My Project
Part of the NextGen Science Standards includes a component for Engineering Design. Students are expected to define an engineering problem, develop possible solutions, and then test, design, evaluate, and redesign to make their projects better. My project will begin with the students watching the short documentary, "Dream Big: Engineering Our World". As the students DREAM BIG, and think of unique solutions to modern-day designs and problems, they will design and bring their projects to life using just cardboard and Makedo tools! Makedo tools include Makedo scrus, scru-drivers, and saws that work well with cardboard which happens to be one of the most readily available and cheapest of sources for our classroom STEM projects!
Employers today are consistently telling us that our students are not ready for real-world applications.
In this very self-focused world, we live in, students bury themselves in their own electronic devices or phones and lose the ability to communicate with those around them and many times lack the patience needed to work through problems. The use of STEM projects not only inspires students to think creatively, but it also teaches them the skill of perseverance through failure and retesting. In addition, students learn the very important skill of collaborating with their peers and have to work through differences of opinions in order to create their projects.
My students enjoy hands-on STEM projects, and engineering projects have been some of their favorites so far this year so I know these resources will be an engaging and exciting addition to our classroom!
