Daily STEM: How to Create a STEM Culture in Your Classrooms & Communities

by Chris Woods

From The your school added a STEM class, or are you hoping to build more STEM into your school community? Buying a bunch of 3D printers and robot kits is a good start, but what does a sustainable STEM learning culture look like? This book will challenge you to think past the Daily STEM acronym and think about what it means to build a culture of STEM thinking in your school. You’ll find plenty of practical tips and examples to make STEM relevant for every kid and infuse it into every classroom and every home in your community.Editorial “STEM can seem like such a big challenge for teachers and school leaders alike. We all want students engaged in meaningful, hands-on learning. But where do we begin? Start with Daily STEM. This awesome gift to educators by author Chris Woods is packed full of practical, logical, and easy steps teachers can and should take to bring STEM to life. It's like having Chris right there coaching you, helping you find STEM in everyday life. Daily STEM will have you building a "culture of STEM" in your school or classroom and bringing relevant learning to life.”Darrin M Peppard, Ed.D. | Superintendent | Author of Road To Awesome | Renaissance Hall of Fame"Chris’ book Daily STEM is exactly what every teacher needs to promote curiosity and hands-on learning in the classroom. He prompts critical thinking and offers experiences that are fun and engaging for students. It is packed full of cool ideas and STEM inspiration—a must read!!!"Jacie Maslyk | Educator | Author | STEM Enthusiast"I absolutely love Daily STEM!! You will never be able to look at the world the same way after you read this gem! Hundreds of ideas will swirl through your head after each page. If you are searching for your teaching style, here it curiosity and connections. This is a book you will read more than once. Chris’s personal stories will put a smile on your face as you reflect on your own stories. WOW Factor!! Epic!"Dr. Frank Rudnesky | Educator | Author | Speaker | Consultant"Daily STEM is a book I would normally have an aversion to! Teachers either love the idea of STEM, or they run as fast as they can when they hear the term. I used to run! Daily Stem offered me significant insight into so many ways educators can continue to provide STEM instruction/ideas and exploration across content areas and beyond the classroom walls. The Q and A style made Daily Stem an easy read. It also provided opportunity to revisit a question -and the answer- quite readily. “A noisy classroom is a collaborative classroom. A messy classroom is an inventing classroom,” sums up best practice and is a powerful reminder as we plan for the new school year!"Dr. Lori Koerner | K-12 Administrator for Curriculum, Instruction & Professional Personnel

Genres: Education

205 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 22, 2020

Reviews

[M.K. Tufft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational, challenging, practical, and uplifting.
Chris's passion for incorporating STEM in daily life is clear and practical. Although this book is primarily written for educators, it's perfect for parents, grandparents, or anyone who wants to help see kids succeed in life. As a retired engineer, I know that engineering is about solving problems. It doesn't matter whether you go into a STEM field – becoming a creative problem solver will help you tackle the challenges you face in life and make the world a better place – even if it's just for you, your family, your neighborhood, or your community. Maybe you will be the next innovator that comes up with a creative solution to solve a tough challenge in better way. It all starts with what you choose to do today. Making STEM a part of your daily life can change your life.

I can speak from experience. I got my first D ever in physics–electricity and magnetism–sophomore year, and later went on to complete a Ph.D. in engineering. But that D rocked my world. I’d never gotten a D before in my life. C’s were rare. I didn’t know if I had what it took to continue in engineering.

When the rubber hit the road, it wasn’t the awards that I won for my high school physics project that helped me stay the course. It was all of the hobbies and creative design projects… things that I dreamed up, problem-solved, and figured out on my own as an elementary school kid, creating stuff in my spare time in the summers, and later in junior high and high school that helped me stay the course.

I knew that I was creative. I figured that I just had to learn a new medium.

So, work that creativity muscle. Start where your hobbies and interests are. Figure out how make things better, do things better, learn from experience. Problem-solving skills are one of the hardest things to teach, but they're the most transferrable to other disciplines, including real-life.

Technology is changing at the fastest rate ever. The best thing we can equip our kids to be is problem solvers–and help them build confidence in their ability to learn.

[Angie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is exactly what you want it to be. It has great ideas to create a STEM culture in your classroom, as well as nice and simple things to do the next day. Chris refers to some excellent resources and websites that make learning and teaching STEM accessible and affordable for all. I would highly recommend this book to all science teachers, and any teacher who wants to incorporate more STEM learning into their daily classrooms.

[Susan McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking read!

[Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great inspiration

Chris shows a great understanding of classroom challenges in our modern world. This book is a great read for all teacher levels.

[Christine A. Gollehon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Ideas

Fabulous ideas! Great ideas to use in the classroom. Love the idea of using recycled items for Stem activities and for parents to donate them.

[Josh Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the practicality of this book. As the author stated multiple times, there is nothing groundbreaking in this book, but it will change the way you think about STEM. STEM is a huge and popular buzzword in education and is wildly misunderstood. It is often taught as if it is its own entity and given its own space. Chris encourages, persuades, and gives many examples of how STEM should be integrated throughout the curriculum to be effective. This book encourages building a community of STEM thinkers rather than teaching STEM in a silo or as a 45 minute segment of the day or week. Great book to change the way we think about STEM!