2.2 Creating a Culture of Success in the STEM Classroom

Join me as I explore ideas for creating a culture of success in the STEM classroom. As part of this exploration, I am using Videoscribe and ScreenCast to create a visual whiteboard for the presentation. The full transcript is below- some of the material didn't make it into the video!

​Q: How do you think that students learn and develop?
A: [Rebecca Glavan]Students learn and develop in many different ways, but all need a rich, fertile environment in which to flourish. This includes, but is not limited to authentic source exposure, deep reading, integrating technology, incorporating differentiation, scaffolding, multiple activities, self-reflection and assessment. More strategies are discussed in this presentation. Learner and educator bring things to the table. For learning, students bring with them some of the following attributes:

1. Prior knowledge (knowledge built through life experience and previous education)
2. Cultural/Family beliefs (beliefs about topic, or education in general that come from home or a cultural environment)
3. self-beliefs ( I am smart, I am not a good writer)
4. Skills and Strategies (acquired skills and strategies for learning)
5. Their own innate learning style (visual, auditory, spatial, etc)

It is up to us as educators to identify, support and enhance each student’s abilities and strengthen their abilities and desire to succeed.

Q: How can the teaching and classroom environment support learning for understanding?
A: Learning for understanding is not the same as teaching. In this environment the educator take the role of a mentor, a coach. Facilitating understanding means knowing how to support the student on many levels, and to know when to step in for scaffolding or differentiation, and when to step back to allow the student to apply the knowledge. Here are some of the levels of support that are essential: (inspired by Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University)

• Cognitive apprenticeship: Support the process of learning to THINK (like master and apprentice), model strategies, skill sets. This includes teaching tools and strategies, not facts.
• Metacognition: teaching students to REFLECT on their thinking and guide their own learning: teaching them to use strategies.(mind maps, revision, process orientation, what do you know about yourself as a thinker?) Self assessment and reflection process: How are you different now than before?
• Structure of the discipline: Understanding the major concepts and inquiry of the discipline that guide learning in the classroom (what it MEANS to think like a scientist, mathematician, engineer, artist or technologist). Learn to THINK like the expert in the discipline.
• Transfer: To be able to apply the learning from one situation to another.

Q: How can learning theory inform my teaching practice?
​A: Theories in general present a systematic way of understanding a specific set of constructs. Learning theories present models of learning that can inform us about different ways in which students learn and can provide us with a framework or toolbox of strategies for teaching.

Q: How can interactions among the learner, the classroom environment, and the teaching/learning process produce motivation to learn and build strong learning communities?
A: Here are some ways in which I feel that interactions can motivate students to learn and build a culture of success in the STEM classroom:

• Authentic learning through authentic activities. In project-based learning, the proof is that you actually experienced the content firsthand, not that you read about it or answered the question correctly on a test.
• Create an emotionally safe place. Learning can not take place in an environment where students feel emotionally unsafe.
• Create the culture of collaboration and community: “We are a team!” Working together to achieve goals, like a sports team, and creating positive energy around the learning can be an intrinsic motivator for students.
• Have the same goal, but allow for different paths to get there. Not everyone can learn or express themselves in the same way. Allow for options to prove mastery.
• Involve the larger community, connect with experts. 
• Tap into student’s personal interests, create value for the experiences. Educational outcomes are best when students learn why they need to know things. Connecting this learning with experts in the community can motivate students to go deeper if the material is meaningful in the context of the real world.
• Share what we learn with others. Being part of a bigger picture can motivate students. Allow them to solve real-world problems or use their knowledge to help their community.
• Acknowledge achievement. Use badges or certificates to acknowledge individual milestones. Differentiating this way encourages students and makes them feel valued.

Copyright 2016, Rebecca Glavan