Welcome to my Engineering Design Portfolio(EDP) for
University of Nebraska-Omaha's TED - 8860 Invention & Innovation in Engineering Education. The purpose of this website is to provide assistance to teachers who are trying to implement new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Mathematics) components into their classroom. Each card below links to a step-by-step process for each of my projects created as a part of this class, including any code, links to purchasing necessary materials, and videos of any troubleshooting and final products. Feel free to contact me using the link below with comments on any of the projects or with questions or suggestions for improvement!
My STEM Philosphy:
Kids need a place where they can get together to learn how to approach and solve problems they care about.
As a middle school STEM teacher, I feel students learn best through a constructivist teaching approach. Constructivism, is an inquiry-based teaching method that offers a student-centered learning community where students work collaboratively together to solve real world problems. I believe that teaching with this type of instruction empowers my students to take ownership of their learning by allowing them to explore problems and uncover solutions.
To be a successful educator, student learning should be the focal point of instruction. For that reason, I consider myself a facilitator rather than a teacher. As a facilitator, I aim to provide my students with the learning tools to construct their own education. Many of my middle school students are natural scientists. They love to explore, invent, build, and figure things out and be actively engaged in their learning. While many tolerate and enjoy working with a 'fake' scenario (“A space alien has just landed and . . .”) they are most engaged when dealing with real-world problems that scientists and engineers are or were working on. Environmental and school-
based issues are among their favorites. They like to make the world and their school a better place.
To this end, I help students find ways to answer their own questions by encouraging them to perform active research, rather than giving them the answer. I also provide guidance and
assistance to my students to help them accurately formulate their own hypotheses, discoveries, and conclusions. If you were to walk into my classroom, you would find my students working in groups, solving problems through hands-on investigation coupled with an infusion of technology. My proactive and productive facilitation in a student-centered environment makes me a successful teacher and provides for a fun and innovative learnig environment and class for my students.
