Tech & Learning.com - Stem in the Classroom Oct 2021

OCTOBER 2021

TECHLEARNING.COM

STEMin the Classroom

CONTENTS 4

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The Future of Career Technical Education: What Educators Need to Know

By Ray Bendici

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How a 16-Year-Old Gets Other Kids Excited About Coding

By Erik Ofgang

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10 How Geoscience Students Are Saving Lives Globally

By Erik Ofgang

12 STEM Lessons: Make Learning Engaging in Any Environment

By Erik Ofgang

15 How Teaching Robotics Fosters Tech and Soft Skills

By Erik Ofgang

17 5 Tips for Implementing Active Learning

By Erik Ofgang

20 9 Grant Proposal Review Questions to Ask Yourself

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THE FUTURE OF CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION: WHAT EDUCATORS NEED TO KNOW Career technical education is gaining expanded interest and funding support in the wake of the pandemic

By Ray Bendici

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areer technical education (CTE) is currently receiving increased attention as it is expected to play a key role in the recovery from the pandemic. New skills, approaches, and funding introduced over the past year are helping to drive expansion of programs as many employers continue to struggle to find qualified workers.

Shortly after his confirmation, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona posted an open letter to U.S. students and their families in regard to his plan for education. In it, he suggests that a heavy focus on CTE will be an essential part of what’s next in education.

Cardona is a product of a CTE, and has been a big proponent of these programs. He went to H.C. Wilcox Technical High School in his hometown

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of Meriden, Connecticut, and initially studied to become an automotive mechanic. He eventually changed focus and decided to go to college instead, pursuing teaching. Cardona wants to make sure all students have similar flexibility in choosing their career paths.

“One of the things I want to guard against is tracking or saying to an eighth grader, ‘You’re college-bound,’ ‘You’re not that’—that to me perpetuates inequities,” he told Central Connecticut State University graduates in 2019. “We have a lot of students sitting in our high schools today who need hands-on experiences, who want to build things, who want to develop things, who want to manufacture, who want to go into IT, go into business. And oftentimes, we have students who don’t take those

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THE FUTURE OF CTE opportunities, because they’re going to be less likely to be looked at by colleges.”

wherever, and you can have virtual mentorship or do a virtual tour,” says Green. “No matter where they live, a student should be able to access the education program that connects to their talents, their passion, and their COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS interests.’”

CTE advocates welcome Cardona’s focus and commitment to getting In rural regions that didn’t have geographic access to hands-on learning students prepared for life beyond K-12. opportunities on a daily basis, virtual CTE was a necessity before the “I think we’ve seen that there is this huge interest in CTE and we’ve pandemic, says Mills. “Continuing to create those opportunities, be it fully heard CTE being talked about at the national level in a way that it really virtual or through some kind of hybrid model, will be vital in expanding hasn’t been before,” says Meredith Hills, Senior Policy Associate for Advance access to high-quality CTE in a really equitable way,” she says.

CTE. “And having Secretary Cardona -- he understands it, he gets it.”

Alignment with business and industry partners can also help students “In regard to CTE, for a long time, we’ve talked about college or career see pathways, which should be connected all through the education ready -- we want it to be college and career ready,” says Kimberly A. Green, spectrum. “If you can get students a jumpstart on post-secondary education Executive Director of Advance CTE. “The Secretary of while they’re in high school or, at minimum, connect a high Education actually has lived that college and career, and I’m school program with the post-secondary program so that hoping that he will be able to use both his positioning as students aren’t having to start over when they get to postwell as opportunities secondary, that’s definitely a best practice,” says Hyslop. that are presented to the department to really solidify the Work-based learning for students is also getting a lot college and career readiness, because that’s what CTE is.” of attention, as students try to balance financial and family Green also anticipates the Cardona-led education challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.

SUBJECTS SUCH department to focus on equity in regard to CTE, and to have “If you are from a low-income family and you are AS CTE ARE a renewed emphasis on community colleges. “The recent working to contribute to your family’s household, you’re IMPORTANT [COVID relief measures] include a package of investment faced with this kind of false choice of connecting to free COMPLEMENTS and infrastructure, this time on human capital,” she says. work-based learning experiences versus actually doing THAT ADD “That potentially includes a focus on opening up access work that will help to contribute to your family,” says Green.

