STEM is so much more than an acronym; it is a mindset. Eduscape makes it simple to support this stance and 130 New Jersey educators, administrators and other school personnel couldn’t agree more. Attendees at the STEM Made Simple Summit explored ideas, resources and shared experiences integrating STEM throughout the curriculum.
Successful STEM programs do not start by simply investing in boxes of products, nor by purchasing expensive labs with pre-packaged curriculum. The very essence of the STEM process is to enable open-ended design, engineering and coding explorations by students that can be aligned across content areas; and, by empowering ALL teachers to be STEM educators.
“The sessions helped me change the way I view STEM and STEM education. The entire event was so well organized and of excellent quality,” said Theresa, a school librarian from East Greenwich Township, NJ.
Benedicta, a special education teacher from Newark added “It was a great pleasure to have had the opportunity to attend this workshop. It opened my eyes to the possibilities of incorporating STEM into all my lessons.”
Hosted by SHI in its Executive Conference Center in Somerset, NJ, STEM Made Simple’s opening session was presented by Dr. Christopher Caton, Director of Curriculum & Instruction for the Moon Area School District.
John Henry, iSTEAM Director at the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) presented Are You I-STEAM Ready, a breakout session, and demonstrated a STEAM Tank. Created and sponsored by NJSBA and the U.S. Army, STEAM Tank is modeled after the popular television show, Shark Tank. It provides an opportunity for student teams to identify, imagine, design, create and demonstrate their great ideas and inventions that will make a difference in our world.
Hands-on sessions were presented by Eduscape’s experienced team of educators as well as special guests Dr. Ned Sheehy, Technology Teacher, Randolph Township Schools; Cynthia Cassidy, Middle School Librarian, Warren Middle School in Warren Township and Chris Klein, Education Specialist from Class VR.
The day’s topics included Leading and Planning STEM, Aligning STEM to Standards, Coding in Early Education and Elementary School, Integrating the 5Es, Screen-Free Coding with Ozobot, Minecraft – Learning the Craft, and more.
If you are interested in hosting a STEM Made Simple Summit in your area, contact us today at info@eduscape.com
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