Jolly - STEM by design: strategies and activities for grades 4-8

How do you create effective STEM classrooms that energize students, help them grow into creative thinkers and collaborators, and prepare them for their futures? This practical book from expert Anne Jolly has the answers and tools you need to get started or enhance your current program. Based on the authors popular MiddleWeb blog of the same name, STEM by Design reveals the secrets to successful lessons in which students use science, math, and technology to solve real-world engineering design problems. Youll learn how to:

• Select and adapt quality existing STEM lessons that present authentic problems, allow for creative approaches, and engage students in meaningful teamwork.
• Create your own student-centered STEM lessons based on the Engineering Design Process.
• Assess students understanding of basic STEM concepts and procedures, their problem-solving progress, and their level of engagement with the lesson.
• Teach STEM in after-school programs to further build on concepts covered in class.
• Empower girls to aspire to careers in STEM and break down the barriers of gender bias.
• Tap into STEMs project-based learning style to attract and engage all students.

Throughout this user-friendly book, youll find design tools such as checklists, activities, and assessments to aid you in developing or adapting STEM lessons. These tools, as well as additional teacher resources, are also available as free downloads from the books website, www.stem-by-design.com.

Anne Jolly is a STEM consultant, MiddleWeb blogger, and online community organizer for the Center for Teaching Quality Collaboratory. She began her career as a middle school science teacher in Mobile, Alabama and has co-developed nationally recognized STEM curriculum with support from the National Science Foundation.

(www.routledge.com/eyeoneducation)

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First published 2017
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2017 Taylor & Francis

The right of Anne Jolly to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. The purchase of this copyright material confers the right on the purchasing institution to photocopy or download pages which bear a copyright line at the bottom of the page. No other parts of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Jolly, Anne, author.

Title: STEM by design : strategies and activities for grades 48 / by Anne Jolly.

Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015050665 | ISBN 9781138931053 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138931060 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315679976 (e-book)

Subjects: LCSH: ScienceStudy and teaching (Elementary) | ScienceStudy and teaching (Middle school) | ScienceStudy and teaching (Elementary)Activity programs. | ScienceStudy and teaching (Middle school)Activity programs.

Classification: LCC LB1585 .J65 2016 | DDC 372.35/044dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015050665

ISBN: 978-1-183-93105-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-93106-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67997-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Palatino
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Visit the books website at www.stem-by-design.com to find full-size, downloadable versions of the Design Tools featured in this book, as well as a variety of other free resources and ideas to aid your STEM implementation.

Anne Jolly is an education consultant, author, and retired middle school science teacher. For eight years (200714), Anne was part of an NSF-funded team that developed middle grades STEM curriculum modules and teacher professional development materials for the Mobile (AL) Area Education Foundations Engaging Youth through Engineering (EYE) initiative.

In her personal consulting work, Anne has teamed with teachers to help them develop and implement their own STEM curriculum. Since 2012, shes written about the integration of science, math, technology, and engineering at her popular MiddleWeb blog STEM by Design (http://bit.ly/1952hSg) where she shares practical classroom tips and ideas for STEM program development.

Anne also works with the Center for Teaching Quality as a member of the Thought Leaders Circle and moderator of virtual teacher communities that advance teacher leadership, learning, and advocacy. She serves on the Alabama Math, Science, Technology, and Engineering Coalition Board of Directors. Anne has also served on the National Commission on Math and Science Teaching for the 21st Century (the Glenn Commission) and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science Education K12.

After shifting from her first career as a research biologist, Anne taught science in Mobile County for 16 years and was named Alabama State Teacher of the Year. She also served as co-moderator of the U.S. Department of Educations online National Teacher Forum during the Clinton administration. Her book on facilitating teacher inquiry teams, Team to Teach, is published by Learning Forward.

Contact Anne at and follow her on Twitter @ajollygal.

This is the page Ive had the most nightmares about writing because so many people have played an important role in this book, and Ill likely inadvertently omit someone. So, in advance, to all of you who played a role in my STEM adventures and learning, and in the preparation of this book, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!