Teaching Every Subject with an Eye on Career Readiness

To prepare our students for the next phase of their lives, my district is committed to helping all students have a relevant career experience prior to high school graduation. That authentic learning experience might be a job shadow, apprenticeship, […]

Preparing Students to Thrive in a Modern Workforce

A middle school English teacher explains how she incorporates STEM skills like problem-solving, formulas, and tech into her word-filled classroom.

With report after report touting the American economy’s need for STEM workers, school districts […]

6 Resources that Engage Students in STEM Learning

There are many different ways that all teachers regardless of grade level or content area can bring STEM into the classroom. There are numerous benefits of incorporating STEM activities into learning, whether we connect it directly with the content […]

Developing Social Awareness Through STEM

The social emotional development of our students is more important as ever. We have navigated challenges and adjustments in education and may continue to do so in the coming year. In turn, we need to access strategies that can support our students […]

How STEM Can Support Social Emotional Learning

As an educator and STEM advocate, I have always believed that it is important for young people to develop as thinkers, makers, and problem solvers.Those skills are developed quite well in classrooms that support the integration of science, […]

STEM Apps for a Rainy Day

Sometimes a hot summer day gives way to a thunderstorm which may have you stuck inside for hours. While summer should be a time for playing outside and enjoying the weather, you may need some STEM apps to try on a rainy day. There are lots of apps […]

STEM for All Through Meaningful Project Based Learning

On March 9, 2021, Defined Learning hosted a virtual PBL & STEM Summit. With over 2000 participants from across the nation, the summit featured a session by Tabitha Branum, Deputy Superintendent of Schools and Kyndra Johnson, Executive Director of […]

Outdoor STEM for the Summertime

Summer is a great time to get outside and enjoy your surroundings. Kids and families can take advantage of summer weather by finding the science, technology, engineering, and math in the outdoors. Just because there is no school doesn’t mean we […]

Professional Development That Changed My Teaching and Inspired My Students

Educators have many options to hone their craft in the quest of becoming better teachers. Professional development (PD) opportunities include: 1) improving teachers’ content knowledge; 2) updating teaching practices; 3) learning how to work with new […]

How to Plan Well-Designed, Innovative Lessons that Boost Student Engagement

The past school year has taught us all a lot of valuable lessons. In spite of the challenges that came with a year of “non-traditional” school and experiencing a “new normal,” we also saw tremendous gains in our professional skills and in our […]