Growing up, my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Rosson, gave me an assignment to design a hallway bulletin board, and part of that was to lead the class in an activity. That’s the day I decided to become a teacher because designing bulletin boards seemed to me to be the best job ever. Little did I know then that minimal time is spent designing bulletin boards as a teacher.
Topics: ADMINISTRATION & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, Resources, Authentic Learning, Future Ready, 21st Century Skills, STEAM, Workforce Development, Art
Editors Note: This blog was written by Pitsco TAG Teacher and NASA Space Ambassador David Lockett. He shares an inside look at the what and why of this unique and important event.
Tomorrow’s jobs are in space! But future ready begins now! In mid-March, as part of the Atlanta Science Festival, the Fernbank Science Center opened its doors to the community for the Astronaut Job Fair (AJF) as means to promote the importance of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). The daylong event was designed like a real professional job fair and career day. A diverse group of Atlanta’s students were directed through training to foster career-building skills while engaging with a staff of top space industry professionals.
Topics: IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Science, Technology, STEM, Careers, 21st Century Skills, STEAM, Workforce Development
SEL. What? It’s not just another trending acronym. Social-emotional learning (SEL) basically demonstrates how students relate with each other – and their teachers, their parents, and other adults – in any type of interactions.
It places a priority on creating a caring environment for learning and focuses on forming relationships among families, teachers, and community members. Applying SEL concepts in the classroom fosters richer student engagement, collaboration, and trust. So . . . how can educators introduce SEL competencies in the classroom? Project-based learning (PBL)!
Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, STEM, Missions, STEM Expeditions, Social and emotional learning, Hands-on Learning, STEAM
Last fall, we released our first ever teaching type personality quiz. We featured five general teaching types that we believe encompass educators you’d find in today’s classrooms: the Merry Maker, the Inspiring Innovator, the Prudent Planner, the Technology Trailblazer, and the Coordinator of Chaos.
Matthew Way, educator at Sweeny Elementary School, in Sweeny, TX, is the walking definition of a Coordinator of Chaos teaching type. In summer 2017, Way volunteered to run the new Pitsco Education STREAM lab. He sees more than 1,000 K-5 students in his STREAM lab each year. K-2 students experience whole-class STEM Units for 30 minutes each week during the school year, and students in Grades 3-5 explore the rotational STREAM Missions for one hour every third day for a semester.
Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Missions, Social and emotional learning, Future Ready, Hands-on Learning, STEAM
Last year was the first time Pitsco had a student design our holiday greeting that was sent to thousands of people, and we loved it so much that we decided to do it again this year.
Besides bragging rights, the winning student will be sent a $50 Walmart gift card, and a $100 Pitsco store credit will go to the teacher who submits the winning artwork.
Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, Giveaways, Culture, STEM, Activities, STEAM, Art, Contest
