Teaching High School Science

How to Integrate STEM Skills at Home

• Kesha "Doc" Williams • Episode 10

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In this episode, we dive into STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. I discuss why teaching science alone isn't enough and highlight the importance of integrating STEM skills into your educational journey. We explore how these skills lay the foundation for innovation, problem-solving, and critical thinking in today’s rapidly changing world.

I break down the components of STEM, discussing how they prepare students for diverse career opportunities, from healthcare to entertainment. We’ll cover potential strategies to nurture your child’s STEM child at every age, from simple experiments in early childhood to advanced projects and internships in high school.

Join me as we embark on a journey to empower our students, encouraging them to explore, ask questions, and embrace hands-on learning. So, grab your coffee or tea, relax, and let's get started!

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Let's continue the conversation and explore the wonders of science together!


Speaker 1:

Hi there and welcome to another episode of Teaching High School Science. Today, I'm talking about STEM why teaching science alone is not the same thing as STEM skills, why are they important and how do we incorporate these skills into your science journey. So grab your coffee or cup of tea, sit back, relax and let's get started. Welcome to Teaching High School Science. I'm your host, doc, a former biochemist, turned high school science teacher and private tutor. Whether you're homeschooling your team through high school science or teaching online, join me as I share tips and strategies I've learned over the years for at-home and online labs and activities, breaking down complex concepts and structuring learning in a way that makes sense. Now let's dive into today's topics.

Speaker 1:

Stem stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and these skills are more than just buzzwords. They are the building blocks of innovation, problem solving and critical thinking, and in today's rapidly changing world, proficiency in STEM subjects is becoming increasingly essential for success, no matter where you are going after high school, whether it's college-bound or directly into the workforce. But what exactly do we mean by STEM skills? Well, let's first break down STEM itself. The science skills in STEM involves making observations, conducting experiments and analyzing data to understand the natural world, whereas technology skills basically encompasses everything from using computers to software, to coding and digital literacy. However, your engineering skills involve designing, building and testing solutions to real-world problems, and the mathematical skills are all about quantitative reasoning, problem solving and logical thinking, and together combined, these skills form the foundation. So now that we've broken down the components of STEM, how they differ, let's talk about why these skills are so important. For starters, they open doors to a wide range of career opportunities, not just fields such as health care, engineering, computer science, environmental science, but with the increase of AI, you have an opening of other fields, including entertainment and theater. In fact, many of the fastest growing and highest paying jobs today require some type of background in STEM, and even beyond career prospects. Stem skills are essential for fostering innovation and addressing some of the world's most pressing challenges, from climate control to public health to technology.

Speaker 1:

I think it's pretty obvious how passionate I am about STEM. So how can we help our students develop STEM skills? Well, the good news is that you do not need a PhD in physics or computer science to support your child's STEM education. There are plenty of simple everyday activities you can do to nurture their curiosity and love of learning. For example, encourage your child to ask questions, explore new ideas and engage in hands on experiments and activities. Now let's break down some specific activities that you can do by age group, starting with early childhood, around ages three to five. One activity is to encourage your child to build structures with blocks or Legos. Asking them questions like what do you think will happen if we were to add another block here? Helps them to start thinking about those engineering concepts like balance and stability.

Speaker 1:

Another thing is nature walks. Nature walks are a great way to get them exposed to the natural world around them and reinforce data collection observation skills. When you're going on walks, have them collect leaves and rocks and flowers. Talk about the different plant species and animal habitats and how weather patterns may affect them. Use a magnifying glass so they can examine these objects up close and have them diagram or try to draw pictures of their observations. Now, the pictures may not come out very well depending on the age, but it's helping them understand the process of diagramming and the importance that it is for making observations. And then don't forget your very simple experiments like mixing bacon, soda and vinegar to create a fizzy reaction. Not only is it cool, but that can be great discussions when you're finding age appropriate ways to explain why that is happening.

Speaker 1:

Now, for our older kids, we may want to get more into some project-based learning activities, such as DIY science projects. So, taking that baking soda and vinegar reaction they did younger and kicking it up a notch by having them create a homemade volcano, then start applying more of the science concepts to explain why that eruption occurred. Introduce basic coding through apps like Scratch or Blockly. These platforms offer fun, interactive ways to learn programming concepts through game creation and problem-solving exercises. And this is a good time to introduce STEM kits that are designed for kids, such as circuit building kits or robotic sets. These kits are great for providing hands-on experience with technology and engineering concepts.

Speaker 1:

Now for middle school age students around 11, 13, we're going to get into more in-depth projects that have real-world applications. Having them participate in local or online robotic competitions enhances their learning through teamwork and engages them in collaborations. The math component can be involving your child in cooking and teaching them measurement and proportions, discussing how math is used in budgeting and shopping. In fact, both of those are needed to plan a trip. So the next time you have your family vacation, involve them in that trip planning process, with budgeting. Involving them in the science fair project from choosing a project and guiding them to how to conduct a full level investigation is essential in helping them to develop those critical thinking and design skills.

Speaker 1:

Now, for my high school students age 14 to 18, we're getting into more advanced projects and career exploration. And when I say advanced projects, I'm talking about developing a full computer program, developing apps and these can be done at the middle school level as well. I'm just saying conducting environmental research or engineering a new gadget, provided them with the resources to think of a real world problem and develop that solution. And arranging for internships or job shattering opportunities in STEM fields is a great opportunity here. These real world exposures can help your child understand a practical application of their studies and explore potential career paths and, last but not least, they model what they see. So by us, just demonstrating our own enthusiasm for learning and curiosity about the world will inspire them to embrace asking questions and solving problems and exploring new ideas.

Speaker 1:

Do you have any tips or strategies that were not listed in this podcast? Let us know. Let me know if you have any questions, ideas or other experiences that you'd like to share. Head on over to my podcast page, which you can access by visiting my website at thesciencementorcom. Then select podcast from the menu and subscribe now to the Teaching High School Science podcast for your regular dose of motivation and just-in-time science ideas. And together let's make high school science a journey of exploration and achievement. Until next time, remember curiosity leads to endless possibilities.