STEM Collaboration Stations: Experiences That Support Agency, Personalization and 21st Century Learning

Purpose & objective

The purpose of this session is to provide a learning environment using centers not to demonstrate how to specifically use centers in an early childhood classroom but to immerse participants in the practice of using centers to allow for personalization of learning outcomes related to learning outcomes. The use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning centers will allow early childhood educators to associate with their current classroom learning environment while showcasing an opportunity to integrate STEM content, aligned with other appropriate grade-level content, and best practices for motivating students by facilitating feelings of agency and ownership of learning.

Early childhood educators teach Prekindergarten to 2nd grade children and recognize that young children learn best when they are engaged in play using hands-on activities. STEM centers encourage students to practice the 21st century skills of creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking while completing hands-on activities. As such, educators need to offer young children opportunities to independently, and in small groups, engage in center activities intentionally designed to support 21st century skills. Center learning activities allow students to discover and demonstrate their personalized understanding of learning outcomes. To understand how STEM learning activities provide opportunities for educators to introduce STEM content in a non-siloed manner while also allowing children to choose other grade-appropriate content standards that demonstrate their mastery of a learning outcome, see Table 1.

Unable to upload Table 1 and when copying and pasting the table all the formatting is gone so it doesn't make sense without the three-column and 10-row format.

The specific learning objectives (LO) for participants attending this session are:
1. To leverage technology as a way to discover how they can improve practice in creating an appropriate digital learning environment for 21 century learners using STEM centers.
2. To collaborate with colleagues as they discover how to use a variety of digital tools to represent their understanding of a STEM activity’s learning outcome.
3. To recognize the need to create a digital learning environment that encourages student agency, communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking using both independent and small-group activities.

The types of digital tools participants will be able to use after attending this session will relate to leveraging technology in LO1 and collaboration using a variety of digital tools in LO2. The participants will be allowed to use any app they want to use to demonstrate mastery of the two learning outcomes listed in Table 1. However, the participants will be guided in writing using images and words about how to use these digital tools as well as including a QR code that leads to an audio or video recording: Chatterpix Kids, Jamboard, Flip, and GSlides, and by the presenters for these digital tools: CodeSpark Academy and Greenscreen.

Since only two centers will have a person monitoring the ability of participants to use a digital tool, LO2 will be achieved through collaboration and co-learning with colleagues at the other centers. Any need for repetition of how to use new digital tools will be completed through communication and collaboration with another participant since the presenters plan to walk around to every center in the time allowed for participating in each center activity. Co-learning and collaborating are described in Collaborator 2.4.b. in the ISTE Standards for Educators document so this is an important skill for all participants to practice or experience.

Lastly, the participants will be asked to post their learning outcomes from their participation at each center on a GSlides collective document for all participants to access from home after the conference in support of LO1, LO2, and LO3. The GSlides collective document will make it easier for participants to remember how to implement a digital learning environment using STEM centers, the strengths of each digital tool practiced, and the importance of leveraging technology to increase children’s practice of 21st century skills.

A copy of printed lesson plans using Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will be provided at each STEM center for participants to use while working at each center and to take with them (although digital copies will be included in the GSlides collective document for them also). There will be a lesson for two grade levels for each learning outcome to cover all grade levels from PreK-2nd grade at each center. The directions for learning how to use Chatterpix Kids, Jamboard, Flip, and GSlides will be created using each tool to explain how to use the tool but paper documents with images will also be included in case someone has technical issues or just wants the information provided in a different modality. The electronic links to the recordings for how to use each tool will be accessed through QR codes available on the table and shown on the projection screen during the session. The entire presentation will be created using GSlides with blank slides for where the collective document will live so that when the session is over the participants will have all the information and resource links shared with them in one electronic format.

The evidence of success for this session will be participants' active engagement while working at centers, the collaboration among colleagues to complete their demonstrations of the learning outcomes using a digital tool, and the collective document created showing everyone’s learning during the session. Additionally, we will ask participants to complete a GForm as an Exit Ticket using a Two Stars and One Wish format. Participants will provide qualitative descriptions of what they feel they learned (two stars) and one description of what they still have a question about (one wish) which allows us to follow up with anyone who has a lingering question.

Outline

The nine STEM centers for this session are Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Social Studies, Art, Music, Reading, and Writing (if there are not enough tables in the room to create nine centers, we will adapt). Table 1 provides two STEM learning outcomes for participants to use while demonstrating their understanding of Kindergarten and 1st grade, Mathematics and Science Common Core State Standards (CCSS), respectively. Table 1 illustrates how participants might choose a complementary content area to demonstrate their knowledge of each learning outcome in a personalized manner. This personalization allows for and supports learner variability.

The nine STEM centers will immerse participants in the practice of using centers as a method for supporting learner variability, allowing students ownership of their learning and agency when demonstrating their knowledge related to a learning outcome. The lesson plans associated with each learning outcome will be provided in print at each center (and online) to support learner variability needs. Also, a lesson plan for PreK and 2nd grade focused on similar Mathematics and Science CCSS will be created so all four grades, PreK to 2nd grade, will have a lesson plan example to view during this session.