RELEVANCE TO to post-secondary education through free community CTE leaders need to connect the dots and help people get colleges.” credentials that result in higher-paying jobs, whether that is THE ACADEMICS What’s really important for CTE leaders is making in high school or in post-secondary education.

AND ACTUALLY sure they’re at the table when decisions about that funding Districts have also been investing stimulus funds into HELP STUDENTS are being made, says Alisha Hyslop, Senior Director of rapid re-skilling programs and short-term credentialing IMPROVE. Public Policy for the Association for Career and Technical programs to support people to pivot when the economy Education (ACTE). changes. These types of programs are largely in use in the “We need to make sure that some of the resources adult space right now, but could be considered to boost coming down from the federal government actually get into building equitable opportunities for students, says Green. and expanding programs and support wrap-arounds,” Hyslop says. “For example, there’s a huge number of laid-off workers from the hospitality CTE’S CURRENT PATH industry who need to get back to work and how the role that community Going forward, making CTE a foundational piece to education and technical colleges can play in that is going to be critical.” exposing learners to the world of options before them will be critical. “As is giving them those real-world experiences to decide and affirm, if this is the CTE WITHOUT BORDERS right choice for them,” says Green. “It’s empowering.”

Part of boosting CTE is getting school districts to make a deeper And as the U.S. and the world recovers from the pandemic, the CTE commitment to programs, courses, and resources. community is in a prime position to play an important role, says Hyslop.

“CTE should be offered to students across their educational career, “It’s hard to plan five years down the road, like you might have done a not as an add-on in the last semester of your senior year,” says Hyslop. strategic plan, but we’re encouraging educators to continue to do that long“Work-based learning shouldn’t be just a one-time, one day per year type term goal setting but also to be willing to make shifts and changes in the of experience. You need a work-based learning continuum. It starts with short term to meet students where they are and meet employers where they light touch things, such as guest speakers or watching videos of real are, and be flexible in responding to the current dynamic.” employers, and then maybe it progresses in intensity to job shadowing or Educators also need to overcome instincts to cut back on programs such mentoring, and then into more rigorous internships or long-term projects as CTE when trying to marshal resources to deal with learning loss. “I’ve with employers.” seen this happen in previous times we’ve that had disruptions ­— although “We have a vision of CTE without limits,” says Green. “That’s really obviously nothing to this scale — that there will be this kind of force about making sure that any learner, every learner who wants to participate hierarchy of like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to get the test scores up so we can only in CTE, has full access and support.” double down on the academics in the way that we’ve always taught them,’” For example, as a result of the pandemic, CTE opportunities and says Green. “Subjects such as CTE are important complements that add connections are now being forged in new ways. “You can be in Connecticut relevance to the academics and actually help students improve.” and talk to a professional in California, Montana, Hong Kong, Paris,

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HOW A 16-YEAROLD GETS OTHER KIDS EXCITED ABOUT CODING Founded by 16-year-old Ian Michael Brock, Dream Hustle Code is a computer science and education program geared toward students from diverse backgrounds to spark an interest in coding.

By Erik Ofgang

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hen Ian Michael Brock was 8 years old, he didn’t have any interest in coding.

“I only cared about playing video games, going to hang out with friends at recess, and also playing basketball and sports,” he says.

His parents showed him a video about the importance of teaching the topic in school, featuring some prominent voices, but Brock was bored at first and unimpressed with what the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg said in the video.

“I couldn’t relate to them,” he says. “I knew their names, but I didn’t even know what they did.”

Then he heard NBA star Chris Bosh talking about his personal experiences with coding as well as its importance. Brock’s feelings about the topic were instantly reprogrammed.

“Hearing that from somebody that, number one looked like me, number two played my favorite sport and is someone I can relate to, that’s what really made the difference,” he says.

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With the help of his parents, Brock founded Dream Hustle Code, a computer science and coding education program, specifically geared towards kids from diverse backgrounds. Today, Brock, now 16, homeschools and devotes his free time to teaching kids to code, particularly kids of color. His organization hosts a variety of programs, including various competitions in which students learn about computer science and compete as they get better at coding.

