Session #4

Reflect, Reframe, and Reimagine your STEM classroom. In this course educators will have an opportunity to examine their conscious and unconscious biases and their potential impacts in the classroom culture and curriculum. We will unpack the history of STEM and the individual, institutional, and environmental influences that have contributed to some of the notable educational gaps. Lastly, using the D-STEM Equity model educators will gain strategies to employ a more culturally relevant pedagogy and develop a more inclusive classroom culture.

LaTeX is a typesetting system for the educator who wants to create documents with beautifully typeset mathematics. Have you ever been frustrated looking for the right symbol or formula when creating math on an online platform? In this workshop we will introduce participants to basic LaTeX and show how it can be useful for online platforms that you might already be using like Desmos, Formative, Canvas, MS Word, and even Gmail! We are happy to tailor the demonstration to answer any specific questions raised by participants.

This session will provide an overview of available online platforms and phone apps that can be used to engage students in physics labs. The topics include Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, and Waves and Sound. A variety of freely available materials including lesson plans will be shared with participants. These resources can be used in the virtual learning environment, and can be incorporated as a form of alternative assessment during regular face-to-face instruction. Participants need to install a free phone app ‘Phyphox’ for this session.

In this session, we will describe scientific inquiry and research at IMSA. We will describe the requirements for SIR, the SIR structure we have on campus, the modifications we have made during the pandemic, and how we help students develop leadership skills and success through this program. We will also discuss IMSAloquium and disciplines of research.

Teaching immersive, hands-on STEM activities over a virtual platform is challenging. Even when schools are able to return to a normal in-person schedule, it will be necessary to have virtual lessons prepared. In this session you will learn helpful tips and tricks to keep students mentally, emotionally, and physically engaged in virtual STEM activities based on what was learned during virtual Summer@IMSA’s 2020 programs. Suggested materials include string (any type), small metal washer, 12” ruler, scissors, and masking/painters tape.