Blog Posts

STEM weather lessons for home or the classroom

Posted by Melissa Karsten on March 23, 2020

There are so many aspects of weather, which makes it a great STEM topic with lessons for every age. And who doesn’t benefit from understanding weather better? It’s around us every day!

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Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Science, STEM Expeditions, Authentic Learning, STEM Units, Activities, Career Expeditions, Future Ready, 21st Century Skills, Hands-on Learning, STEAM, Workforce Development, Art

Seven ways educators can encourage girls in STEM

Posted by Lisa Lewis on March 08, 2020

As an elementary teacher and adjunct professor for Educational Goals and Practices, I straddle two worlds. My elementary classroom is usually a mixture of girls and boys from diverse backgrounds, while my college-age students are mostly young ladies ready to change the world through the teaching profession. While the environments within which I teach and my audiences have their contrasts, they share two key similarities: the students’ eagerness to learn and the need for STEM.

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Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Teacher Resources, STEM, Resources, STEM Units, Future Ready, 21st Century Skills, Hands-on Learning, STEAM, Workforce Development, Women in STEM

Preparing the next generation one student at a time

Posted by Admin on February 20, 2020

In The Pitsco Experience video, we highlight the role the teacher can and does play in a student’s present-day and future success. We feature four students throughout a brief span of a few years in a teacher’s career and then again in a nod to their futures. This brief cycle in a teacher’s career is meant to reinforce the importance of educators, hands-on education, and the transformation that can happen in a classroom.

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Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Teacher Resources, STEM, Resources, Engineering, Teacher Development, STEM Units, Activities, Career Expeditions, Future Ready, Hands-on Learning, STEAM, Workforce Development, Inquiry-based Learning

Inventor’s Day: Ways to appreciate, learn, and invent

Posted by Admin on February 11, 2020

Inventors are the coolest. Sometimes they are elevated to celebrity status and other times they’re hidden figures in history. Either way, for many, their impact is enduring.

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Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, ADMINISTRATION & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Teacher Resources, Resources, Authentic Learning, Activities, Future Ready, 21st Century Skills, WorkKeys, STEAM, innovate, Workforce Development, Women in STEM

Work ethic, motivation . . . and robotics contribute to success in competition, life

Posted by Admin on December 11, 2019

Heritage High School (Maryville, TN) students Caden Branch and Landon Davis took gold in the 2019 Robotics: Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) competition at the SkillsUSA® national championships held this past summer in Louisville, Kentucky. The duo’s first-place finish continues a six-year streak of medaling for Heritage High School USAR teams since they began competing in 2014. So far, students have brought home two bronze, two silver, and two gold medals from the national competition.

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Topics: BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, Competitions, ROBOTICS, STEM, Social and emotional learning, USAR, Future Ready, TETRIX Robotics, innovate, Contest