Helping science-averse teachers integrate STEM and literacy

Key points:

• Connecting STEM to literacy begins with an engaging topic that leads to questions
• Using robots to teach creativity, collaboration, and self-confidence
• 5 ways we used our literacy platforms to engage students
• For more news on STEM trends, visit eSN’s STEM & STEAM hub

As a former middle school math teacher, I’ve witnessed firsthand how STEM education and literacy can work together to create powerful learning experiences. This understanding has deepened through my collaboration with Kathy Renfrew, whose journey from a self-proclaimed “science-phobic” classroom teacher to renowned STEM educator and leader illustrates the transformation that happens when educators break down traditional subject-area barriers and create truly interdisciplinary units.

Kathy’s attitude toward STEM changed when she met a physics professor who introduced her to hands-on, inquiry-based science education. That transformative experience led her to pursue a master’s degree in science education, launching a 30-year career that would include innovative projects such as building a log cabin with her students as part of their science learning. An active advocate of the Next Generation Science Standards, (NGSS), she eventually became Vermont’s Science Assessment Supervisor and has served as an NGSS curriculum reviewer and president of the board of the NSF’s Society of Elementary Presidential Awardees. I suspect I am not the only one who affectionately thinks of her as the “mother of NGSS.”

I’ve observed that many elementary teachers, like Kathy, are curious about how to teach STEM–but with the strong emphasis on ELA in early education, they need engaging resources that bridge the gap between science instruction and literacy development.

The engaging power of phenomena-based STEM

Through our collaboration, Kathy and I have focused on making NGSS more accessible and practical by helping educators understand how to teach STEM effectively without having to reinvent implementation strategies. Our work culminated in the development of The Water Princess unit–a phenomena-based, multi-day interdisciplinary resource that combines literacy and STEM learning. The unit is designed for 2nd-grade students for two very specific reasons: 1) early elementary schools are eager for age-appropriate STEM resources; and 2) 2nd-graders have the literacy skills to write questions, to read content, and to note their own observations. In short, they have the foundation and academic independence to benefit from interdisciplinary lessons.

In creating the unit, we started with Kathy’s conviction that phenomena inspire curiosity by providing students with intriguing and relevant experiences to investigate and to question. That phenomenon could be an engaging story like The Water Princess, which tells the story of a young girl’s quest to bring clean drinking water to her African village. Phenomena can be based on any common experience that is meaningful to every young learner, such as the playground on a hot day. There are a number of questions for students to explore here: Why is the slide so hot? Why is the blacktop hotter than the grass? What can we do to make it cooler? Anchoring lessons in something familiar and yet still mysterious prompts critical thinking and exploration. Phenomena-based STEM lessons are engaging for students and for teachers, who can express their creativity by creating their own lessons and units or exploring ones that have been crafted with intentional interdisciplinary objectives.

When we shared the unit at NSTA (National Science Teaching Association) and later in Kathy’s home state at MSTA (Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers), the feedback included appreciation and excitement.

How to design and teach units that combine STEM and literacy

Kathy has a number of guiding principles when she’s designing units. She always starts with the standards, while at the same time remembering that she’s teaching children, not the curriculum. This means that she adjusts her curriculum to meet the needs of the kids she’s teaching. She says it’s not always true, but often “what’s good for struggling learners is good for most of the kids in my classroom.”

Of course, not all teachers have the time to design their own units and may need a variety of resources to help them bring STEM to their elementary classrooms. Just as effective teachers meet students where they are, the most helpful schools provide teachers the inspiration or guidance they need through professional learning opportunities. The Water Princess Unit, for example, includes a video of an educator bringing the unit to life with students. In addition, if an educator is struggling with content areas such as NGSS or the science of reading, they have access to a vast array of professional development offerings spanning dozens of topics.

Kathy recommends that, when adopting high-quality instructional materials, teachers think about how they can implement the instruction while taking student interest and identity into account. They may choose to start small by adapting small pieces of a unit, rather than following it “as is,” therefore making it more meaningful for the students. It is critical that teachers make the unit their own so that they feel excited about implementing it in their classrooms. Their excitement will serve as a model for the students.

To incorporate literacy skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening into any STEM lesson a teacher chooses, Kathy recommends frequent interactive read-alouds. She also has every student write in a science notebook. The notebooks help students build coherence, teach them writing skills, and empower them to assess their own learning. It also makes students’ thinking visible, a practice Kathy also supports by using a “KLEWS chart” made up of students’ observations written on a notecards and posted on the wall for everyone to see and use throughout the unit. KLEWS is an acronym based on these questions:

• What do we think we Know?
• What are we Learning?
• What is our Evidence?
• What are we still Wondering?
• What Scientific words, principles, and connected phenomena have we learned?

Kathy also reminds educators that practices like a “word wall” that are often isolated to ELA lessons are also great supports for a STEM lesson and can help normalize interdisciplinary learning.

Connecting STEM to literacy begins with presenting students with reading that inspires them, makes them want to understand something, and drives them to ask questions. When students become curious, science starts to happen. My collaboration with Kathy was driven by a desire to support teachers, especially those who are “science-phobic,” in feeling more comfortable and confident teaching science. As Kathy says, “Through breaking down the classroom walls and showing quality teaching in action, we can elevate educators everywhere.”