1.  THEMATIC STRANDS

Our Shared STEAM Future: Driving Impact Tomorrow Through Education Today:

From local solutions to global challenges, imaginative problem-solving is at the core of STEAM education. This strand will explore the potential for STEAM education to address public good, civic engagement, workforce development, and other shared goals to benefit future generations.

Sustaining the STEAM Teaching and Leadership Pipeline: 

The future of STEAM lies in the hands of educators, whether new to the field as pre-service teachers, policy-influencing administrators, or professional learning veterans. This strand looks at how innovative curricula, pedagogy, technology, communities of practice, labor-management collaboration and other key elements of support preparation, professional development, and STEAM educator retention.

Empowering All Stakeholders to Enhance STEAM Education: 

Partnerships and community involvement connect learning beyond the K-12 classroom and elevate diverse voices. Through the lens of partners in early and higher education, informal and expanded learning, non-profit and industry, student voice, and parent engagement, this strand shows how inclusive team efforts help STEAM education thrive. 

Essential Conditions for 21st-Century STEAM Teaching and Learning: 

Innovative learning environments promote inquiry and facilitate collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity to help meet the needs of a variety of learners. STEAM learning environments that are student-centered require flexibility and accessibility for various types of learning, including project-based and Social-Emotional Learning, outdoor learning, modernized technology, and personalized instruction.

Educators can support our diverse student population to succeed by designing instruction to foster a positive classroom environment where all learners are engaged and able to express what they know. Hear educators and facilities professionals share promising practices that cultivate success through their physical and conceptual structures.

The Power of STEAM Across Grades and Disciplines: 

This strand highlights innovative courses, projects, principles, and activities that integrate disciplines within and beyond STEAM, promote student engagement, and activate deeper learning. Presentations will share successful standards implementation that crosses multiple subject areas and highlights the connected complexity in each of the STEAM fields.  Content will also examine examples of computer science and career technical education which are mindful of equity and access for all students while bringing coherence to their learning experience

From STEM to STEAM: Exploring Opportunity in Arts Integration: 

Innovation in engineering, architecture, medicine, media, and artistic expression begins with visions of what could be realized. Through a combination of disciplinary knowledge, skill, and understanding of human cultures and aesthetics, arts integration pushes the boundaries of STEM while embracing student capacity for creativity, self-expression, and dreaming big. 

Integrating Environmental and Media Literacy in STEAM Disciplines: 

The environment provides engaging and relevant context for learning and applying STEAM content and skills. California's Environmental Principles and Concepts, integrated in the California Science Framework, inform this approach. Connecting teachers and students in the digital world through media meets learners where they are while promoting healthy engagement and productive collaboration. Building environmental and media literacy while designing solutions to real-world challenges is an effective strategy to deliver standards-based instruction, develop civic skills, and inspire STEAM careers.

2.  How would you categorize your presentation...?

2. How would you categorize your presentation to help guide attendees interested in following subject pathways? Select up to three pathways.

Equity and Access for All in STEAM

Discipline Deep Dive (within S, T, E, or M)

Makers and Makerspaces

Early Learning

Career Technical Education

English Language Learning and Development

Making Standards Come Alive

Welcoming Non-STEAM Specialists

Biography (10,000 Words)

My bio-page describes "life on a road less traveled."  Here is an overview of my journey.

In college I majored in chemistry, liked it and did well as an undergrad at UC Irvine, receiving an NSF Fellowship for Graduate Study.  But in grad school at the U of Washington, I decided to not pursue a career doing specialized research, and I left with an MS.  After a time of working, traveling, teaching, and writing a booklet (Strategies for Problem Solving) and textbook (Physics: Power Tools for Problem Solving), I returned to grad school in History of Science at the U of Wisconsin.  When a fellow student said "we historians" I thought "no, this isn't me," and I left with an MA.  By contrast, after entering the School of Education at U of WI, when I thought "we educators" it felt natural, even joyful.  It was "me" then, and still is now.  I've enjoyed teaching, mainly chemistry and physics (at both UW's) but also math, problem solving & study skills, music improvisation & theory, tennis, juggling, ballroom dancing, and ESL.  But even more, I love to think about learning & teaching, about how to do these well.  Therefore I admire skillful teachers who do it well, who creatively cope with the complex challenges of what they do, connecting with students in many ways on many levels.

