West Sound STEM
A hub linking students, teachers and communities to STEM resources
  • Home
  • Why STEM
    • Mission & Goals
  • Who is Involved
    • Senior Leadership Team
    • Work and Implementation Team
  • STEM Showcase
    • 2020 Bridge Challenge
    • 2019 Bridge Challenge Results
  • West Sound STEM News!
  • STEM Resources
    • STEM Best Practices
    • STEM Data and Research
    • Educator Resources
    • Student Resources
  • EVENTS!
    • PAST events
  • Career Connected Learning
  • Contact Us
Picture
Generation Beyond - RESOURCES: 
Lockheed Martin partnered with Discovery Education to help prepare and inspire this generation to reach new heights.  Website includes space flight simulator, family activities, career exploration questionnaire, Hello Mars weather app, and more!


Resources for Educators

STEM BACKGROUND

Did You Know: STEM Edition
The University of Kentucky College of Education is passionate about leading the state and nation in preparing highly trained STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teachers in our specially-designed STEM Education Department. This video shows how.
STEM explained:
Check out this video on the STEM initiative:  Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is at the forefront of national and state workforce development efforts. In the Northwest PA region, representatives from education, business, and industry have formed a 12 county NWPA STEM Network that is laying the foundation for technological literacy.
Picture

BOOK AND DVD RESOURCES FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS!

Picture
What's Your Evidence?: Engaging K-5 Children in Constructing Explanations in Science (Pearson Professional Development)
by Zembal-Saul, McNeil and Hershberger

This is the perfect resource for elementary teachers interested in instructional strategies that cut across the content areas. What's Your Evidence: Engaging K-5 Students in Constructing Scientific Explanations is one of the best resources for supporting students in using evidence in speaking and writing. 

The timing of this resource could not be better as both the NGSS and the CCSS both require students to argue from evidence and cite evidence from text and other sources in support of their arguments.  This resource is being used extensively around our state and nation because it really supports the NGSS Science Practices of Engaging in Argument from Evidence and Constructing Scientific Explanations.

Picture
Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Framework for Talk and Writing
by Katherine L. McNeill and Joseph S. Krajcik

By providing a variety of strategies, scenarios, examples of student writing, classroom video clips from across all science content areas, rubrics, and guidelines for designing assessment items, Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Framework for Talk and Writing  provides teachers with the tools to successfully incorporate scientific explanation in their own classrooms.

Grounded in NSF-funded research, this book/DVD supports middle grades science teachers with an instructional framework that breaks down the complex practice of scientific explanation into four components–claim, evidence, reasoning, and rebuttal–and provides concrete examples of what this scientific inquiry practice looks like when it is successfully implemented in real classrooms. Over the last nine years that McNeill and Krajcik have developed, field tested, and refined this instructional model, they found that incorporating this framework for scientific explanation into curriculum materials, teacher instructional strategies, and assessments enhances students conceptual understanding and improves their ability to think and communicate more scientifically by carefully analyzing evidence and backing up their claims.

Picture
For more Educator Resources, also see Washington STEM Practitioner Tools:  Actionable resources for educators to advance quality STEM teaching and learning experiences.

Picture
WASHINGTON STEM BLOG  |  West Sound STEM Network’s STEM Café Series Connects Educators and Community Members
“This program is helping me be creative, be adaptable, and think outside the box. I get to meet engineers solving real world problems and bring those stories back to my high school students to show how biology is applied in the real world.” --Rebecca Arthur, Biology Teacher, Central Kitsap High School
Read more....
Link to STEM Cafe info...


EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

MEd in Teacher Leadership at Seattle Pacific University, School of Education

Hybrid online and face-to-face classes, plus elective credits that allow students to focus on areas of special interest.
Click here for details
Picture
Generation Beyond - RESOURCES: 
Lockheed Martin partnered with Discovery Education to help prepare and inspire this generation to reach new heights.  Website includes space flight simulator, design challenge instructions, lesson plans for educators, career exploration questionnaire, Hello Mars weather app, and more!

Picture
Siemens offers educational resources including web-based education modules, classroom instructional kits, and workshop materials related to sustainability, alternative energy, waste management, and more.  Click here for details.



WASHINGTON STEM BLOG

SCIENCE

PHYSICS:
Link to an animated history of all Nuclear Bomb Explosions.
BIOTECH:
A link to a rich collection of Teacher Resources from the National Association of Biology Teachers.
FORENSIC SCIENCE:
CSI: The Experience - a website that includes Resources for Educators as well as online "cases" to solve and games to play. 
BIOLOGY:
Invasive Species Game for students, along with a teacher resource section to facilitate the administration end of the classroom activity.

TECHNOLOGY

LCD Monitor Teardown
Start here, then follow the links to a whole host of other technology videos by EngineerGuy.com


Technology Student Association
opens up learning opportunities, networking with like-minded kids, competitions, and more for middle and high school students.

ENGINEERING

Engineer Girl!
This site helps engage young women in the world of engineering.
EngineerGuy.com
Kids and adults alike will love his short videos showing how everyday things work. He tears things apart and discusses the challenges behind what is happening inside.

MATHEMATICS

Math Class Needs a Makeover
A TED Talk in which Dan Meyer explains his creative approach  that turns some traditional teaching methods upside down.

Free American Statistical Association K-12 Statistics Education Resources:  www.amstat.org/education/pdfs/EducationResources.pdf


Picture