What makes a unit STEMS-y

The problem with the idea of “STEMS²” concepts is that it’s one of those things that I can’t really quantify or classify.  It’s more of a feeling than a description, for me.  When I think about what I felt were very STEMS-y lessons, adventures and activities, I think back to our 2 and a half weeks together on O’ahu and Big Island.  I suppose I could label certain vague aspects of a unit or lesson that could make it qualify as STEMS-y.

-        Generally, we were outside for our learning journeys, so, if it’s not in a traditional classroom setting, that’s a good indicator.  Even though we were inside for a few of our learning days, the things we covered linked to our outdoor experiences. 

-        Most of the time there was a Hawaiian aspect involved in our lessons.  This doesn’t mean that if it doesn’t have Hawaiian culture in it it’s not STEMS-y.

-        There were lots of hands-on activities, we were mostly doing stuff rather than reading or writing

-        People who weren’t our teachers were our teachers for that day

-        Time was a very fluid concept

It might be easier to just go over a few examples of what were the most memorable experiences for me and why I feel they are very STEMS-y

Sailing with Na Pea

This has to be my top pick for best STEMS unit we did on Big Island.  There were so many facets of this day that are so memorable.  I can go through the basic check marks.  We were outside.  We had very hands-on activities.  There was Hawaiian cultural side to it.  The kids were the ones who were our primary teachers for this lesson.  And, we totally ran over our time limit.

Why was this lesson so memorable for me?  Usually in a classroom we just learn about what the boats look like, what they’re used for and how they work.  It’s very superficial and you form no connection with the lesson.  For this lesson we were experiencing them.  I learned from the kids how to sail, along with the other side of sailing like rigging the canoe, tying ropes, etc.  I think I was just mostly impressed how much the students knew.  They had so much knowledge and were really good at relaying the information in their heads to us.  People think teaching is hard, but they were making it look really easy.  Essentially, the teacher/student line gets a little fuzzy here.  When someone else teaches the class, the teacher becomes a student who learns alongside their students.  The students get to actually see that the teacher is now learning with them.

Another interesting aspect of this day was the concept of dealing with the unexpected.  Different people take away different things from any given moment.  For my experience, I was so stoked I got to work the sail and that I didn’t screw up.  I figured since everything went by the book my experience was solid.  The other group sailing in the other boat all of a sudden huli-ed.  They got back up and everyone was fine.  When we got back in I asked them about it, and they were so stoked they flipped.  They got to experience the procedure for when shit hits the fan and they performed well.  From the students’ point of view, they only have to execute shit hit the fan procedures if they screw up.  From the teachers’ point of view, they took away something valuable.  The students were confused by this.  But that’s the beauty of the unexpected, you never know what you’re going to learn nor what experience will be valuable. 

I think the most important aspect of this lesson that made it so STEMS is the fact that it’s so engaging.  It accesses and crosses so many different disciplines at once into an action.  Being active is another aspect that makes it a good lesson.  Experiencing the boat, the sail and the water was the part of this trip that stands out the most.    The one overall aspect of this lesson that made it so memorable, it was fun.

Night Activities

We had lots of fun night time on this trip.  Aside from the nights we had at the Tooman house, I’m talking about the couple of nights at Kilauea.  These were unscripted adventures, but were very much inspired and linked to the lessons learned throughout the day. 

Night photography may not have been inspired by anything we learned, but it was fun.  It was also a nearly perfect example of the design process in action.  Examining a long exposure pictures of the stars revealed a streak of red light.  Someone asks the question, “What is that?”  Someone says it’s a headlamp of someone walking across the shot.  One thing leads to another, and we’re taking pictures and experimenting to see which iteration of variables creates the best picture.  I’m fairly certain this was DJ’s first attempt writing the STEMS² and all of our poses.  1^st try, best try.

Other night activities were the walk back to the cabins from the crater.  I don’t remember who had the idea to walk back, but it was a good’n.  As we marched, we got to see different plants, and some shrine or prayer rocks.  I had my headlamp and flashlight full blast.  I assumed it’d be pitch black because it was night and there were no lights around.  Everyone else also had their lights and part way, someone decided we should stop, turn our lights off and enjoy the darkness.  Turns out, the glow from the crater we all saw a little while before was being reflected off the haze.  The sky was a bright orange and we could clearly see each other without our flashlights.  Pretty cool. 

Another one of these night activities was that night we sang with each other in Kona.  Just a fun exchange of cultural knowledge.  Seeing who could play the ukulele, who could sing, what songs we knew, who could dance?  Mostly though, it was just fun to be around this group and enjoy their company.  

 Shout out to Jen Seki.  Two of these are from her efforts on the trip