Supporting scientific
thinking & inquiry
through play
Erin McMahon
Teacher
Frederick County Public Schools
Workshop Agenda
 Introduction
 Why STEM
 How can I use it?
 Mindset
 Engineering a Letter
 3D Model from environment
 Rapunzel
Tower Building
Challenge
 Build the Tallest Tower
 How
can we use this?
 Closure
 Questions, Resources
My Journey with STEM
 10
years teaching
 Frederick
County
Public Schools, MD
 1st
grade teacher
 PK-5th
grade STEM
Teacher
 Maryland
Association of
Science Teachers
Outstanding
Science Teacher
Why STEM all of a sudden?
Skills all learners will need to have to
participate in the 21st century workforce.
 Innovation
 Problem
 Competition
in
global workforce
 Disciplinary
Literacy
Skills
Solving
 Communication
Skills (written &
oral)
 Science
 Collaboration
 Technology
 Inquiry
 Engineering
 Mathematics
(Questioning)
 Apply
technology
 Interpret
Data
What
is
Your
Mindset
?
I've missed more than 9000
shots in my career. I've lost
almost 300 games. 26
times, I've been trusted to
take the game winning
shot and missed. I've failed
over and over and over
again in my life. And that
is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan
I'm a great believer in luck,
and I find the harder I work
the more I have of it.
~Thomas Jefferson
I ran and ran and ran every
day, and I acquired this
sense of determination, this
sense of spirit that I would
never, never give up, no
matter what else
happened.
~ Wilma Rudolph
Continuous effort - not
strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking
our potential.
~ Winston Churchill
The healthiest
competition occurs
when average
people win by
putting in above
average effort.
~Colin Powell
The big secret in life is that there is
no big secret. Whatever your
goal, you can get there if you're
willing to work.
~ Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine
These individuals all have / had a “growth mindset”.
By putting forth effort, and not giving up even when
experiencing failure, they eventually met success.
What is Your Mindset?
The American Heritage Dictionary defines
“Mindset” as:
A fixed mental attitude or disposition that
predetermines a person's responses to and
interpretations of situations.
https://www.stanford.edu/dept/ps
ychology/cgi-bin/drupalm/cdweck
Carol Dweck, a
Stanford University
social psychologist
found that people
possess
“fixed mindsets”,
and / or
“growth mindsets”
She published a well known book,
and several articles on her
research. People around the
world are very interested in her
findings and apply what she has
found to their lives.
Growth Mindset
“In a growth mindset,
people believe that their
abilities can be
developed through
dedication and hard
work—brains and talent
are just the starting
point…”
http://www.mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/index.html 05/31/11
http://myhomepage.ferris.edu/~baconc/Mindset.ppt#259,4,Depending upon the area
“The growth mindset
views challenges as
opportunities for
improvement.”
I throw myself into
difficult tasks
I have learning goals
I engage in
self-monitoring
I believe
that
intelligence
is not fixed
I thrive on
challenge
I can ignore the
low aspirations of
my peers
My
intelligence
can be
improved
through
learning
I am self-confident
I like feedback on my
performance so I
can improve
I react to failure by
trying harder
http://growthmindseteaz.org/caroldweck.html
Fixed Mindset
“In a fixed mindset, people
believe their intelligence or
talent, are simply fixed
traits…. They also believe
that talent alone creates
success—
without
effort...”
http://www.mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/index.html 05/31/11
http://myhomepage.ferris.edu/~baconc/Mindset.ppt#259,4,Depending upon the area
“The fixed mindset
sees limitations on
intelligence,
personality,
opportunities, etc…”
I believe that intelligence is fixed
You cannot get smarter.
I like easy
performance
goals
I was born bright / not very bright
I do things in order to get praise
I react to failure by switching off and avoiding the issues
I don’t like challenge
I don’t want to risk looking stupid
I tend to conform to the low aspirations of my peers
http://growthmindseteaz.org/caroldweck.html
So, If I have a “fixed
mindset”, am I stuck with it?
NO!!!
Mindsets can be changed.
Did you know that
your brain and intelligence
can grow?
You can become more intelligent!
By challenging your brain
(working it just like a muscle) you
can grow more dendrites.
Dendrites are little branch like
fibers which grow from your
neurons (brain cells) and
create more brain
connections.
By continuing to challenge
& work your brain, you can
develop even more brain
power!
Look for opportunities to challenge yourself.
Grow dendrites!
Be willing to take on risks.
Don’t be afraid of failure.
It’s okay to fail. Keep on trying. Use what you’ve
learned from the experience to help you improve
the next time.
Don’t limit yourself, and don’t let others limit you.
Aim to be your BEST YOU!
Be willing to work.
Develop a love of learning.
Be a creative problem solver.
Don’t give up.
Famous Successful
People Who
Failed…
How did their failure lead to future success?
Henry Ford
 Innovative
assembly line
 American-made
5
cars
early businesses all failed
 He
was broke
 Lead
to Ford Motor Company
R.H. Macy
7
failed businesses
 Big
store in New York City
 Macy’s
Department Store
Soichiro Honda
 Honda
turned down by Toyota
 Interviewed
as engineer
 Jobless
 Started
making scooters at home
 Created
Honda motor company
Walt Disney
 Fired
 Said
by newspaper editor
he had no imagination or good ideas
 Failed
 He
business attempts
went bankrupt
 Movies,
merchandise, theme parks now
make over billions of dollars
Tasty Mistakes
 Chocolate
Chip Cookies (1930- Boston Ruth
Wakefield ran out of baker’s chocolate so she
substituted with sweetened chocolate)
 Ice
Cream Cones (1904- World’s Fair Ernist Hamwi
was selling zalabia, a Persian waffle, when the man
next to him was selling ice cream and he ran out of
bowls, so they served it on the waffles)
More Tasty Mistakes
 Potato
Chips (1852- New York George
Crum was a chef who had a customer
send back his potatoes because he
wanted them cut thinner and fried longer,
so Crum got angry and cut them as thin as
possible and served them with salt)
Accidental Inventions
 Microwave
Oven
 Pacemaker
 Penicillin
 Vulcanized
Rubber
 Teflon
 Super
Glue
 Safety
Glasses
Now how can we
apply this to our
learners?
Even our youngest learners…
Building A Letter