Brock is also becoming well-known for his efforts. He’s been featured on NPR and CBS This Evening, and he has more than 24,000 Instagram followers.

Dream Hustle Code’s sponsors include Mcdonald’s and Microsoft. And Brock’s passion for basketball and gaming came together when he moderated a recent Microsoft-sponsored event in conjunction with the release of Space Jam: A New Legacy that featured athletes and gamers and was aimed at inspiring a new generation of innovators.

Brock’s primary focus remains inspiring others who look like him to get involved in the world of coding. While working with students, he’s learned there are some key ways to foster an interest in coding.

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP In his coding classes, one of Brock’s first goals is to let students know he cares about them as people. “Sometimes it’s not about the actual lesson, it is the way the lesson is being taught,” he says. “Even if you just have like a two-minute conversation about asking how their day is, that is going to get a kid all in because they now think, ‘Oh, this teacher actually wants me to succeed.’”

CONNECT GAMING TO CODING “Gaming is another huge component in the computer science and coding industry,” Brock says. “The gaming industry is huge, it’s actually bigger than the music and movie industry combined. One in three people on Earth, they are either gamers themselves or watch people play video games.”

Helping students understand the connection between coding and games

IF YOU CAN SEE SOMEBODY WHO EITHER LOOKS LIKE YOU OR WHO YOU CAN RELATE TO? THAT’S WHAT’S GOING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION, BECAUSE THAT’S HOW IT WORKED FOR ME.’

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CREDIT: JASMIN MERDAN/GETTY IMAGES

EXCITED ABOUT CODING

can get them excited about programming. “What you have to do is explain that that favorite video game they love, there are developers that update the game every single day to improve it and make it even better,” Brock says.

“And there are actually a lot of kids who love the idea of creating their own video game because every kid has an idea for making either a game better or creating their own game.”

MAKE CLEAR THE OPPORTUNITY Pursuing a career in the gaming industry is not all about tech skills and it’s important to convey that to students. “You don’t even necessarily have to be the best computer programmer, you could be a graphic designer, you could be a project manager, there’s so many different aspects of building a game,” Brock says. “And if you explain to them how that passion that you have for playing video games, could actually turn into a lucrative job opportunity down the line, it does get kids engaged on a deeper level.”

EMPLOY PROJECT-BASED LEARNING Once you’ve sparked student interest in computer science, having students do textbook-style exercises can be the quickest way to extinguish that interest. Instead, Brock advises having students work toward a project of their choosing.

“If you have a kid, you teach them the basics of what they need to learn, and then challenge them with a project, it’s not only going to force them to apply the skills that they learn, but is giving them the freedom to say, ‘Hey, I get to use my creativity and build this amazing thing,’” he says.

REPRESENTATION MATTERS As Brock knows from personal experience, it can also help to have a procoding message come from people who look like the students you are trying to reach. “One of our biggest models is ‘See it, be it,’” Brock says. “If you can see somebody who either looks like you or who you can relate to? That’s what’s going to get your attention, because that’s how it worked for me.’”

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HOW GEOSCIENCE STUDENTS ARE SAVING LIVES GLOBALLY Geoscientists Without Borders works with researchers and their students globally to help solve humanitarian crises.

By Erik Ofgang

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CREDIT: GEOSCIENTISTS WITHOUT BORDERS

n 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people, including many in the nation’s capital city of Kathmandu.

Dr. Deepak Chamlagain, a geology professor at Tri-Chandra M. Campus, Tribhuvan University, believes that had building projects been guided by better data on seismic risk in the area, many lives would have been saved. As a result, Chamlagain now works with more than a dozen graduate students at his university to study seismic risk in the region.

These efforts are part of the Engineering Seismology and Seismic Microzonation for Seismic Site Effects Assessment program in Nepal, which is coordinated by Geoscientists Without Borders and part of that group’s larger Seismic Site Effects Study in Nepal.

