How Supporting a Neurodivergent Student Sparked a Hands-On STEM Challenge The clatter of wood and excited student chatter filled the air as a small projectile arced across the courtyard. At the center of this commotion stood Maya as she demonstrated her handcrafted catapult to her delighted classmates and sparked an evolution in our physics unit.… Continue reading The Catapult Project:
Tag: STEM
Multisensory Learning:
A Win-Win Strategy for Dyslexic and Neurotypical Students In the previous post, Reframing Dyslexia, we explored the challenges faced by dyslexic learners in traditional classroom settings, drawing on The Dyslexic Advantage by Brock and Fernette Eide. These challenges often stem from the mismatch between their cognitive strengths and the typical demands of the school environment.… Continue reading Multisensory Learning:
Reframing Dyslexia:
From Challenge to Advantage “School was just awful for me. I read so slowly and I couldn’t spell to save my life… I just couldn’t show anything I knew in writing… I never got the 40,000-foot view of anything and for me to learn, I really needed to understand things at a higher level. So… Continue reading Reframing Dyslexia:
When Robots Meet Reality:
Lessons from the “Confused” Waymo Taxis of San Francisco For weeks, Randol White dealt with a persistent and annoying problem right outside his San Francisco condo. His building overlooks an open-air parking lot that Waymo recently leased to store its vehicles. He and other residents were repeatedly roused at 4 a.m. by honking car horns.… Continue reading When Robots Meet Reality:
Heman Bekele and his Skin Cancer Fighting Soap
“The average price of skin cancer treatment in the U.S. is almost $40,000, but my bar of soap only costs $8.50 to create, and it can replicate the same effects as something that people pay thousands and thousands of dollars for.” Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old ninth grader from W.T. Woodson High School in Annandale, Virginia,… Continue reading Heman Bekele and his Skin Cancer Fighting Soap
A Northern Light Show in Northern California:
The Aurora Borealis Illuminates the Sky In a rare celestial display, the Aurora Borealis painted the night skies over Northern California with glowing, spectral colors this past Friday and Saturday, May 10th and 11th. Stargazers and casual observers alike seldom see the Northern Lights so far south. What are the Northern Lights? The Northern Lights… Continue reading A Northern Light Show in Northern California:
Gitanjali Rao:
Update Gitanjali Rao won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017 at age 13. I was thrilled when she agreed to an interview for my book, Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions. We had a great conversation about her invention, the contest, school, and her plans for… Continue reading Gitanjali Rao:
Do Something
Is technology a tool or is it a substitute for us having to do anything? Guest Blog: Dale Dougherty, CEO Make Community I can find a lot of charts comparing passive vs active learning, and none of them favor passive learning. Wikipedia defines passive learning as “a method of learning or instruction where students receive… Continue reading Do Something
Watching the Moon
I often watch the moon and the sky at night from a second-floor west-facing window. The different phases of the moon as it cycles through the crescent quarters night by night grow more familiar. On a cloudy San Francisco evening, I may not see any moon. Or only for moments during breaks in the clouds… Continue reading Watching the Moon
Goodbye Moon?
“Some say the world will end in fire…” —Robert Frost As we prepare for a spectacular eclipse on April 8, 2024, we can reflect on a cosmic question. Are we losing our moon? Although the moon seems constant in its orbit about 384,000 km from earth, it is moving slowly away. Each year the moon… Continue reading Goodbye Moon?