Using Technical Literacy to explore the “E” in the STEM Classroom.
This project will impact 25 Middle School Science Teachers in Shelby County Schools and Tipton County Schools. The goals of the project are to increase both the content and pedagogical knowledge of Middle School Science and Literacy, and to collaboratively discuss and implement interactive instructional strategies while exploring ways to have students discover valuable insights, illustrative examples and analytical skills using Informational Text. The teachers will investigate the engineering design with texts from the National Science Teachers Association that include Language and Literacy in Inquiry-Based Science Classrooms; Questions, Claims, and Evidence; Everyday Engineering: Integrating Science and Engineering in Activities; and Science Formative Assessment: 75 practical Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and Learning. The teachers will also complete the design of a Roller Coaster using the Roller Coaster Physics Simulation, launch air and straw rockets to explore strategies to teach the engineering design in science and how to incorporate that with technology, mathematics, and informational text. The Co-PI’s are Dr. Emily Thrush and Dr. Teresa Dalle in the College of Arts and Sciences. The amount awarded is $74,912.