Chamlagain and his students are using modern geophysical instrumentation to study subsurfaces in the region. This type of research seeks to identify ones that are good for building, such as bedrock, says geoscientist Dr. Bob Merrill, a member of the Geoscientists Without Borders committee, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists’ humanitarian outreach program.

“If you build on other types of sediments, such as clay-rich

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Students conducting fieldwork in Nepal.

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sediments, or sands, these transmit the damaging seismic waves much more strongly than bedrock will,” says Merrill who is also president of Catheart Energy, Inc. “If you build in these areas, you have a whole new series of problems in terms of construction and the types of reinforcing that you need to do.”

Chamlagain says this type of data will help guide future construction.

“We can say, ‘Okay this ground is good for pipes or building a multistory building,’” he says. “Our focus is on those cities which are rapidly urbanizing.”

SOLVING PROBLEMS THROUGH GEOSCIENCE Geoscientists Without Borders was started by geoscientist Craig Beasley in 2008 as an offshoot of the Society for Exploration Geophysicists. After the terrible devastation wrought by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 227,000, Beasley sought a way for geoscientists to share their expertise and potentially save lives from future disasters of this type.

Merrill joined the organization because he was concerned with global humanitarian issues and was inspired by its solution- and student-centered approach. “As a geologist, I see many of these issues that can be mitigated or even solved by using our knowledge as geologists and geophysicists,” he says. “That can be having to do with earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, identifying locations for water wells, even geochemistry of what’s in the water that’s being produced.”

The type of problems that can be solved with good geoscience are found in the developing world, but are also seen in the U.S., from water quality concerns to building practices that can leave communities vulnerable to flooding and other natural disasters. For example, in West Sumatra, Indonesia, Geoscientists Without Borders’ project partners evaluated the tsunami evacuation infrastructure in Padang, the province’s capital city, and developed a plan with local authorities, engineers, and others to improve evacuation plans in the region. In Nicaragua, project

GEOSCIENCE STUDENTS partners used geochemical analyses and social science to develop a better understanding of how persistent gas flux from the volcanoes at Masaya and Telica impact humans.

HOW TO WORK WITH GEOSCIENTISTS WITHOUT BORDERS

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MY MESSAGE TO THE DEVELOPED WORLD IS, ‘LET’S WORK TOGETHER IN THIS FIELD, AND THIS COULD BE THE POTENTIAL SITE FOR THEIR RESEARCH ALSO.’

Geoscientists Without Borders is currently involved in more than 50 projects with about 675 students, 80 university partners and 70 community partners.

“About half of the projects that we’ve funded have to do with disaster preparedness, about half have to do with identifying locations for water wells,” Merrill says. “Then there’s a smaller proportion that has to do with food security, such as using geoscience to optimize irrigation and agricultural fields and fishery [yield and sustainability].”

Geoscientists Without Borders’ requires that all projects must:

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Provide funding to projects that will benefit communities in need where applying geoscience, technology, and information is critical to improving poor or potentially hazardous conditions.

Strengthen the global geoscience community through beneficial multidisciplinary partnerships and cooperation with other organizations active in engineering and geoscience.

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Encourage students and introduce them to the broad range of geosciences careers while also strengthening university programs in geophysics and the geosciences.

Applicants include experts from around the world. “On many of our projects, the principal investigators are from U.S. universities,” Merrill says. “They’ve identified an issue, they often have partners, and international universities. Anyone can apply.”

In Nepal, Chamlagain says he is looking for international collaborators. “My message to the developed world is, ‘Let’s work together in this field, and this could be the potential site for their research also,’” he says. “I always like to cooperate with different universities or research institutes abroad to focus on this kind of problem that we developing countries are facing.”

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STEM LESSONS: MAKE LEARNING ENGAGING IN ANY ENVIRONMENT From 3D printing to STEM-themed escape rooms, there are plenty of STEM lessons to make learning fun

By Erik Ofgang

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ducators can make STEM lessons engaging, tactile, and fun, whether delivered in-person or remotely.

That was one of the messages from educators who spoke during a recent Tech & Learning webinar hosted by Dr. Kecia Ray. In this event, the theme was making the switch from hybrid to in-person learning. Educators shared STEM lesson plans that work well in various teaching formats.