My PhD dissertation was a unifying synthesis of ideas (mainly from scientists and philosophers, but also from sociologists, psychologists, historians, educators, and myself) into a model of scientific method, and using this model for the integrative analysis of a creative classroom where students solved genetics problems by using scientific inquiry.  These ideas about problem solving have been generalized from science into all areas of life, and are now being developed in my website, Using Design-Thinking Process for Problem Solving and Education.  I enjoy working with other educators, sharing ideas so we can learn from each other, exploring possibilities, developing curriculum & instruction.  I like working together to design activities and strategies that are a good match for how students like to learn (and are able to learn), and how teachers like to teach, so we can be more effective in helping students improve their creative-and-critical thinking skills. 

 

 

I want to collaborate with other educators so we can explore possibilities and develop our ideas,

 

 

My first major was Chemistry, and I did well,* but in graduate school (at U of Washington) I ==

?? (* getting "top student" for all high schools of Orange County, then for undergrads at UC Irvine, plus a Graduate Fellowship from NSF, and later a Dean's Club Award for UW-Madison's School of Education)

 

NSF Fellowship for graduate school  +  Dean's Award for the School of Education at U of WI-Madison

graduate degrees in

problem solving PhD at U of WI, scientific methods of inquiry, later generalized into

my part in it -- developed an integrative model of Scientific Method -- by combining-integrating ideas from ==== - and using it to do integrative analysis (of goal-directed activities & their goal-achieving functions) of an innovative inquiry classroom. award-winning

"we historians" versus "we educators" is me, my vocational passion

continuing generalist interests

impressed by skill of skilled teachers, complexity of connecting with students in many ways -- cognitive, motivational, emotional, self-image, enthusiasm, confidence -- on many levels

1 - My Thematic Strand

Essential Conditions for 21st-Century STEAM Teaching and Learning: 

Innovative learning environments promote inquiry and facilitate collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity to help meet the needs of a variety of learners. STEAM learning environments that are student-centered require flexibility and accessibility for various types of learning, including project-based and Social-Emotional Learning, outdoor learning, modernized technology, and personalized instruction.

Educators can support our diverse student population to succeed by designing instruction to foster a positive classroom environment where all learners are engaged and able to express what they know. Hear educators and facilities professionals share promising practices that cultivate success through their physical and conceptual structures.

This strand highlights innovative courses, projects, principles, and activities that integrate disciplines within and beyond STEAM, promote student engagement, and activate deeper learning. Presentations will share successful standards implementation that crosses multiple subject areas and highlights the connected complexity in each of the STEAM fields.  Content will also examine examples of computer science and career technical education which are mindful of equity and access for all students while bringing coherence to their learning experience. 

5. What will be the key attendee takeaways after participating in your presentation?

They will understand how key ideas (see #3) form a set of integrated teaching strategies* that will help students learn more from their experiences, both inside & outside school.  These key ideas will be summarized in my brief "elevator talks" and explored in brief discussions.  A one-page handout, with details they can read later, will include a URL where (within the url-page and by following links) they can learn much more.   /   * My strategies and other educational strategies & activities can "play well" together, with synergistic cooperation.  For example, my key ideas will help a teacher design creative ways to make a hands-on inquiry activity become more minds-on, so students will learn more during their inquiry experience and (with reflection & discussions) afterward, to help them "do it better" the next time(s).

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4. In what ways does this workshop address how to contextualize STEAM learning?

