“This project will introduce 3rd through 5th grade students to ‘making’, a hands on approach to STEM education that encourages creativity, problem-solving and collaboration through activities involving building, tinkering and creating.”
-- Dr. Corey Lunn, Superintendent, Johnston Community School District, Iowa
Accomplished link
The aim of Making STEM Connections is to provide training, resources and materials to educators that will translate into meaningful learning outcomes for their students. Making STEM Connections plans to equip over 120 teachers annually with the skills and necessary materials to enhance their existing curriculum thru Maker’s principals. These connections will lead over 15,000 elementary students over the course of five years to explore STEM principles in a highly-engaging, interactive and safe manner.
Making STEM Connections is a scholastic product for educators including books, building materials, tools and other resources. Sponsors can provide this resource for teachers in the following ways:
The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy.
Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.
Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.
Ensure work is sustainable.
Demonstrate replicability and scalability.
Create high impact partnerships
Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.
Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience
Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.
Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.
Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.