During my final practicum I wanted to focus on the core competencies and not just saying that in my lessons I have met one or two of the core competencies but focus on specific connections to one competency at a time. This allowed me to have a specific intention for each of my units and therefore the lessons in those units.
One of my focuses was on critical thinking and how teaches and supports students abilities that allow students to examine their own thinking and how to make judgments that have reasoning, can consider options and come to conclusions. To support this goal, in our weekly STEM/ADST lessons, I provided a planning page that students had to fill out before being able to create their STEM activity that supports students thinking about the design they would create and what they would do to achieve that design. This planning page (shown below) helps students plan their STEM design getting them to think about the materials they would use and the steps they would follow to build the challenge. After they have done their first attempt, they then are to revaluate their design and modify anything that they need to in order to make their creation more successful in meeting the criteria. After so they do a final reflection on what went well, what they had to adjust and what they would do differently next time.
The skills that come from this activity that supports critical thinking also overlap with creativity and innovation. Students can explore different ways the be creative and try new innovations that are different and unique to other students designs.
The following examples are of a bridge building lesson with popsicle sticks and marshmallows and the unique designs that different groups came up with.
