Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Global Impact STEM Academy Senior Receives Inaugural Waklatsi Service Scholarship

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Cooper Johnson, a graduate of the Global Impact STEM Academy class of 2023, has been awarded the first-ever Waklatsi Service Scholarship. The $500 scholarship recognizes Johson’s exceptional commitment to service and his dedication to making a positive impact in the community, and was established this year by Global Impact alumnus and current Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy, Kordell Waklatsi.

“Cooper was chosen as the recipient of the Waklatsi Service Scholarship because of his remarkable understanding of the importance of giving back to others,” said Waklatsi. “From an early age, he was an active participant in 4-H, which fostered his passion for community engagement. Inspired by his own experiences, Cooper became a camp counselor to ensure that other children have the opportunity to enjoy the same enriching camp experiences he had.”

In addition to his involvement in 4-H, Johnson has made significant contributions to the local Honor Flight program since his freshman year. Through this program, he has provided veterans with the opportunity to visit and pay their respects at memorials in Washington D.C., creating lasting memories for those who served this country.…Read More

5 fun STEM videos for hard-to-engage students

Key points:

  • STEM education can be challenging, but engaging tools can help
  • Explore these videos on various STEM topics, found on TED-Ed Lessons

STEM education is a critical topic for all students, but it’s also notoriously difficult to engage students in STEM topics–particularly as the content becomes more challenging. But with a few fun STEM videos, students might be a bit more interested in learning.

The videos below are all found on the TED-Ed platform. Educators can build lessons around any TED-Ed Original, TED Talk, or YouTube video. Once you find the video you want to use, you can use the TED-Ed Lessons editor to add questions, discussion prompts, and additional resources.…Read More

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4 ways to use ChatGPT in your STEM classroom

Key points:

  • ChatGPT isn’t a tool to be feared–it can contribute greatly to STEM learning
  • AI tools aren’t going away, and harnessing their capabilities is important

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.” – John Dewey

Back in 2007 when I was teaching Algebra I at the local middle school, the biggest question for mathematics teachers on our campus was whether students could use their calculators while doing classwork and on standardized tests.  A few years later, the discussion changed to an argument about the pros and cons of using a Desmos calculator on their classroom iPads.  Using Desmos was seen as being particularly egregious, as educators feared that students may have access to the internet and may surf the web while they should be learning or during summative assessments.  …Read More

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Why STEM is more important for students than ever

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) has long been a popular acronym in education circles. Providing teachers with the tools and techniques to deliver these subjects to students has never been more important. In this podcast, Lauren Tarshis, SVP Editor-in-Chief & Publisher, Classroom Magazine Division, Scholastic Magazines+, and Patty Janes, Vice President, Science, Math, and Art at Scholastic, break down how one of the world’s great curriculum providers approaches STEM subjects and provide insights on how teachers can integrate these concepts into everyday teaching and learning.

Can we make STEM more accessible for girls?

Are girls really underrepresented in STEM? Yes. 

In the U.S., the workforce is pretty evenly split between men and women, but in STEM fields men make up 73 percent of the workforce to women’s 27 percent. Why?

It’s easy to want to find a well-meaning solution for this disparity, or even to brush it off as unimportant. But achieving a gender parity in STEM fields (particularly computer science, engineering, and programmers, among others) isn’t just a feel-good social justice crusade. The number of open tech jobs far outpaces the population of traditionally qualified candidates—data projections have pointed to a global shortage of 85 million tech workers by 2030.

It’s not a matter of encouraging girls to pursue STEM programs just for the heck of it, to prove they can and earn a good paycheck—it’s a matter of graduating enough highly-skilled workers to meet economic demand.

Still, the imbalanced statistics for the genders in STEM are damning. What can K-12 schools do to play their part in preparing the next generation for a talent-hungry workforce?

…Read More

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Poor math scores could be a result of student burnout

With math scores falling globally, top high school math students point to academic burnout as a key factor. Among their recommended solutions to boost math performance? Tackle the root cause of burnout, get diversion through non-academic activities, and make STEM classes more applicable to everyday life.

That’s the finding of a survey of 16- to 18-year-olds in the U.S. and U.K. conducted in March by Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The survey gathered responses from 1,000 11th and 12th grade students from across the U.S. and sixth form students in England and Wales, as well as some of their teachers, to get their insights on the impact events of the last three years have had on math performance. The students queried are participants in this year’s MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge (M3 Challenge), an annual internet-based, intensive math modeling contest organized by SIAM.

“The poll shows that even top students have been struggling with school-related pressures, with 83 percent saying that they have experienced or somewhat experienced academic burnout in the last two years, and 32 percent saying their anxiety over math has increased,” said Dr. Karen Bliss, Senior Manager of Education and Outreach at SIAM. “Yet, rather than following the downward math performance trend, the majority still did well in math, with 35 percent landing even better math grades than previous years and 55 percent maintaining their average.”…Read More

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5 essential STEM education reads

STEM education is a critical part of a comprehensive K-12 education–it helps students build and improve critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and it teaches students to be persistent when presented with a challenge.

And while STEM education is essential, it’s not always accessible–underrepresented groups, including female students and minority students–often lose interest in STEM subjects as the subjects grow more challenging and as they move through school.

Representation is another obstacle to more ubiquitous STEM participation. When students don’t see STEM professionals who look like them represented in advertising, on TV and in movies, or in classroom resources, they have a harder time envisioning themselves in STEM careers.…Read More

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CoderZ Names Tony Oran as Chief Executive Officer

DERRY, N.H. – CoderZ, the award-winning, gamified, cloud-based robotics and STEM platform, has announced that Tony Oran is joining the company as its CEO in the USA.

Oran has extensive experience in sales, marketing as well as business leadership and development. He comes to CoderZ from Festo Didactic, the technical education equipment and solution provider where he held several executive positions, most recently vice president of sales for the company’s North America division. Before that, Oran was also director of strategic business development and partnerships.

Previously, Oran held multiple management roles at Festo Didactic’s parent company Festo Group, a worldwide supplier of automation technology, equipment, and solutions for industrial and technical education. Before Festo, he served as an operations leader for various companies.…Read More