STEM-Infusing the Elementary Classroom - Paperback

Miranda Reagan is an Instructional Coach for STEM and Technology Infusion at Sam Houston Elementary School in Maryville, TN. As part of a district-wide initiative to improve math and science instruction, Miranda accepted a job as STEM lab teacher for her school in 2012. At the time, resources for STEM instruction in elementary school were difficult to find. Therefore, she began piecing together a curriculum for her STEM class using ideas from websites, blogs, etc. This curriculum focused on problem-solving and collaboration through design challenges. In doing so, Miranda discovered that the problem-solving concepts and patterns of thought associated with the STEM subject provided a strong foundation for teaching across content areas. Therefore, in 2013 she and her colleagues began experimenting with what she now refers to as STEM-infusing their elementary classrooms, or using STEM concepts to teach all content areas. That year, Miranda informally led an effort to transform teaching in her school towards a higher-order, problem-based approach to learning. She also shared many of her ideas from STEM class on a blog (http: //www.maryville-schools.org/Page/3631) and resource page on her school website which received over 30,000 hits from teachers all over the nation and abroad. Furthermore, her series of posts on Corwin-Connect (http: //corwin-connect.com/2014/06/stem-infusing-elementary-classroom-part-3/) have continuously ranked among the top posts on that site since their publication. Now, Miranda formally coaches teachers within her school and has also provided trainings within her district and other school districts on infusing STEM in the elementary classroom. This book is a collection of lessons learned and ideas that have surfaced during her five years as a classroom teacher, two years as a STEM lab teacher, and now time spent as an instructional coach for STEM and technology integration.