Each center will include some form of literacy such as a copy of a children’s book, a link to an online children’s book, or other resources in case a participant needs context clues or content knowledge about the learning outcome. Participants will be able to participate in collaborating and co-learning with colleagues while working at three of nine centers during the session to experience how to allow for personalized demonstrations of the two STEM learning outcomes.

90-MINUTE SESSION SCHEDULE:
As participants walk in, they will be given a Bingo card with all nine STEM center names on it. A slide on the presentation screen will state for them to place an X over the boxes of the three most difficult content areas for them and totally black out the three boxes associated with their favorite content areas leaving three boxes untouched.

The information on the screen will also ask them to hold on to the bingo card to use later during center work and for a raffle of two children’s books using the numbers on the back of the bingo cards at the end of the session.

Everyone will be asked to find a seat at any center for now.

10 minutes -  Introduction of presenters and the nine centers being used for the session will be presented using a GSlide document. Presenters will divide up the slides so it isn’t just one person presenting as we scroll through the slides using visual images and auditory cues to describe the information we want to share with them.

10 minutes -  Discussion of best practices that support engagement in learning activities and review of digital tools suggested for use but not mandated during the session will be shown on more GSlides. Some of the information will be prerecorded videos to view on GSlides to use multiple modalities during our presentation.

Participants will be asked to go to stand on the sides of the room placing their backpacks by the walls and only keeping their digital device with them and paper and pencil too if they want. This will allow everyone to be able to work at the centers during the next 45 minutes.

I will ask them to refer back to their bingo card and the choices they made about what content areas were easy and hard for them. I will explain that I want them to try one of the three centers of each type they identified on their bingo card. I will explain that they need to go to the hardest center (X’d out boxes) first since it has the most amount of time allotted to it and save the totally blacked out boxes (favorite centers) until the third rotation since it has the least amount of time allotted to it. A slide on the presentation screen will show this information using images and words also at the same time as I explain this to the participants.

Start timer for 19 minutes (minus one minute to help with transitioning to the next center)

20 minutes -  Learning Outcome #1 (choosing a center that is difficult for you as an individual (X’d out boxes) to demonstrate your understanding of a learning outcome). We will use a countdown timer on the presentation screen so everyone knows how much time is remaining to complete this center’s representation of the learning outcome.

Start timer for 14 minutes (minus one minute to help with transitioning to the next center)

15 minutes -  Learning Outcome #2 (choosing a center that is not hard or easy for you as an individual (completely clean boxes) to demonstrate your understanding of a learning outcome). We will use a countdown timer on the presentation screen (minus one minute to help with transitioning to the next center) so everyone knows how much time is remaining to complete this center’s representation of the learning outcome.

Start timer for 10 minutes

10 minutes - Learning Outcome #1 or #2 (choosing a center that is easy for you as an individual (completely blacked out boxes) to demonstrate your understanding of a learning outcome). We will use a countdown timer on the presentation screen so everyone knows how much time is remaining to complete this center’s representation of the learning outcome.

Everyone will be asked to find a seat at any center.

15 minutes - Participants will begin or finish adding to the collective GSlides document while the presenters summarize the learning observed and shared on the GSlides. The learner outcomes will be shown on the presentation screen as another form of summarizing and as a simple formative assessment by asking the participants to show their hands if they felt they learned:

Collaborator 2.4.a. Learners will leverage technology to discover how they can improve practice in creating an appropriate digital learning environment using STEM centers for young children.
Collaborator 2.4.b. Learners will collaborate with colleagues as they discover how to use a variety of digital tools to represent their understanding of a STEM activity learning outcome and co-learn how to resolve any technical issues that arise.
Facilitator 2.6.a. Learners will recognize the need to create a digital learning environment that encourages student agency, communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking in independent and small-group activities.

10 minutes -  The QR code to access the Exit Ticket will be shown at this time. The presenters will ask if there are any questions.

The raffle of two children’s books will be completed using the numbers on the back of the bingo cards and a random number generator online

Supporting research

Co-creativity through play, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1emRKUbE4EzJq3h1x7VJE-DB3oN6V0CsK/view?usp=drive_link

ISTE Standards for Educators, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GV4yHfWpKgtTV53IXCXfMwnqNLwWKVH-/view?usp=sharing

Fostering Critical Thinking, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J4rgadO-n4v55NXYcqS1_ErYuE9lVl3Y/view?usp=drive_link

Math and Executive Function, https://drive.google.com/file/d/10E-LuQzTUjxNYzvm095Ire8QhQSSICW4/view?usp=drive_link

Motivation Strategies, https://drive.google.com/file/d/10E9e4m19-0HhzEUSIV-HJ_1V3t4SAjG8/view?usp=drive_link

Music Intervention and Child Development, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fAW-82zGiYvpTtfkL3W7nMfW2StbUrbt/view?usp=drive_link

P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TM8tVH4C1IqNpHH4gK9xB7wPABhTBrIl/view?usp=sharing

NAEYC's Position Statement on Technology Use with Young Children, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HgKrr_k2b3HcbH6tIAdriU9N5stmrf_a/view?usp=drive_link

STEM Toolkit for Families,https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pjmiGj46XAYskj1t6fIBRqZ22fgwb60G/view?usp=drive_link

Art Helps your Brain, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/01/11/795010044/feeling-artsy-heres-how-making-art-helps-your-brain