With my broad definition, Problem Solving (by using Design Thinking to "make things better" in any area of life) includes almost everything students do.  This wide scope lets us show students how school experiences fit into the context of their whole-life experiences.  When students understand this whole-Life context, they can build two-way transfer bridges between their "whole Life" and their "School life" with transfers from Life into School (so they think "I've been doing this in my Life, so I also can do it in School" for Confidence) and from School into Life (when they think "the School-skills I'm improving will be useful in all areas of my Life" for Motivation).

{for more info, educationforproblemsolving.net/steam}

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from life into school (for attitude-transitions to "I can do this (in school)" and from school into life (for transfer of school-skills into their life, "I can use this (from school)" in life)

I will show educators how to build bridges for transfers-of-learning (from life into school, and back into life) and  

use creative-and-critical Design Thinking

help students improve their problem-solving skills in all areas of life.

help teachers show students how their school activities fit into the context of their real-life activities, connect them with transfer-bridges from Personal-Life into School-Life (to increase confidence), and (to increase motivations) back into Personal-Life.

transitions-of-attitudes (to improve confidence & motivations)

students will think "what I'm learning in school will help me do better in life, now and in my future

My key ideas form a conceptual framework that will help educators help students "bring coherence to their learning experiences."

6. In what ways does this workshop intersect with concepts of
equity and access in STEAM education?

Bridges:  As explained in #3, we can help students build bridges (from Life into School, and from School into Life) for transfers of skills, and to improve their confidence & motivations, to promote healthy growth for a wider diversity of students, for better equity.

Success:  Due to differences in abilities-and-experiences (in multiple intelligences) and motivations, some students will succeed better with inquiry activities than in traditional book-learning and test taking.*  Success will improve their self-perception so it's more accurate, and is optimistic with a growth mindset, thinking "yes, I can."  They will develop better attitudes & responses, will want to "feel the satisfaction more often" by investing more effort in School.    {* To expand access, so more students will pursue their opportunities in all areas of School and Life, we can design eclectic instruction with a variety of activities, including inquiry activities in areas of STEM and non-STEM.}

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building transition-bridges to. 

We are helping students change their attitudes-and-responses

students can experience success in a wider range of school activities, outside traditional.

equity and access for all students while

 

 

8. Provide an abbreviated description of your presentation for the Symposium program (250 characters maximum)

Use Student Experiences to Build Transfer-Bridges between Life and School

Show students how they use their experiences (mental & physical, to predict & observe) in Design Thinking, in all they do. Build two-way transfer bridges between life and school, to improve confidence and motivation for a wider diversity of students.

[ 250 chars ]

Show students how they use their experiences (mental & physical, to predict & observe) for problem-solving Design Thinking. Build two-way transfer bridges between life and school, improving confidence and motivation for a wider diversity of students.  [250 chars]

Show students how they use experiences (mental & physical, to predict & observe) in problem-solving Design Thinking.  Build two-way transfer bridges between life and school, to improve confidence and motivation for a wider diversity of students.  [245 chars]

 

Build Transfer-Bridges Between Life and School, Using Student Experiences

3. Detailed Description  (3000 Characters)

3. Provide a detailed description of your presentation so the review committee can visualize the session, including any hands-on activities. Describe how you will address the selected strand. (3,000 characters maximum)

This strand highlights innovative courses, projects, principles, and activities that integrate disciplines within and beyond STEAM, promote student engagement, and activate deeper learning. Presentations will share successful standards implementation that crosses multiple subject areas and highlights the connected complexity in each of the STEAM fields.  Content will also examine examples of computer science and career technical education which are mindful of equity and access for all students while bringing coherence to their learning experience. 

 

I've done three Roundtable Discussions (2014-15-16) for CA STEM, and would do it better this time, with better planning that will include strategies-for-improvising with my actions depending on the responses.

Before a session officially starts, 1-page handouts will be on the table, and I'll begin interacting with early-arrivers.

