A group of Troy University students recently received lessons in problem-solving, communication, collaboration and perseverance through challenges that culminated in the Faculty of Teacher Education's biannual science and STEM fair held last week.
Students in Dr. Shannon Dadd's Elementary STEM Methods class were challenged to develop working hydraulic arms from materials she provided, to pick up cups, balls, and other objects, or to play a game of tic-tac-toe. They were given tasks to complete using their arms, such as: Toes.
“Our new teachers are actually learning about 21 things through this activity and engineering-based learning.cent You will develop century skills such as problem solving, communication and collaboration,” Dad said. “They're learning about failure and learning how to overcome it. All of these apply to anyone in any field, not just teachers and students.” These are skills that are highly transferable to everyday life and careers. is. ”
Abby Wood, a senior elementary education major at Strawn University, said the students had been working on the project for about two weeks prior to last Thursday's final presentation.
“We've been working on this for several weeks. We built it from scratch using materials that Dr. Dud gave us,” Wood said. “We're using water and a hose, and in order for the arm to move properly, you have to pump the right amount of water into the hose. The difficult part of all of this is getting the air bubbles out of the tube. Some had to pick up balls, others had to play tic-tac-toe. We had task cards that she gave us that we had to accomplish.
Wood said the project was challenging and at times frustrating, but extremely gratifying.
“It feels very fulfilling,” she said. “There is no doubt that we have experienced ups and downs while working on this project, so it is great to be able to achieve success at the end and know what all our hard work has achieved. It felt really good.”
Dr. Dadd said the project is also another way to prepare students for the challenges they will face as classroom teachers.
“Through these 21,cent They learn the skills of the century, learn about failure, and realize they can overcome it,” she said. “Teachers struggle with failure every day. They also move away from paper-and-pencil, worksheet, and test-style activities to open students' eyes and minds to different types of learning and different types of activities, and encourage hands-on, It's going to engage students in something more kinesthetic with problem solving, and in the long run, it's just going to be better for kids in K-12 classrooms. Beyond learning and producing generations of engineers, we want every child to thrive at 21.cent It's the skill of the century that makes them successful adults. ”
Mr. Wood said Dr. Dadd's classes helped prepare the students to become better teachers.
“You don't always succeed. STEM is all about learning from failure,” she said. “This class taught us that sometimes we fail, but we have to bounce back from it and become better teachers.”
