Lisa Dick
Don’t you just LOVE when a student has an ah-ha moment while digging deep in their newest STEM project? That moment when the light bulb not only turns on but shines so bright that the student is glowing? Those are some of my fondest memories as a teacher, and I am finding the same to be true as an educational consultant especially when we are discovering ways to integrate STEM in the classroom.
Classrooms are filled with a variety of learning styles, experiences, strengths, and challenges, and the same is true for our school’s faculty lounge. That is actually one of the things I miss most about my daily teaching routine. The collaboration and unification that actually strengthens not only a particular activity or project but YOU, yourself as a teacher. Luckily, before I left teaching, I had already built an awesome PLN, personal learning network. This expanded my collaboration beyond the faculty lounge walls to include awesome educators around the world. This same PLN, which of course includes numerous lifetime friends from my career, is how I continue to grow through collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking! The same 21st-century skills we want to promote in for our students.
Last week, I was scrolling through the fabulous twitterverse and ran across this tweet from Laura Fleming
I always love to find a new way to integrate literacy and was curious about her take on expanding a book’s universe. Little did I know that one little blurb would be my own ah-ha moment
Excerpt from Laura Fleming’s Expanding a Book’s Universe post
So together we looked for ‘cheese holes’, or spaces in the story that allow the audience to participate in, contribute further to, and augment the original story using their own intelligence and imagination. Much of the time, these spaces are left intentionally by authors who leave gaps in their stories so that readers can interpret and mash up;…
#Look4CheeseHoles STEM Strategy
That’s it! What a fabulous way to look for STEM integration opportunities. On a regular basis, I am approached by an educator with a desire to integrate STEM but no clue where to begin. Now, those of you that know me, know that my brain is overflowing with ideas, but that doesn’t come naturally to everyone much like how American History and Geography don’t come naturally to me:) One of my absolute favorite things about my job is sharing and collaborating ideas that will directly impact students. I love empowering teachers with strategies, ideas, and resources they can use to continue to grow on their own. What happens when the “how can I get started…” conversation isn’t during a professional development or course? What if it is a brief passing in an elevator? How can you empower a teacher in a 5-minute conversation? That is where the #look4cheeseholes strategy comes in with a little STEM twist!
Teachers and/or students can #look4cheeseholes in a variety of literature from blogs to primary resources to textbooks. Then they #look4cheeseholes, spaces in the literature that allows the audience to participate, contribute, augment, and INNOVATE! What a fabulous strategy to find STEM opportunities in existing or new content.
I don’t know how Laura’s blog post from 2013 didn’t already get the #look4cheeseholes hashtag treading, but it should be! Try it. Grab something you love to teach or one of those lessons that just isn’t a fav and #look4cheeseholes. I would love to hear what you find!
