DESIGNING THE MOST ENERGY EFFICIENT WIND TURBINE BLADES

In this STEAM activity, you will manipulate different variables for wind turbine blades and measure the mechanical and electrical outputs using wind energy. You can continue improving your design to reach the maximum efficiency, while taking the aesthetic quality and cost under consideration.

Shay Motalebi, New Life Academy

ENGINEERING AN ENGINEERING CURRICULUM

When science teachers build their curriculum, why not use the same design process that we teach our students? We will take a look at how one high school used the “Research, Design, Build, Test and Implement” model to develop a science curriculum that hopefully lives up to the name STEM. One year into our two-year plan, we can now share and discuss the process and some of the curriculum materials and teaching kits we have tried and adopted or rejected. Participants are also encouraged to share some of the materials and curriculum vendors they have found useful.

Steve Merten, West Lutheran High School

WHAT DO SCIENTISTS REALLY DO?

Many science students (and even instructors!) struggle with describing what a job in science looks like on day-to-day basis. In reality, many of the daily tasks done by scientists do not involve science directly, but are essential to running a science-based business. Learn about a high-school program that engages students in all aspects of creating a science-based business–and ideas and strategies for doing this in your own classroom. This breakout will also discuss how to find and convince a private company to support and sponsor a science project in your school.

Dan Ehresmann, Southwest Christian High School

Many STEM education organizations such as Cody Savvy also shared their expertise with conference attendees.

DREAM IT, BUILD IT! CREATE MOBILE APPS WITH APP INVENTOR

Discover innovative ways to integrate app development and user-centered design into your classroom! You will create an app (or two!) and receive access to ready-made resources, lesson plans, and real-world project ideas to take back and use right away. Bring your own device. No experience necessary!

Andrea Wilson Vazquez & Eileen Kling, Code Savvy