“Engaging technology in the classroom is going to be absolutely critical, as we bring students back to the classroom full time,” said Scott Willett, vice president of sales for the Americas of Boxlight, Inc.

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(YOU CAN WATCH THE FREE ON DEMAND WEBINAR HERE.)

KEY TAKEAWAYS STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGEMENT Daniel Thompson, a science teacher at The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, shared three activities he found were effective at fostering engagement and science learning: science-themed escape rooms, a circuit box building lesson, and motion activities.

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ENGAGING STEM LESSONS MOTION ACTIVITIES Thompson got his students learning about things such as gravity, with motion activities. For one lesson, he had students write down their weight and then multiply that by the gravity on the moon. “That would tell them here’s what your weight would be like on the moon,” he said. “And they would do that for Mercury, Venus, all the way down to Neptune, and that would tell them, ‘Hey here’s what your weight would be like on that planet.’

Then what I would have them do is measure how far they can jump. Let’s say they can jump 1.5 meters, they would write that down.”

They’d then use the same conversion units to calculate how far they could jump on other planets.

write out the formula for creating bubbles and then each one used the 3D printer to print their own bubble wand. “Then we hypothesized which ones would make the best bubbles, and the kids really enjoyed that,” she said.

CORAL PRINTING Emslie had her students learn about coral reefs and the science involved.

Then to make the lesson more tactile and engaging, she had them design and print their own coral pieces. “Then we did a coral wall, and it still is in my classroom,” she said. She added that students continue to find new and amazing ways to utilize 3D printing.

PRINTING FOR OTHERS Emslie’s students also used 3D printing to make tools and goods for helping others. These included masks for protection from COVID-19, gifts for residents at an assisted living facility, and a glass with a handle designed to be held without a strong grip for a friend of Emslie’s that suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease and who has trouble gripping cans, cups, and glasses.

DON’T BE AFRAID OF 3D PRINTING. THE KIDS WILL TAKE YOU ALONG THE JOURNEY AND THEY ACTUALLY WILL HELP YOU OUT TREMENDOUSLY. CIRCUIT BOXES Thompson also had his students build circuit boxes using common materials such as cardboard boxes, batteries, and stripped-down Christmas lights. The lesson taught students about electricity and current, and provided an opportunity to express their creativity by decorating their circuit boxes and creating mini rooms that let their artistic abilities shine. “The kids get pretty detailed, they have Hulu, they got a picture of themselves,” he said.

ESCAPE ROOMS Thompson designed digital escape rooms that had his students racing against the clock to solve science puzzles and unlock various clues.

Around Christmas, he had an escape room based on Santa’s workshop that incorporated many of the science lessons he had taught previously. He said that regardless of where and how he conducted the escape rooms, they were always a hit. “Their favorite thing to do by far was escape rooms,” Thompson said of his students. “I did these through Zoom and I did them in-person, and the kids loved it.”

THE POWER OF 3D PRINTING Shelley Emslie, 5th Grade Teacher at Swan River School in Big Fork, Montana, shared how she uses 3D printing as a fun way to get her students interested in STEM. While utilizing 3D printing can seem very technical, Emslie urged educators to try their hand at it, even without prior experience. “Don’t be afraid of 3D printing,” Emslie said. “The kids will take you along the journey and they actually will help you out tremendously.”

BUBBLES OF OPPORTUNITY One of Emslie’s favorite activities with her students involved a lesson building on children’s love of blowing soap bubbles. She had her students

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CREDIT: MASKOT/GETTY IMAGES

HOW TEACHING ROBOTICS FOSTERS TECH AND SOFT SKILLS Students who compete in robotics competitions learn STEM skills, but equally important are the social skills they gather

By Erik Ofgang

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austo Flores has spent too many hours to count coding with his robotics coach Omar Cortez.

But the sixth grader at the School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove, Texas, isn’t complaining.

“When I get the code right, what I feel is pure enjoyment and happiness,” Fausto says.

Recently, Fausto and his teammate’s on the Owlbots 3028x competed at the first-ever Live Remote VEX Robotics World Championship. The event is hosted by The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation and VEwtics.

