STEM for Distance Learning

One thing that we have all learned in recent weeks is that Remote Teaching ain’t easy. Its difficult to know how much work to set for the children, aswell as what type of work to set. Bookwork? Worksheets? Websites? Fun activities? Every family situation is different so it’s important not to put pressure on anyone to complete anything. Giving optional work and being very explicit that it is not compulsory, is key.

Many children are not motivated to work from books or worksheets, especially when away from their usual classroom environment. Practical activities such as projects, science experiments, and baking, while appealing to many children, can often be stressful for parents. What to do?

STEM Challenges can engage a wide variety of children, with minimal planning, set up or fuss. But how can we go about it?

Stimulus Keep it simple. If there’s an opportunity to integrate with a topic you’re already covering; use it! If not; don’t force it. For example, if you’re looking at Ancient Rome in History, challenge the children to build a Colosseum.

If you’re looking for a way to introduce your class to the idea of STEM for the first time, consider using a picture book. Two that I would recommend are ‘Rosie Revere, Engineer’ by Andrea Beatty and ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds. Both of these can be found on getepic.com, which is free for teachers and parents at the moment.

Videos can also be a great way to pique the interest of children. There are some amazing educational YouTube channels especially for children. SciShow Kids is one great example.

You can share these using whatever platform you are using for distance learning. If you are doing live video classes, you can even share them in real time and engage the children in some discussion.

Planning In an ideal world, time would be given to brainstorming, writing and drawing in preparation for a STEM challenge. You can encourage the children to do this at home, but they are more likely to jump straight in!

Materials Children can complete many, many STEM Challenges using materials they already have at home. No need to go to the shops to buy magnets, balloons or bicarbonate of soda. The following is a (non-exhaustive list) of toys and household items that can be used:

· Lego · Lego Duplo · Jenga Blocks · Dominoes · Play-Dough · Playing Cards · paper or plastic cups · newspaper · pegs · lollipop sticks · cocktail sticks · mini marshmallows · paper plates · straws · string · elastic bands · paper clips · pipe cleaners

If you wish to purchase extra resources for STEM, you can find my favourite STEM toys here.

Testing and Improving

This is a natural stage in any construction challenge, and in the classroom you can place more of an emphasis on it. It’s not as easy to do this remotely, but it’s worth reminding the children that it may take a few attempts to achieve their goal.

Sharing

This part is easy. The children will be very keen to share photos and videos of their creations with you. Encourage the children to present and describe their constructions orally or in writing. You could compile all submissions into a digital photo album or video to share with others.

10 Days of STEM Challenges