* Background: In the
book Alberts Alphabet,
Albert designs and
builds all the letters of
the alphabet, using
tools and scraps. A
playground and path
are then lined with the
letters.

* Design Challenge:
Build a letter of the
alphabet that will
stand by itself. Be
ready to present your
work to the class.

* Criteria: The letter
must be freestanding.
It must be made from
materials found in the
classroom.
What will you need…
 Materials:
below.
•
You may select from the items
cardboard • straight edge • scrap
paper/cloth • tape • brads • hole punch
• boxes • stapler • scissors/cutting tools •
wood and wooden dowels • string •
writing and drawing tools • glue

Things to consider in the classroom…
Engineering Design Process…
*
Put students into
groups
*
What’s the
problem
*
Brainstorm
solutions
*
Create the
solution you think is
best
*
Test your solution
*
Evaluate your
solution
*
Photograph
results
*
Rubric to assess
Here are a few examples…
What did we learn through play?

•
Look an
engineering lesson
plan

•
Design a 3D
model of a letter in
your environment

•
Letter model
must have a moving
part

•
You must know
the letter, the letter
sound, and be able
to build the same
shape
How can we apply what we
learned from this challenge to a
S.T.E.M. career?
Rapunzel, Rapunzel!
•
Tower Building Challenge
•
Work with the people at your table to
build Rapunzel’s Tower
•
Your team will be judged on
•
Tower design
•
Tower strength
•
Tower height
•
Team collaboration
•
Team presentation
(Shark Tank 30 second sell time)
What do we already know about
towers?
Real life application…
• Have you ever wondered how a skyscraper
can stand?
• Have you ever wondered how architects
design a skyscraper and how contractors
build them?
• What are the forces acting on a tower?
• What is the importance of a foundation?
• Are there shapes that would increase
building stability more than others?
What’s the tallest tower you can
build using only two sheets of
newspaper?
• Here’s the challenge…
• Getting the newspaper to stand up
• Without using tape, staples, glue or other materials
• You can bend, fold, or tear the paper itself
What you need…
• 2 sheets of newspaper
• Ruler
• You may alter the newspaper in any way to
combat the forces pushing and pulling on your
newspaper tower.
• Air pushing
Pushing
Building Load pushing
Ground
Which way is most stable? How can
you use this to build your tower?
Try it out…
• Now construct your tower!
• If you think you can make it taller, keep
redesigning it until you can’t go any higher.
• Walk around and observe other group’s
designs.
• When you are finished building, measure the
height of your tower.
• Earthquake Scientist
How can we apply what we
learned from this challenge to a
S.T.E.M. career?
Classroom STEM Challenges

Goldilocks and the Three
Bears

Three Billy Goats Gruff

Three Little Pigs

Gingerbread Man

Humpty Dumpty

Jack and Jill

Hey Diddle Diddle

Tops and Bottoms

The Mixed Up Chameleon

Cinderella
Classroom STEM Challenges
 Shapes
All Around Us
 Planting
 Earth
A Rainbow
Friendly Bird House
 Homemade
Toys
CEE Children’s Engineering
Educators
www.childrensengineering.com
How can we get students to
collaborate in teams?

Teamwork Rubric

Presentation Rubric

Team Design Brief
(Engineering Design
Process)

Judging Criteria
(Aesthetic Design)

Team Jobs
 Materials
 Designer
 Project Manager
 Recorder/Reporter
How we can assess STEM learning?
Time and Money…
No.
Where it can begin
 Catapults
 Houses
 Egg
 Bridges
drop
 Secret
Codes
 Garden
 Paper
Airplanes
 Marble
 Live
Angry Birds
 Parachutes
 Recycled
cars
Rollercoasters
Where we can start

stem-works.com

Pinterest

Youtube

PBS

Magazines

Talk to kids

Books 
“Teaching STEM in the Early Years: Activities for
Integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics” by Sally Moomaw
STEAMy Resources
Websites

Peep in the Big Wide World
www.peepandthebigwideworld.c
om

Buck Institute for Education
www.bie.org

PBS Kids- Zoom
www.pbskids.org/zoom/activities/

PBS Kids- Design Squad
www.pbskids.org/designsquad

Click 2 Science
www.click2sciencepd.org
Print Resources

Engineering For Every Kid by
Janice VanCleave

Team Building Activities For
Every Group by Alanna Jones

Authentic Learning
Experiences by Dayna Laur

Project-Based Inquiry Units for
Young Children by Colleen
MacDonell

PBL in the Elementary Grades
by Buck Institute for Education
Contact Me…
 Erin
McMahon

Valley Elementary School

Frederick County Public Schools, MD

erin.mcmahon@fcps.org

240-236-3012