STEM

1. Inquiry Based Learning is essential: student interest increases, student achievenment scores flourish.

2. Is there no place for direct teaching? Do musicians practice their scales, do athletes practice their drills?

3. TL's: Promoting, highlightening STEM books, resources for students and staff. Coordinating, designing Maker Spaces.TL's play a critical role in developing a schools STEM culture.

4. Why not have decicated STEM Teachers? Should we make TLs full time and half their day they would specialize in STEM activities? Can we afford not to invest in STEM? What countries do it best? What are their best practices? Should it be put directly in the Ontario Curriculum. Should we not set provincial or national standards for STEM.

5. TL's can create workshops, competitions, enter robotic and other competitions

6. Constructivism is basically a theory -- based on observation and scientific study -- about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and" knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. WNET-Education

7. Leadership to drive the STEM program is essential.

8. Library/Learning Commns should be the hub of STEM at schools. TL's need to experts in information: apps, resources.

9. Teaching STEM in various ways should be done in K to 8 schools right into highschool and then at the university level.

10. Creating a STEM culture requires a total team approach.

11. Science Technology Engineering and Math. Some preferto include the Arts. I personally think it is essential.

12. More schools value maker spaces. It is becoming a common term in most most boards.

13. Students investigate and create solutions to real problems.

14. TL's create partnerships with private and public organizations. Tap into free resources. Many organizations will come into schools to work with students. ie. IBM

15. TL's need to invite speakers: engineers, scientists, web developers

16. Change has to start somewhere: why not with us!