During each session there will be several rounds;  most will include my brief "elevator talk" to explain key ideas, brief small-group discussions, and a brief whole-table discussion.  The timings for each "brief" activity will be tentatively planned, and then adjusted with improvising.

Here are some key ideas:

¥ You can help students learn more from their experiences (first-hand & second-hand), inside school and outside school.

¥ People have PHYSICAL EXPERIENCES (when we actually do an Action, so we can Observe what happens) and MENTAL EXPERIENCES (when we imagine doing an Action, so we can Predict what would happen).

¥ Then we can use OBSERVATIONS & PREDICTIONS, plus our GOALS (for a satisfactory Problem-Solution) when we ask The Science Question and The Engineering Question.    {In a Reality Check, my Science Question asks "were you surprised?" because your Observations (of what happened) did not match your Predictions (for what you expected).  In a Quality Check, my Engineering Question asks "is there a good match with Your Goals?" when you compare an Option's Properties (Predicted or Observed) with the Goal-Properties you want.}

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¥ It's useful to define PROBLEM broadly, as "any opportunity to make things better, in any area of life," so PROBLEM SOLVING (with creative-and-critical Design Thinking) includes almost everything a student does in Their Whole Life, inside & outside school, whenever they design a better strategy, relationship, activity, or product, or (with science) a better explanation.

¥ This wide scope lets teachers build two-way Bridges:  from LIFE into SCHOOL (from past Whole-Life experiences into present School experiences, to improve Confidence when a student thinks "I've done this before in Life, so I can do it now in School") and from SCHOOL into LIFE (from present School situations into future Whole-Life situations, to improve Motivation when a student believes that "what I'm learning now in School will help me later in Life, in my near-future and far-future, both later today and years later).

To build these bridges, teachers can use a simple model for Design Thinking -- Define a Problem (decide what to "make better") and Solve the Problem (creatively Generate Ideas & critically Evaluate Ideas, in iterative cycles) -- to help students recognize how they use this problem-solving process throughout their everyday lives.

We can build bridges for Transfers of Learning, and for Transitions of Attitudes to improve Confidence and Motivation -- two Essential Conditions for Learning -- to promote healthier growth in more students, with wider diversity, for better equity.  (also see #6, re: Diversity & Equity) 

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cuts from 300-Character Overview

my other models --> deeper und, parallels ment/phys expmts used in 4 ways

IMPROVING STUDENT DIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL EQUITY

DIVERSITY and EQUITY:  These bridges facilitate transfers of problem-solving skills (between life & school, and between subject areas, including STEM and non-STEM) and transitions of attitudes (to change self-perceptions & personal goals, to improve confidence & motivations) for a wider diversity of students, to promote educational equity.

Carefully designed culturally-unbiased inquiry activities can let more students experience the thrill of success.

 

by mixing non-STEM inquiry with STEM inquiry, showing how similar problem-solving skills are used in both, to help more students improve their problem-solving skills in all areas of life.    

 

 

[promote-enhance-stimulate-facilitate]

CONTEXTUALIZE, Personal Life, General Life, merge both together, blur the lines between "school life" and "outside life"

 

Help students see how they use Design Thinking for almost everything they do.  This wide scope lets you build educational transfer-bridges from life into school (with students thinking "I've done this in life, so I can do it in school") and back into life ("what I'm learning in school, I can use in life") to improve confidence & motivation for a wider diversity of students, to improve educational equity.  [406 chars]

Help students see how they use Design Thinking for everything they do.  Use this wide scope to build educational transfer-bridges from life into school (students think "I've done this in life, so I can do it in school") and back into life ("what I'm learning in school, I can use in life") to improve confidence & motivation for a wider diversity of students, to improve educational equity.  [390 chars]

Show students how they use experiences (mental & physical, to predict & observe) in problem-solving Design Thinking.  Help them build transfer-bridges from life into school (using their life-experiences) and from school into life, to improve confidence and motivation for a wider diversity of students.  [302 chars]