Because of ongoing COVID-19 travel and crowd-size restrictions, the robotics competition was held remotely. Instead of head-to-head battles in

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TEACHING ROBOTICS the same physical locations, the teams had their robots perform various agility and speed tasks against one another in real-time over the internet.

The annual VEX Robotics World Championship is the world’s largest robot competition, and typically attracts more than 30,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 70 nations.

Participating in a robotics team and in this type of event is about more than the thrill of competing, say enthusiasts.

Students who participate in robotics learn more than just technical skills, says Dan Mantz, CEO and Chairman of the Board for the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (REC).

“You learn mechanical build. You learn how to put things together. You learn electronics, and of course, you learn programming, which are all vital skills for STEM careers,” he says.

“But if you talk to any organization that runs STEM type competitions, The Owlbots, a sixth-grade team from the School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove, Texas, recently we’ll all agree it’s the soft skills that are by far the most important thing. You competed at the first-ever Live Remote VEX Robotics World Championship. learn communication skills. You learn collaboration. You learn problem-solving, and those are really, really skills, but they also have this intuition now on how to problem solve, and important, whether you pursue a college degree or you go into a STEM field how to collaborate in the future tech world.” or you go to a non-STEM field.”

Cortez has seen similar soft skill development with his students. “It’s been When Mantz became CEO of REC four years ago, the focus was “STEM, so beneficial in their speech, their public speaking,” he says. “When they first STEM, STEM,” but he’s been working to broaden that. “We realized that came to me, they were very shy, and now they’re extremely outgoing. And there’s a bigger issue out there and that’s the workforce. In the U.S. and so I think that’s probably been the most exciting part is watching these kids across the world, we need a workforce that can adapt to the emerging grow and develop into the people who they are right now.” technologies. So what programs like ours do is they give the students the Wendy Fernandez, a sixth grader on the team, says participating in foundation of the tech skills. They understand computers, programming, robotics this way has helped her collaborate with other students. “I enjoy the Internet of Things, and connectivity, so they understand all the tech working with my teammates to solve problems that we have,” she says.

HOW TO GET STARTED

WHEN THEY FIRST CAME TO ME, THEY WERE VERY SHY, AND NOW THEY’RE EXTREMELY OUTGOING. AND SO I THINK THAT’S PROBABLY BEEN THE MOST EXCITING PART IS WATCHING THESE KIDS GROW AND DEVELOP INTO THE PEOPLE WHO THEY ARE RIGHT NOW.

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Esteban Monreal, also a sixth grader on the Owlbots, says that educators or students interested in starting a robotics team should visit the VEX IQ website and explore the resources there.

“That really helps you understand a lot of different key aspects about your robot, and just robots in general, like torque, speed, mechanical advantages, energy transfer, subsystems -- really everything you need to know about a robot,” he says.

You can get started with a high school starter kit for $600 or an elementary school kit for $400, Mantz says, and the online resources are substantial enough that you don’t have to be a robotics expert to launch a team. “Our program does not require engineering mentors or programming mentors; it requires an adult, and typically a teacher or sometimes a parent who works as a facilitator,” he says.

CREDIT: OWLBOTS

TECH AND SOFT SKILLS

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TIPS FOR IMPLEMENTING ACTIVE LEARNING

Active learning provides ways to get your students engaged without needing to revamp how you teach

By Erik Ofgang

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tudents engaged in high-quality active learning lessons learn more than those who learn from traditional lectures, research shows. But keeping students actively engaged in a productive manner is not always easy.

Here are some methods and strategies for adding more active learning to your teaching.

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“ACTIVE” DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY EQUAL LEARNING

“I despise the term ‘active learning,’” says Louis Deslauriers, who researches active learning and is director of Science Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University.

That’s because being actively engaged doesn’t simply equate to more

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ACTIVE LEARNING efficient learning.

“If you read the textbook, if I were to do an MRI of your brain, we’d see that you’re highly, highly engaged,” Deslauriers says. “If you’re listening intently to a lecture, then in the strictest sense of the word, you are actively engaged.”

