Incorporating STEM and STEAM into Project Based Learning With FREEBIE

When planning a project based learning unit, there are so many elements that you want and need to cover. Most importantly, you want to make sure your standards are infused in a meaningful way. Are you also feeling pressure to try STEM or STEAM activities in your classroom? Why don't you try incorporating STEM and STEAM into Project Based Learning? 

Why Use STEM/STEAM With PBL?

"Both STEM and PBL depend on a student need to know and inquiry which allows for higher level learning. Additionally, they both facilitate and promote important 21st century competencies.  Since STEM includes the integration of the curricular areas of Science, Technology, Math, and Engineering, this intertwining allows for connections and an authenticity that is essential to both PBL and STEM." 

- Michael Gorman, National Faculty of BIE

If you read my posts, you know that my passion is project based learning. As I create my products, I have learned that it gets easier and easier to incorporate STEM into my units. The project should not be focused on STEM but allow it to be a natural part of the unit. A few of my STEM ideas involve building a food truck, designing a hole for mini-golf, and even a tiny home for the homeless. As students learn about the impact of robots in our lives, they can build their own robot and explain how it effects us.

STEM and PBL combine problem solving, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. It's a natural fit to use them together in a unit. And, students take ownership in their learning. They apply real-world connections.

When Should I Implement STEM in a PBL Unit?

Your STEM product can easily be embedded into a project based learning unit. It can be part of the student presentations as they present to an audience. Important skills are also covered through STEM and STEAM... Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Art.  Students use the elements involved in both processes within their STEM/STEAM pbl unit.

If you're familiar with the essential elements of project based learning, you want to make sure that:

• Students are involved in a real-world problem or challenge.
• Students have voice and choice.
• There are opportunities for differentiation.
• Students present their findings or product to a public audience.

With STEM/STEAM, you want to make sure that students follow the process:

• Ask
• Imagine
• Plan
• Create
• Improve
• Communicate
• Present

Both processes can almost be combined into one. Download your FREE STEM planning sheet.

Why not try incorporating STEM and STEAM into project based learning in your classroom? With this freebie provided above, your students will be totally engaged and will continue learning skills that need to be covered.