Help students see how they use Design Thinking for everything they do.  Use this wide scope to build educational transfer-bridges from life into school (how? use life-thinking for school-thinking) and back into life (use school-thinking in life) to improve confidence & motivation for a wider diversity of students, to improve educational equity.   [344 chars]

Show students how they use experiences (mental & physical, to predict & observe) in problem-solving Design Thinking.  Help them build transfer-bridges from life into school (to use life-experiences) and from school into life, to improve their confidence and motivation.  [268 chars]

problemsolvingeducation.com/steam  [33 chars]

educationforproblemsolving.net/steam  [34 chars]

ProblemSolvingEducation.net

 

IMPROV -- aud-leader(s) -- FIND (start before zero-time),  ENCOURAGE (enthusiasm),  interact

@ 4 ways to use experiments[experiences] -- zb, SciQuestion,  EngQuestion

hands-on activities, focus will be to stimulate minds-on interactions

 

* Here is one version of each Question:  my/The Science Question asks "were you surprised?" -- because there is not a good match between Predictions (what you expected) and Observations (what happened) -- in a Reality Check.  The Engineering Question asks "is there a good match with your Goals?" -- when you compare an Option's Properties (Predicted or Observed) with the Goal-Properties you want for a satisfactory Problem-Solution -- in a Quality Check.    /   in a Reality Check, my Science Question asks "were you..." [ 463 ]

* In a Reality Check, my Science Question asks "were you surprised?" because your Predictions (what you expected) were not matched by your Observations (what happened).  In a Quality Check, my Engineering Question asks "is there a good match with your Goals?" -- when you compare an Option's Properties (Predicted or Observed) with the Goal-Properties you want for a satisfactory Problem-Solution -- in a Quality Check.

 

into 3000 - from 250

can use a process of inquiry to help students "discover" that they are using familiar thinking skills from life into school

compare P & O in Science Question, if surprised should revise their theory about "how the world works." Reality Check

 

compare P with Goals, in two kinds of Quality Checks (Predictions-Based & Observations-Based)

a process of design thinking to solve problems

Were you surprised?  Does it match your Goals?

using experiences -- that occur during "experiments" they do mentally (by imagining "what would happen") to make Predictions) and physically physical experiments (to produce 

actually do, imagine doing

 

can use their improved thinking skills now (in their present life) and later (in their future life)

 

etalk.htm

The simplicity of Design Process will help a teacher show students how they use design thinking for almost everything they do in life.  This wide scope lets the teacher build educational bridges from life into school, and back into life.  These bridges will improve transfers of learning (between life & school, and between subject areas) and transitions of attitudes (to change the self-perceptions & personal goals of students).  By building bridges to promote beneficial learning-transfers and attitude-transitions, we can help a wider diversity of students — for better educational equity — improve their confidence & motivations, and their problem-solving skills in all areas of life.  [689 chars]

 

 

thinking skills from life, transfer into school

from life into school (using familiar thinking skills)

, to improve educational equity.  

 

¥ from School into Life, learning for their future, to improve Motivation:  We can show each student how they will be using design thinking for "almost everything they do" in their future life (in their future whole-life, inside & outside school) so the design-thinking skills they are improving in school will transfer into life and will help them achieve their personal goals for life.*  When students want to learn in school because they are learning for life, this will increase their MOTIVATIONS to Learn.

 

7. What grade span does the presentation best address?

[[ middle-school ]]

60-Minute Session  vs  15-Minute RoundTable

9. Would you like to submit your presentation as a 60-minute session or 15-minute roundtable presentation? (15-minute roundtables are shorter presentations with multiple options in one room. Participants will rotate between roundtables during the session to engage in multiple conversations.)

[[ 15-minute roundtable presentation ]]

9a. If your submission is not selected for a 60-minute presentation, is your session suitable for a 15-minute roundtable?

[[ yes ]]

 

 

EXTRA

1-Page Handout

 

 

Web-Page (stem.htm)

@ 4 ways to use expmts