A beehive of activity, perseverance aplenty, and a concrete model of understanding being produced, these are all part of this project focused on deepening an understanding of the equal sign. During the project, students collaboratively build a mobile using a dowel rod and recycled materials. The process is thoroughly engaging, and the materials are readily available. Through the process, they work with concepts in measuring, balance, equality, number sense, and equations. It lies at the perfect intersection of math, science, and engineering. The mobile is a concrete representation for the function of the equal sign in math, fulcrums in science, and design in engineering. It makes students confront the misconception that one side of the equation makes the other side, as opposed to the being equal. It also raises awareness of our need to recycle materials because of the sheer number of items that are brought in by the students over just a few days.
Bio: Kyle Radcliff is a 6th grade teacher in Chicago Public Schools. He has been teaching for 15 years and has Master’s degrees in Curriculum and Instruction and in Middle School Math. For the past 7 years, Kyle has been working to deepen student’s learning experiences by creating an environment steeped in relevant and engaging work. His newest adventure is bringing STEM instruction into the classroom.
Key Components for Ultimate STEM Lessons
William R. Brown
Kendra I. Mallory
Kyle Radcliff
Aurora Tyagi
Jeanettra Watkins
1) Safe classroom culture: Each lesson is dependent on students feeling confident that they can explore their ideas, make them public, and be supported in their efforts.
2) Simplistic: The lesson is easily set up and conducted in the classroom. Lessons also take familiar, readily available items and repurposes them to achieve educational goals.
3) Students explore through collaborative Inquiry-based learning. Each lesson allows students to deepen their understanding while participating in constructing their own knowledge through collaborative hands-on activities.
4) Relevant, real-world centered (careers, cross curricular): These lessons are applicable to everyday life and are pertinent for effective relational teaching. Therefore, the lessons empower and prepare students to be globally competitive.
5) Shift from concrete to abstract ideas: Children learn concrete concepts by interacting with their environment. Through hands-on activities, students can connect their environment to abstract ideas in the content.
Bio: Kyle Radcliff is a 6th grade teacher in Chicago Public Schools. He has been teaching for 15 years and has Master’s degrees in Curriculum and Instruction and in Middle School Math. For the past 7 years, Kyle has been working to deepen student’s learning experiences by creating an environment steeped in relevant and engaging work. His newest adventure is bringing STEM instruction into the classroom.
Key Components for Ultimate STEM Lessons
William R. Brown
Kendra I. Mallory
Kyle Radcliff
Aurora Tyagi
Jeanettra Watkins
1) Safe classroom culture: Each lesson is dependent on students feeling confident that they can explore their ideas, make them public, and be supported in their efforts.
2) Simplistic: The lesson is easily set up and conducted in the classroom. Lessons also take familiar, readily available items and repurposes them to achieve educational goals.
3) Students explore through collaborative Inquiry-based learning. Each lesson allows students to deepen their understanding while participating in constructing their own knowledge through collaborative hands-on activities.
4) Relevant, real-world centered (careers, cross curricular): These lessons are applicable to everyday life and are pertinent for effective relational teaching. Therefore, the lessons empower and prepare students to be globally competitive.
5) Shift from concrete to abstract ideas: Children learn concrete concepts by interacting with their environment. Through hands-on activities, students can connect their environment to abstract ideas in the content.