Books

Uncovering student ideas about engineering and technology has the potential to help you take an important first step in teaching for understanding – and perhaps transform your teaching about STEM-related topics.

Show your students how amazing it can be to just ‘see what will happen’ when they blend biology, engineering and serendipity. Focusing on innovations sparked by accidental or unexpected observations, the case studies in this resource are a lively way to integrate engineering and experimentation into your biology classes. Middle and high school students will learn fundamental science processes while using their natural curiosity to explore ideas for new applications and products. They’ll also find out that small, plant-eating mammals called pikas helped scientists find new ways to survive extreme weather events and that algae can be used as airplane fuel.

Rev up robotics shows educators how to begin incorporating robotics in tandem with computational thinking into content area lessons or electives. Part 1 covers the basics, defining robotics and sharing real-world applications along with how to teach foundational skills for computational thinking and computer science. Part 2 shows robotics in practice within the context of content areas and features lesson plans mapped to academic and technology standards, including the ISTE Standards and the Computer Science Teacher Association Standards. Part 3 offers advice on pedagogy and teaching strategies backed by research from the learning sciences, and shares approaches to teaching robotics using project-based learning or as part of after-school clubs or robotics competitions.

Instead of drill-and-practice apps and worksheets, what if technology enabled exploration of mathematics concepts? Instead of screens for disconnected individual learning, what if technology fostered mathematical discourse and collaboration? Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching mathematics, what if we used technology to differentiate to meet students’ diverse needs? Technology has the power to support the teaching and learning of mathematics content at all grade levels, but the presence of technology is insufficient unless it’s paired with effective teaching practices and meaningful content. This book poses and unpacks the above questions and many more, with detailed classroom examples to illustrate practical strategies for integrating technology in the 6-12 classroom.

Make the future! Hands-on sustainability lessons for years 7 & 8 is a resource for secondary classrooms that gives real meaning to the idea of sustainability. Created in line with the Australian Curriculum: Design and Technologies, this book empowers students to make a tangible difference to the environment – and their future. Make the future! combines traditional skills and cutting-edge research to create authentic, purposeful activities that will show your students positive change is not just feasible – it is delicious, stylish, economical and fun!

In NOW Classrooms, Grades 6-8, authors Meg Ormiston, Lauren Slanker, Jennifer Lehotsky, Megan K. Flaherty, Janice Conboy and Whitney Cavanagh stress that real transformational school change focuses on robust teaching and learning, not the ever-evolving devices that may enhance that change. This book presents practical, classroom-tested lessons that grades 6-8 teachers and instructional coaches can use to prime students to actively learn and solve real-world problems. Sets of topical lessons progressively increase in depth and complexity for readers to choose from based on students’ needs. Using these lessons, grounded in the essential four C skills, teachers can connect technology to key learning-area outcomes and prepare students to succeed in the 21st century.

Classrooms today include a diversity of readers, and teachers are called upon to meet the needs of all learners. In particular, they must help students think critically and communicate effectively using visual, print and digital text. Personalized Reading highlights four different types of readers - the struggling reader, the reluctant reader, English learners and advanced readers - and presents ways to use technology tools to accommodate their different reading styles. The strategies and classroom-ready ideas in this book will help secondary educators incorporate technology to promote reading, critical thinking and digital literacy.

Access to high-quality computer science (CS) instruction has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. Thanks to this movement, more students start the middle years with some foundational knowledge of CS and coding. This new set of creative skills empowers students to express themselves in compelling ways, but students still need opportunities and support to develop and hone those skills. This book helps classroom teachers develop activities and projects to encourage computational thinking and coding skills, and to build bridges between those skills and practice. For maths, science, English and Humanities and Social Science teachers, the resources in this book provide guidance to start integrating coding into their classes to complement and strengthen existing instruction.

What if you could challenge your middle years students to design an amusement park for children of tomorrow to safely enjoy? With this volume in the STEM Road Map Curriculum Series, you can! Amusement Park of the Future outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem-solving while grounding them in integrated STEM disciplines. The series is designed to meet the growing need to infuse real-world learning into F-12 classrooms. This book is an interdisciplinary module that uses project- and problem-based learning. Drawing on their previous experience with amusement parks or carnival rides, students will work in teams to complete the exercises.

The Stepping into STEM series is a collection of dynamic resources that provide guided lessons to integrate project-based learning into your science, technology, engineering and maths curricula. Each unit provides background information for teachers and students and moves from teacher-directed activities towards more open-ended activities. The culminating activity in each unit allows students to design their own unique "invention" or conduct an experiment of their own creation. Students will be challenged to work collaboratively, using a process that helps them "step into STEM" with greater competence and confidence. Each book in the Stepping into STEM series offers unique activities and opportunities for exploration.

In Stepping into STEM: Middle Years, middle years students will design and build kites, learn about static electricity, build multi-level structures and use chemistry principles to fuel a rocket! Using the Design Process just like adult engineers and scientists, middle years students will find these STEM units engaging and informative.

Today's average youth spends over 10 hours a day consuming media. Aided by technology, young people can instantly share and engage with media messages to find answers, get directions, shop or connect with friends. But access alone doesn't lead to critical thinking. Media are texts, designed to be read, analysed, deconstructed and reconstructed. Understanding how to interpret advertising messages, check for bias or avoid stereotyping are among the skills students need to become knowledgeable consumers and producers of media. This book helps educators understand the importance of teaching media literacy and gives them the tools needed to bring this form of literacy into the classroom.