In K-12 education, students often learn structured processes like writing a five-paragraph essay or applying the scientific method in labs. With the rise of creative, project-based learning, another valuable framework deserves attention: the Design Thinking method. Widely taught in design schools and used across creative industries, this five-step process—empathize, define, ideate,...
I was sitting in my doctoral quantitative research class feeling overwhelmed and frankly, stupid. I didn’t understand numbers. I was an English teacher. I had subscribed to the notion that as an English teacher, I could embrace being bad at math. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, if I wanted to get my doctoral degree, I was going to have to learn how to conduct quantitative...
I have a confession. Growing up, I didn’t enjoy science. As an adult looking back on my science classes, I can see that I didn’t like it because I couldn’t dig into science as much as I wanted. There wasn’t enough time to explore how science interacts with other subjects and the world around me. There wasn’t time to create or improve something using the scientific concepts we...
The makerspace movement in K-12 schools emerged from the early 2000s DIY culture, which celebrated hands-on exploration and innovation. As it has grown in popularity, advocates often exclaim that makerspaces naturally provide students, particularly those who might not otherwise be exposed to or consider STEM careers, the opportunity to explore and engage with these fields. While...