Teaching Strategies

Are you excited to help students explore real-world connections between math, science, and engineering, but worried that you already have too much content to cover? Engineering doesn’t need to be an “extra” in STEM -- instead it can be embedded into your current content teaching to promote relevance, engagement, and 21st century skills. Learn how to plan and facilitate engineering design challenges that inspire your students to learn and apply math and science concepts as they solve real-world problems. Participants will engage as learners in engineering design challenges that span STEM subject areas, and will develop skills for teaching engineering in your classroom. Using tools for developing your own design challenges, participants will build an NGSS-aligned framework for using the engineering design process in your classroom. Six Week Course: Tuesdays, 11/05/24–12/17/24 (excluding 11/26)

Understanding math and science enables citizens to make critical, informed decisions that support individual wellbeing and civic participation. We see project-based learning (PBL) as a highly effective way to address these challenges. In order to harness the potential of these courses to improve the lives of all students, teachers need specialized support in leveraging PBL in math and science. Come learn with us about some of the basics of PBL, such as entry events, end products, checkpoints, and other core components. Walk away with the next steps to begin implementing PBL in your class.

Discover how AI can enhance your teaching practice.  In this workshop, you’ll explore practical applications of AI tools that can support both classroom instruction and behind-the-scenes tasks like lesson planning. We'll provide hands-on opportunities to engage with AI and consider how it can be adapted to your specific teaching context. Whether you're just starting out or looking to deepen your AI literacy, you'll leave equipped with tools and strategies to confidently incorporate AI into your teaching. 

Let your existing science labs take center stage in engineering design challenges! Together we will unpack the engineering design process and map science practices and common classroom activities onto that process, and we’ll identify multiple points where your well-tested science labs can facilitate student-centered engineering design. You’ll leave with student-facing tools and a fuller sense of how to integrate engineering into your science classes. rn

In this workshop, teachers will explore a physical science phenomenon to develop an understanding of how the practices of questioning, modeling, and data analysis support students in building content knowledge. Together teachers will consider places in their curriculum where phenomena and science practices can support students in building content knowledge.

What was groupwork like for you when you were a student? Do you want it to look similar or different? Are you enthusiastic about the idea of your students working in groups?In this workshop, teachers will learn how to leverage groupwork to provide students with more learning opportunities. Teachers will gain insights into productive groupwork while reflecting on their current groupwork practices. Facilitated by experienced teachers, participants will leave with small, practical changes that can be implemented to make groupwork structures more productive for all students.

In this workshop, teachers will learn how high cognitive demand tasks increase opportunities for students to access learning. Teachers will explore ways of modifying tasks to increase students' abilities to engage in sensemaking. This workshop will assist teachers in gaining the knowledge and confidence needed to design and modify tasks for their math classrooms to engage more learners.

How can we integrate engineering into math and science classes to help students develop a more meaningful understanding of real-world issues? We’ll use a Four-Level Empowered Engineering framework to explore how engineering integration in science and math offers students a range of opportunities for learning, engagement in community issues, and agency for solving problems in their world. Teachers will identify entry points in their curriculum to integrate engineering and social justice.

Discover how AI can enhance your teaching practice.  In this workshop, you’ll explore practical applications of AI tools that can support both classroom instruction and behind-the-scenes tasks like lesson planning. We'll provide hands-on opportunities to engage with AI and consider how it can be adapted to your specific teaching context. Whether you're just starting out or looking to deepen your AI literacy, you'll leave equipped with tools and strategies to confidently incorporate AI into your teaching.