Teaching any subject is an incredibly difficult skill; the teachers and professors of our education system are everyday, unsung heroes. One of the more difficult subjects to teach are those of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Seeing as how jobs in the STEM field are becoming increasingly popular and important, it is crucial that today’s youth get the education the proper education they will desperately need in the future. Luckily, in today’s world, there are a variety of ways to teach STEM subjects. Here are some of the best tools for the job.
Video Games
When looking for new ways to engage young minds, some teachers will utilize video games as an answer. One of the most promising video games is Portal 2. A puzzle game at heart, Portal 2 blends the popular first-person shooting style with mind-bending puzzles. One teacher utilized the video game’s puzzle maker tool in order to create something of a “science fair.”
In the fair, students were tasked with designing a level of Portal and the students learned a great deal. All of these students came up with a question related to the video game, designed and engineered an entire level to gather information, analyzed that data, and finally, communicated their findings with their fellow colleagues. It was a fantastic learning experience for the children.
There are so many tools available to teachers to instill the core basics of the many STEM fields. This is only one unique method of teaching science to a group of children. Make sure to read next month’s entry which will feature another STEM-teaching tool.
