Strengthening the Core: Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM)

Transcription

1 Strengthening the Core: Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) Manor Independent School District David Surdovel, Executive Coordinator of STEM MPACT Back to School Professional Development Tuesday, August 19, 2014 & Wednesday, August 20, 2014

2 Agenda! 1. Norms & Icebreaker! 2. Moving Theory to Practice! 3. STEM Area Highlight! 4. Wrap Up & Reflection

3 Housekeeping & Norms! Norms:! Start and end on time! Use technology respectfully! Keep side conversations to a minimum! Maintain an open mind

4 Icebreaker - Conundrums! Conundrum (noun): A question asked for amusement, typically one with a pun in its answer; a riddle.! Also called 2-minute mysteries; Increases logical reasoning and lateral thinking.! Form groups - Volunteer receives stories. Take turns asking Yes or No questions. 20 question maximum.

5 Conundrum Explanations 1. Story: Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice all live in the same house. Bob and Carol go out to a movie, and when they return, Alice is lying dead on the floor in a puddle of water and glass. It is obvious that Ted killed her but Ted is not prosecuted or severely punished. Explanation: Alice is a goldfish; Ted is a cat. 2. Story: A man is afraid to go home because a man with a mask is there. Explanation: The man is on third base in a baseball game, and the man with the mask is the catcher. 3. Story: A man is found dead in a cabin on a hillside. Explanation: The man was found dead in the cabin of an airplane that had crashed on the hillside. 4. Story: A woman pushed her car past the hotel and smiled. Explanation: The woman is playing Monopoly, and she pushed her token (the car) past a hotel that was not hers. 5. Story: A man entered a large building, looked around, and then left. A few minutes later a police officer came in and arrested two people. Explanation: The building was a sports arena. The man s car had been stolen. In the car were two tickets to a game that night. The man showed up at the sports arena and found two people sitting in his seats. The police officer came in and arrested the two for car theft.

6 Conundrum Explanations 6. Story: There was a crash. A man cried out in horror. Explanation: The computer crashed causing the college graduate student to scream that they had lost their work. 7. Story: A man spends the night in a cemetery. He runs out when the son rises. Why? Explanation: The man is visiting his son s grave and grieves through the night. He runs away when his son rises from the grave as a ghost. 8. Story: A man is lying, dead, face down in the desert wearing a backpack. Explanation: He jumped out of an airplane, but his parachute failed to open. 9. Story: Adults are holding children, waiting their turn. The children are handed (one at a time, usually) to a man, who holds them while a woman shoots them. If the child is crying, the man tries to stop the crying before the child is shot. Explanation: Kids getting their pictures taken with Santa. 10. Story: A young woman is whisked away to a far off land, where she kills the first person she meets. Then she teams up with three others to kill again. Explanation: The young woman is Dorothy, and the story is The Wizard of Oz

7 Why conundrums? We need to ask questions to find out more about our students. Sometimes the answers might be different than what we expected. Conundrum Bonus! You are standing outside of a room. The room has no windows and one door that you cannot see around or through. Inside the room there is a lightbulb. Outside the room there are three light switches. You can only enter the room once and can only turn on 2 out of the 3 light switches.you have to determine which light switch (number 1, 2, or 3) turns on the light. How do you do it? Explanation: Check with me at the end of the day.

8 STEM & Inquiry How do we use the why?! Driving Question: How do we use the why to move theory to practice and help all students achieve in STEM?! Dan Meyer s 3 Acts :! Introduce the topic clearly with the least amount of words.!! Students look for resources & tools. Resolve the conflict and set up a sequel.

9 What question do you have?

10 Route A

11 Route B

12 Act 3

13 Reflection! How might this be different from traditional instruction?! How could this be used in different content areas?! How does the icebreaker connect with inquiry?! What characteristics do we want our students to have in STEM?! How does this method connect to Response to Intervention (RTI), Bilingual/ESL, Literacy, and 21 st Century Skills?

14 Bonus Conundrum Explanation! Turn on light switch #1.! Leave it on for an hour.! Turn it off and turn on switch #2.! Go into the room.! If the light is on, it is #2.! If the light is off, and it is cold to the touch, it is #3.! If the light is off, and it is warm/hot to the touch, it is #1.

15 Thank you!! Any other questions or feedback?! Contact: Office: (512) ! Website: