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Hello Maia,
I think this is a great question! I have also been interested in how educators provide STEM content for the remote learning setting. I am a third-year elementary education major at Wartburg College and I’m currently enrolled in Elementary Science Methods. Through this course, as well through experience in previous science courses, I believe there are some great ways to provide STEM instruction online.
In my previous college science courses, we have used PhET labs to reinforce the content we learned in class. The labs on this site are very interactive and span many different content areas within the STEM discipline. With the inability to provide hands-on laboratory activities, the simulations on this site provide the means for students to interact and experiment from their device. Educators could also provide coordinating lab sheets, and reflection activities for students to complete and turn in digitally to provide proof that they have completed the simulation.
Another resource I have learned about through this Science Methods course is Minecraft EDU. For our course, we are expected to complete the educator certification and instruction course for the program. Through this program, I have learned a great deal about the different ways STEM can be taught through this program. For example students can complete coding activities, create elements and compounds, plan and execute building projects and visually represent math concepts. Most fascinating to me was a lesson in which students constructed a full model of the human cell within the Minecraft application. Teachers can use boards within the worlds they create to provide instruction and guidance. Using gamification, students are able to learn STEM content through a fun video-game platform.
Finally, I believe there are many engaging ways in which students can learn STEM within the environment they are completing their remote learning. Being mindful of the resources available to students, educators can provide many inquiry-based activities students could complete from home. For example, ask students to go outside and make observations about the natural world around them. Students can complete such things as observing the phases of the moon, developing hypotheses about things they observe, and completing small, safe experiments using items found around the house such as the reaction of baking soda and vinegar or cornstarch and water (with parent permission).
I hope you are provided with many resources educators are using in their class. Through experience and with this methods course I hope to learn more about available resources for teaching STEM in a remote setting.
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