want and research things that they are interested in, the engagement skyrockets. They make more meaningful and deeper connections and are contributing back to the community with their findings and projects. The real-world application is clear as these learners are actively participating in processes that will occur beyond the classroom and encourage them to pursue STEM. The largest real-world application thought is what the learners DISCOVERED THROUGH THEIR RESEARCH OR EXPERIMENT. This is what they are contributing beyond them and class. The information that they discover can have a real and important impact depending on what they pursue. This idealization can lead to real change when learners are guided and take control of their own learning during the STEM Fair process.