6th grade STEM
What is stem, and how is it different?Simply put, STEM is an acronym stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. But it is more than just that. STEM is an approach to learning that you will hopefully see is different that most other classes. STEM classrooms focus on allowing students to learn concepts without fear of failure, to learn using a hands-on approach and to learn in ways that may be different than a "normal" classroom.
In this class this trimester, we will mainly be focusing on the "S" and "E" parts of STEM with some focus on the "M" as well. Some of the lessons will have specific instructions so that you can learn the basic concepts, but some of the other lessons will allow you the ability to come up with your own solutions to problems, your own ways to solve the problem. The biggest things to remember about STEM and our classroom is that getting the "Right" answer is not always as important as figuring out why you may have gotten the "Wrong" answer. It is completely possible and probable that you can learn as much getting things "Wrong" as you may if you got things "Right." And that is what is important to remember - mistakes often teach us as much as successes. |
Legos and our classroomIn our class this trimester, we are going to have two different distinct components, both involing Legos.
The first part of the class will focus on using the Lego Simple and Powered Machines kits as well as the Pneumatics expansion sets. These sets focus on learning Engineering concepts by moving through a series of activities that have you learn basic concepts of science. We start with learning more about Simple Machines and Mechanisms, and then we move on to applying those concepts to problem-based activities As we move further along in the course we then introduce the concepts of Pneumatics, which is the use and study of air to use in mechanical situations. And then the final parts of the Simple and Powered Machines part of the course will focus on open-ended activities where you apply these concepts to solve problems. When we move on from the S&P Machines part of the course, we then will focus on using the Lego EV3 Robotics kits. In this final part of the course we will have the opportunity to learn the basics of robotic programming and how to accomplish a series of tasks. |
Gamification and our classroomGamification is defined as "the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity." This basically means that you are applying the concepts of playing video games to something else. And that is exactly what we are going to do in this classroom this year - we are going to treat this classroom like a big video game.
There will be several ways that this will show up in our classroom this year:
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