"Change your Mindset, Change your Teaching."
“Change your mindset, change your teaching.” This is a powerful mantra that I have implemented into my daily teaching practices. Gone are the days of staying seated for long periods of time, completing worksheets and other mundane tasks because the teacher said so. As educators, we need to invigorate, stimulate and challenge the students of today through thought provoking and hands-on tasks.
For the past ten years, I have built my classroom environment around the virtues of accountability, perseverance and responsibility. I feel these virtues help strengthen and mold the learner as a whole by deepening their social and emotional development - important attributes that continually help build self confidence and personal success through life. My classroom will continue to build upon those character virtues, but I will infuse the skills of communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. These four Cs are the core of shaping a 21st Century learner who can solve real world challenges.
As a middle school Science teacher, a STEM mindset is at the center of my curriculum. I currently teach at St. Patrick School in Malvern. I have the backing and support of my principal, Ms. Patricia O’Donnell. She is a strong advocate for technology and collaborative learning through problem solving. With that stated, I have been able to incorporate STEM in my classes. These ideas have been built around the steps of the Scientific Method. My students have created balloon powered vehicles and paper roller-coasters, designed two-foot paper airplanes and built dinosaurs with Legos. This past year, our school collectively collaborated on a STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math) unit based on water. Each classroom was asked to create lessons on water and its impact. I chose to have the fifth graders create a device using all six simple machines that would be able to water a plant. The seventh graders made their own rain barrel system accompanied with a mural and the eighth graders created a water filtration system.
I am incorporating more design-build activities with simple inexpensive items in an effort to reinforce and cultivate the four C’s. The impact of learning that the children experience is off the charts. The problem solving, critical thinking and communication that they experience by working in a group setting are invaluable life skills. I have stated in my class on several occasions that, “School is a playground of learning and place to get dirty by making mistakes.” STEM allows this type of trial and error to happen in a comfortable setting. Many students in my school community want the immediate answer. I want them to ask the why, then apply their experienced learned knowledge to the bigger concept. Hopefully, this mindset will lead to deeper thinking and more innovative ideas. The children of today are the future innovators of tomorrow. We, as educators, must be innovative in our own thoughts to help them fulfill their potential.
To expand on my current STEM ideas, I have presented coding in all of my classes. I have utilized CODE.ORG as my immediate resource. This will increase problem solving through fun games and relevant characters. I want to give them a taste of software programming and basic engineering principles. I have also had my students create a maze out of Mega Blocks utilizing a Bee-Bot, which is a codable robot, to maneuver itself to the finish line. The students have played with Ozobots, which are codable robots that following colored lines and SnapCircuits which gives a hands-on approach to electricity and circuitry.
Through this philosophy, I will challenge my students to become innovative thinkers and problem solvers to influence tomorrow’s global workforce.
Christopher Fender
For the past ten years, I have built my classroom environment around the virtues of accountability, perseverance and responsibility. I feel these virtues help strengthen and mold the learner as a whole by deepening their social and emotional development - important attributes that continually help build self confidence and personal success through life. My classroom will continue to build upon those character virtues, but I will infuse the skills of communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. These four Cs are the core of shaping a 21st Century learner who can solve real world challenges.
As a middle school Science teacher, a STEM mindset is at the center of my curriculum. I currently teach at St. Patrick School in Malvern. I have the backing and support of my principal, Ms. Patricia O’Donnell. She is a strong advocate for technology and collaborative learning through problem solving. With that stated, I have been able to incorporate STEM in my classes. These ideas have been built around the steps of the Scientific Method. My students have created balloon powered vehicles and paper roller-coasters, designed two-foot paper airplanes and built dinosaurs with Legos. This past year, our school collectively collaborated on a STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math) unit based on water. Each classroom was asked to create lessons on water and its impact. I chose to have the fifth graders create a device using all six simple machines that would be able to water a plant. The seventh graders made their own rain barrel system accompanied with a mural and the eighth graders created a water filtration system.
I am incorporating more design-build activities with simple inexpensive items in an effort to reinforce and cultivate the four C’s. The impact of learning that the children experience is off the charts. The problem solving, critical thinking and communication that they experience by working in a group setting are invaluable life skills. I have stated in my class on several occasions that, “School is a playground of learning and place to get dirty by making mistakes.” STEM allows this type of trial and error to happen in a comfortable setting. Many students in my school community want the immediate answer. I want them to ask the why, then apply their experienced learned knowledge to the bigger concept. Hopefully, this mindset will lead to deeper thinking and more innovative ideas. The children of today are the future innovators of tomorrow. We, as educators, must be innovative in our own thoughts to help them fulfill their potential.
To expand on my current STEM ideas, I have presented coding in all of my classes. I have utilized CODE.ORG as my immediate resource. This will increase problem solving through fun games and relevant characters. I want to give them a taste of software programming and basic engineering principles. I have also had my students create a maze out of Mega Blocks utilizing a Bee-Bot, which is a codable robot, to maneuver itself to the finish line. The students have played with Ozobots, which are codable robots that following colored lines and SnapCircuits which gives a hands-on approach to electricity and circuitry.
Through this philosophy, I will challenge my students to become innovative thinkers and problem solvers to influence tomorrow’s global workforce.
Christopher Fender
AOPTech would like to thank Mr. Fender for sharing his insightful experiences with us.
If you know of a teacher that should be the next "AOPTech Teacher Feature"
let us know here - [email protected]
If you know of a teacher that should be the next "AOPTech Teacher Feature"
let us know here - [email protected]