Thank you for the comment. It really comes down to the teachers and expectations for the school and district. My Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) collaborates with my classroom teachers to come up with lessons that are more 21st Century based. They plan together and co-teach lessons. Every lesson I have seen using this method has been outstanding and kids are highly engaged. Teachers can also plan activities like this on their own. In addition, in my district, teachers are required to plan 10 STEM activities per year, but they always do more than that.

Thank you for the comment and I agree with you. Kids come to school so full of wonder. We need to keep that going all the way through.

Wow! Sounds like you got to experience being a Scientist! I love those teachers who make learning an adventure for their students. Thank you for the comment.

Thank you for your comment. Some teachers think they are too hard and the questions tend to be some of the most missed; however, I think it is still worth it to get students in the mindset of knowing there can be more than one solution to a problem.

Thank you for your comment. We are definitely moving toward a focus on process rather than a final answer. I see this a lot in our STEM activities.

Thank you for your comment. My outlook on the TEI questions definitely changed while taking this class. I realize that even if students miss the questions (many teachers complain they are too hard) it is still an opportunity for students to get in the problem solving mindset and also to know that there can be more than one answer to a problem. As far as my pedagogy changing, I definitely like the idea of groups working collaboratively and planning engaging activities. For example, I’m presenting an extensive Power Point for my Special Education Law class on Section 504 which has a lot of “content” that I need to share; however, I included two video clips and a Kahoot game as a culminating activity. I cannot imagine walking into a class and lecturing for 3 hours. I’d rather hear fingernails screeching down a chalkboard.