teachSTEM Explorers
teachSTEM Explorers provides teachers with a series of ready-to-use lessons designed to lead classrooms through STEM career adventures, helping students gain a broader understanding of STEM career possibilities! Each lesson has a facilitator guide and a slide deck. Teachers are able to use all of the lessons to help their students understand the wide variety of STEM careers.
teachSTEM Explorers Lesson #1: Intro to STEM
This lesson is designed to teach students what STEM/STEAM is. Here are definitions to help explain concepts clearly: Science – a system of studying, testing, and experimenting on things in nature. Technology- the use of knowledge to invent new devices or tools (not just electrical) Engineering- the process of creating and building structures, products, and systems (Art)- the field of visual works such as painting and drawing Mathematics- the study of numbers, amounts, shapes, and the relationship between them, using symbols to represent these things.
teachSTEM Explorers Lesson #2: The Engineering Design Process
There are many design process models available with different numbers of steps. For this Engineering Design Process lesson, we will be using a 7- step process. The steps may have different names depending on who you get your information from, but they generally are the same.
teachSTEM Explorers Lesson #3: Invention and Innovation
The lesson teaches the difference between an invention and an innovation. It is designed to help students see how technology has changed over time.
teachSTEM Explorers Lesson #4: Levels of Education and Income
The goal of this activity is to show students how (most of the time) more education means a higher paying job. While we know that this is not always the case, we want to show students that they need to at least finish high school. The idea of a four-year degree is not an option for everyone, but we should at least show students what is potentially out there for them.
teachSTEM Explorers Lesson #5: What are my Career Options?
This lesson will help students start to explore their interests and learn what the 16 career clusters are so they can start forming a general idea of the areas of work that interests them.
teachSTEM Explorers Lesson #6: What is a Career and what should I know about it?
Using the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, students will see the availability of specific jobs in the United States. They will complete a web quest, similar to an online scavenger hunt, using the OOH.
teachSTEM Explorers Lesson #7: The Cost of Living – Arizona Style!
This lesson is designed to help students understand the purpose of income and how it is spent.
teachSTEM Explorers Lesson #8: Career Spotlight: STEM Teacher
One of the goals of the Arizona Educational Foundation’s teachSTEM program is to make students aware of the need for STEM teachers in Arizona. The activity for this lesson is a digital escape room. Students will use the clues about becoming a STEM teacher to solve the “locks” to get through the escape room.