However, neither listening to a lecture or reading a textbook is the most efficient way to learn or what active learning is truly about. “What exactly do we mean by active learning?” Deslauriers says. “We mean that first, you have to be engaged. Obviously, that’s number one. Number two, you have to be engaged productively. And number three, the productivity has to be toward a goal that is deemed worthwhile.”

Understanding this as an educator can help guide and prioritize your active learning strategies around what truly helps students.

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PAUSE FOR THE ACTIVE LEARNING CAUSE

Active learning, Deslauriers says, is all about prompting the right cognitive process in the minds of students. Sometimes you can do this simply by pausing during direct instruction and allowing students to think about questions related to the material being covered such as: • Does this make sense to me?

• How is this relevant?

• Does it connect with something I already know? And if so, how do I integrate with what I already know?

• What sort of questions do I have right now?

• Can I repeat what the instructor just did? Or is it going to require a lot of practice?

“There’s no way you can undergo these mental processes when someone keeps talking,” Deslauriers says. But if educators pause during their lectures and encourage this type of focus, they can help their students learn more efficiently.

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IMPLEMENT PEER INSTRUCTION INTO ACTIVE LEARNING

Popularized in the 1990s by Harvard physics professor Eric Mazur, peer instruction involves asking students questions about key concepts during class and then providing immediate feedback while discussing their answers with peers and the instructor. Instructors can hand out electronic clickers, use web-based tools such as Google forms, or even go completely low-tech by giving color-coded cards to students that correspond to different answers. This helps students engage immediately with the material.

“The instructor shows the distribution of answers for the entire class,” Deslauriers says. “Students are getting feedback right away on what the correct answer is, and what their peers have answered.”

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USE EVIDENCE-BASED ACTIVE LEARNING TECHNOLOGY

While active learning does not have to be high tech, there are many edtech tools designed to help with its implementation. For example, NoRILLA uses a real-world virtual interface to teach students about STEM. Designed for younger students, it features AI technology to offer personalized immediate feedback. The platform was developed by Dr. Nesra Yannier, a systems scientist at Human-Computer Interaction

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Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, with professors Ken Koedinger and Scott Hudson.

Yannier says that while developing NoRILLA, the team studied how much students learned from it versus traditional makerspace activities and interactive stations at museums. They found that the NoRILLA approach increased student learning. “We saw that if you do not have this AI interactive guidance, even though they were building a lot with materials, they did not learn the underlying principles, and they also could not transfer it to real-world building later,” Yannier says. “A lot of schools are trying to switch to active learning, but the way you use active learning is really important. It’s not just doing any activity.”

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THEY HAVE A PIECE OF PAPER IN FRONT OF THEM, AND THEY’RE TALKING WITH EACH OTHER, AND THEY’RE TRYING TO FILL THE WORKSHEET. BUT THEN WHEN I LOOK MORE CLOSELY, I CAN SEE THAT THE WORKSHEET IS ACTUALLY LESS THAN USELESS. IT’S A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME.

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DON’T START WITH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Project-based learning is a type of active learning that many educators interested in active learning aspire to, but designing a full scale project-based class requires a great deal of resources and training. “If you’re trying to do project-based learning by yourself, you are almost certain to fail,” Deslauriers says. “But if you’re trying to do peer instruction that I described earlier, then you have a decent chance.”

Deslauriers regularly visits classrooms in higher education and K-12, sometimes he finds ones in which students appear to be engaging in active learning. “I see everyone is working hard on worksheets,” he says. “They have a piece of paper in front of them, and they’re talking with each other, and they’re trying to fill the worksheet. But then when I look more closely, I can see that the worksheet is actually less than useless. It’s a complete waste of time.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, he’ll visit classes in which an educator is conducting what appears to be a traditional lecture. “And yet, the instructor stops talking every two minutes or so, and says, ‘I want to give everyone time to think a little bit about what I just said. And, by the way, write down some questions you might have.’ Then the instructor starts again. So on the surface of it, this looks like a traditional lecture, but there’s quite a bit of active learning going on.”

