Teachers Receive STEM Training And Supplies
Stanley science teachers Erin Essler and Emarie Verano got some hands-on training from Gateway To Science in Bismarck last week. Gateway To Science works with teachers to bring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning opportunities to students.
Part of that is finding ways to bring resources to students and teachers as well as encouraging them to compete in regional and state fairs. Gateway To Science is looking for ways to overcome the obstacles often faced by schools when it comes to competition.
It can be hard to find time in the classroom beyond the educational lessons to include the rigorous work for competition. As a results, Gateway encourages them to look at mini-sessions to gauge interest. They are establishing regional cohorts to help teachers find ways to start with smaller topics in the fall and then expand that in the spring if they find they and their students are interested. They are also looking at ways to collaborate between districts to facilitate that possibility.
Stanley’s teachers were also receiving four different sets of materials during the training on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
They received Arduino nano data equipment which students will be able to use to work on twenty different projects that come with the equipment. They received pocket labs which include the physics of insulators and can include a climate design challenge. A soil sample kit will allow students to test the soils from their own areas to learn more about soil health. The final kit is a stream ecology kit. Students will be able to test how healthy a water system is and was macroinvertebrates may be in the water.
The teachers were able to experiment with the different sets of materials as part of the training with Gateway To Science.