The rollout of STEM Bins has been completed in ASD-N and an exciting new competition has been launched.  K-1 classes from around the district are invited to participate in monthly STEM challenges in their classrooms and compete for prizes.  Teachers are asked to share pictures and videos of their students completing the challenge and their names will be entered into a draw for a prize. These challenges will be sent out via e-mail each month.

All K-1 teachers in Anglophone North recently also attended PL sessions in Miramichi and Bathurst with a focus on STEM in the classroom and Cross-Curricular learning. The sessions were led by Numeracy Lead Kelly Russell and Terry Fox Kindergarten teacher Meaghan Wilbur. Meaghan offered teachers a look into her classroom and shared a variety of ways in which she covers outcomes from multiple subjects throughout the teaching day. As students participate in engaging STEM based lessons, Meaghan is able to circulate around the room with her clipboard cruiser for Math and Literacy gathering evidence and collecting information on each student.

Kelly also shared her classroom expertise by telling the story of how she was first exposed to STEM Bins while teaching a K/1 split class last year and how she was able to successfully implement them, while enhancing student learning and covering outcomes from multiple subjects with each challenge presented. STEM Bins have recently been purchased, assembled and distributed to every K-1 teacher in ASD-N. So far the feedback has been phenomenal and students have been thoroughly engaged while learning.

In the final part of their session, Kelly and Meaghan offered a STEM Pumpkin Catapult Challenge for all attendees, whereby teachers were required to assemble a miniature catapult to project a small pumpkin into a container several metres away. Certainly a fun day of learning for all and a great in-service to help teachers introduce STEM into their daily lessons.

For more images from the training session, Visit STEM North: http://stemnorth.nbed.nb.ca/gallery/k-1-stem-pd-session