STEM Teaching Workshops

Each fall semester, Education majors have the unique opportunity to participate in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education workshop at the Boston Museum of Science.

This workshop is part of Curry's science-focused 'Elementary Curriculum' course and is designed to enable students to broaden their planning and teaching repertoire for elementary students (grades 1- 6).

Representatives from the Museum of Science's Lyman Library introduce students to the Library's Education Resource Center and create a model for them to research and eventually teach science related subjects. (Curry's own Education Resource Center is based on the Museum of Science model, using some of the very same science kits and curriculum tools.)

Students will use this experience as a springboard to narrow their selection of a specific science related topic and eventually create a 10-lesson curriculum for the course; a process they will carry into their teaching experiences in the field. 

As a result of the workshop, Elementary Education major Alessandra Lorusso chose Force and Motion as her topic. She created a lesson to show students how to connect energy and speed through the use of simple machines. As a part of the lesson, children are asked to use their experience with various playground equipment and then assess the amount of energy required for each activity. They are then required to write in journals about their experiences.

"The Museum of Science staff were very passionate about science.  It was inspiring.  They showed us how important it is to teach science hands-on, not just by telling, but by showing as well," said Lorusso.

"These workshops allow the Curry students to get a sense of how science and engineering practices can be taught in an informal educational setting, and we encourage them to think about translating this experience into their own classroom practices," says Museum of Science Teacher Educator, Jeff Mehigan.