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9 GRANT PROPOSAL REVIEW QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF Before you send a grant proposal, asking these questions can help ensure its success

By Gwen Solomon

CREDIT: D3SIGN/GETTY IMAGES

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GRANT PROPOSAL REVIEW

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riting a major grant proposal is both exhausting and exhilarating. You’ve marshaled all available resources, enlisted the help of all stakeholders, and followed the directions carefully to write a proposal that best describes the project you believe will make a difference for students in your school or district.

Congratulations!

The next step is to send it off. But wait! Maybe you should put it aside for a day or two and then check it over one more time before you seal the envelope that will seal its fate.

Use the grant proposal review questions below to make sure your application is the best that it can be.

9 GRANT PROPOSAL REVIEW QUESTIONS TO ASK Does the proposal:

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DEMONSTRATE A COMPELLING NEED FOR THE GRANT?

Be sure that you stated your problem or need in clear, concise terms and showed how the needs are aligned to the goals of the grant.

INCLUDE SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES?

The goals and objectives section of the proposal determines the strength of your application. Be sure you focused on what you want to accomplish and clearly stated the specific results or outcomes you plan to achieve with your project.

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MATCH YOUR ANSWERS TO THE GRANT’S SELECTION CRITERIA?

Make sure that you’ve thoroughly reviewed the requirements and tailored your answers to match the criteria. You should show how your project will give the funders the success they are looking for.

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EXPLAIN THE EXPERTISE OF THE STAFF?

You can best achieve your goals if you have a staff who’s experienced. Be sure you document the expertise of the people who will work on the project to let grant readers know that you are poised to achieve your goals.

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SHOW WHAT YOU MEAN BY SUCCESS AND HOW YOU WILL MEASURE IT?

Your grant proposal must define what success looks like and how you will know when you’ve achieved it. You should use measurable benchmarks to document successes. Demonstrating prior project successes and use of funds will help you win this grant. You should state what you’ve already achieved and what results you’ve already seen, even if it’s just with a small test group of students.

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STEER CLEAR OF JARGON?

Write clearly and concisely and in layman’s terms. Don’t use wording that is esoteric or academic. Explain simply what you want to do and how you will do it. The clearer you are, the better the funders will understand what you want to accomplish.

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IS THE NEED AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY CLEARLY DEFINED?

Technology should be incorporated into the project as needed but this shouldn’t be a wish list of items. You should explain exactly how technology will be used to achieve goals.

If your answers show that you’ve addressed all of the issues, you’re almost ready to ship off your proposal. But take just a little more time.

A few more questions to consider before sending: • Is your idea for the grant significant, compelling, and actionable?

• Does your funding proposal contain a sense of urgency?

• Do you clearly understand the mission of the funder?

• Does your application include a clear summary that articulates your vision for the project and need for the money?

• Are there specific, measurable goals and objectives that align to your needs?

• Does the proposal tie into the school or district’s plans?

• Does your proposal reflect best practices for instruction and learning?

• Do you have stakeholder buy-in?

• Is there a detailed budget for your proposal?

• Is there sustainability after the funds are spent?

• How will the needs of the community be met moving forward?

• You’ve done everything right so it’s finally time to submit your proposal.

Good luck!

DESCRIBE THE COMMITMENT TO MAKING IT WORK?

How you write about your goals is important. Use visionary words such as develop, establish, improve, increase, produce, and provide. Do you explain how the program is sustainable even after the grant period is over?

Be sure you mention how long you intend to implement your project and if you plan to extend it to help other students, schools, or districts.

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MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE GRANT FUNDS ARE ESSENTIAL?

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Describing how you will use the funds you receive from the grant is crucial. Break down clearly but briefly how you will spend the grant. State exactly what you plan to purchase and the cost so it’s clear you understand any limitations to using the funds.

THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFPS) IS YOUR GUIDE TO GRANT WRITING. ALMOST ALL RFPS WANT SIMILAR INFORMATION AND MANY WANT YOUR ANSWERS IN A SPECIFIC FORMAT. OFTEN, LARGER GRANTS WANT THE INFORMATION IN A SPECIFIC ORDER. WHILE THIS SEEMS RIGID, IT HELPS YOU STAY ORGANIZED.

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