Series Creating Success in Middle School: Growth Mindsets for STEM Careers

Growth Mindsets for STEM Careers

Lesson Objective: Explore STEM careers while engaging in the engineering design process
Grades 6-8 / Science / Career Exploration
9 MIN

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

  1. How does this lesson help to dispel stereotypes about engineers?
  2. How does the engineering design challenge help students develop growth mindsets?
  3. How does Ms. Davis use language to empower her students?

10 Comments

  • Private message to Jennifer Soule
I really like how she engaged the students with the popsicle sticks and bricks and they were doing a hands on activity to learn the concept of engineering.
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  • Private message to Melanie Eminga
I love how the teacher created a very positive environment for the students. The students were so supportive of each other, collaborating with the other groups and giving each group a hand after every presentation. I love how the teacher encouraged the group who wasn't successful in the brick test saying "you might not be successful today but that doesn't mean you will not be successful in the future".
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  • Private message to Letha Stahl
I like how she breaks stereotypes and shows students that we sometimes learn most from our mistakes. Like she says, "it gives us data and feedback to go back and look at".
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  • Private message to Maricris Hodge
I love how the students are so engaged in what they were doing,how the teacher encourages them, even saying that mess up can provide feedback, data etc.
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  • Private message to Mark Magauay
As teachers, positive affirmations really help students to become successful inside classrooms. Teacher should be specific in giving feedbacks.
Recommended (0)

Transcripts

  • Growth Mindsets for STEM Careers Transcript

    GFX:
    TCH
    Teaching Channel

    +++ 00:00:07 +++
    Adriane Davis: A failure is not a mistake. A

    Growth Mindsets for STEM Careers Transcript

    GFX:
    TCH
    Teaching Channel

    +++ 00:00:07 +++
    Adriane Davis: A failure is not a mistake. A failure is only a failure when you quit. My students have been with me all year, and they have learned that it is better to try and to believe in yourself than to give up.
    Card:
    Creating Success in
    Middle School:
    Growth Mindsets for STEM Careers
    Adriane Davis: Good morning, my future scientists. Today we are going to continue our exploration of STEM careers.
    Lower Third:
    Adriane Davis
    8th Grade Science Teacher
    Dallas Environmental Science Academy, Dallas, TX

    +++ 00:00:36 +++
    Adriane Davis: All week we have been studying careers in STEM. So today the students had an expectation that they would do more. My goal was to continue to encourage the kids to take STEM career pathways, to explore pathways that they didn't think or have not thought were available to them because they don't see people that look like them, or they think that they are stereotypes in those industries.
    Adriane Davis: I have some pictures on the board. Which one of these individuals here is the engineer?

    +++ 00:01:09 +++
    Student: I kind of want to say the first two. Because the first one, we can't really tell what she does just based on the picture. And the second one is because he's a male.
    Adriane Davis: So did I just hear you correctly in that you said you chose the second picture because he's a male?
    Student: Well, yeah. Yes. But just by inferring that he's a male and you're asking about engineers, they kind of match together. But, I'm not saying that women can't do it either.

    +++ 00:01:37 +++
    Student: I think it's the lady on the left, because you can't judge a book by its cover.
    Adriane Davis: I wanted the students to have an opportunity to view people that did not necessarily meet the mold of the traditional stereotypes. I've heard the same reoccurring theme, that engineers are white men, engineers are Asian men.

    +++ 00:02:00 +++
    Adriane Davis: This Latina is an aeronautical engineer. She works for NASA. This African-American is a biomedical engineer. The guy in the middle, he's on the Hawaiian beach right now. He's a marine biologist.
    Adriane Davis: My whole purpose in showing them pictures today was to show there are females in the industry. There are Latinas out there. There are African-American women.

    +++ 00:02:28 +++
    Adriane Davis: The take away from this activity is that we can do it all. You don't have to be a particular race. You don't have to be a particular color. You don't have to be a particular sex.
    Adriane Davis: After I gave them the ice breaker, I prepared my students for today's activities by giving them some background on infrastructure in the communities. I let them know that basically everything around them was engineered in some form or fashion.
    Adriane Davis: As we continue our explanation of engineering, we're talking about infrastructure. The question leads as to what is infrastructure. Do I have a volunteer to read that for me?

    +++ 00:03:08 +++
    Student: Infrastructure is the fundamental facilities and systems serving an area or community through transportation, communication systems, power plants and schools.
    Adriane Davis: After we talked about infrastructure and the communities, we talked about what engineering design process actually looked like.
    Adriane Davis: So the first question in the engineering design problem is to ask, "What are the problems?" Isn't that what we already do every day?
    Adriane Davis: And I wanted them to see that it was a continuous loop. You always go back. You have to have a plan. You must test your plan. And you have to look at what failed.

    +++ 00:03:43 +++
    Adriane Davis: All right, so now it's time for our activity for the day. We're going to be breaking out into different groups. We have a engineering challenge.
    Adriane Davis: Our goal today was to have the students build a tower out of Popsicle sticks and glue guns that would hold a brick for ten seconds. The purpose of this activity was to introduce them to how bridges or other structures are brought into the community.

    +++ 00:04:15 +++
    Adriane Davis: The purpose of this activity was to show them how we can use what we already do and incorporate the design process.
    Student: So what I was thinking is that in there the different serves Popsicle sticks. Instead of making squares, we would just make triangles all the way up.

    Adriane Davis: That's an awesome design.

    +++ 00:04:35 +++
    Adriane Davis: As I was walking around and facilitating instruction in my groups, I noticed that my students were very engaged in the tower building project. They were open to ideas. They were open to looking at things in a different way and that was my goal.
    Adriane Davis: You can make it better. You have the capabilities to do so.
    Student: Just right now, like, we're pushing down on it, it's staying still.
    Adriane Davis: So you're testing it as you're building it?
    Student: Yes.
    Adriane Davis: I see a second structure over here.
    Student: Oh, this?
    Adriane Davis: Yes.

    +++ 00:05:06 +++
    Student: It kind of was a mess up.
    Adriane Davis: Okay. But again, the beautiful thing about mess ups is that it gives us data, it gives us feedback to go back and look at.
    Adriane Davis: After 15 minutes or so, I allowed the kids to collaborate with each other, in case they had not completed successfully their bridge.
    Adriane Davis: See if you can't combine your structure with somebody else's structure. Again, engineers do not work in isolation. I believe that you all can do it, and I know you can. You built great structures. Now let's see what we can do when we work together.

    +++ 00:05:38 +++
    Adriane Davis: When it was time for us to see if their towers would hold, the students were very excited, but they were also very nervous.
    Adriane Davis: Are you all ready to test?
    Student: No.
    Student: No.
    Adriane Davis: Not yet? Three minutes left.
    Adriane Davis: All right, kiddos. All right, scientists. My future engineers of the world. It is brick testing time.

    +++ 00:06:00 +++
    Student: Excuse me. Let me feel your brick.
    Adriane Davis: All right. Somebody count.
    Students: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
    [applause]
    Adriane Davis: Awesome. Now, can you hold the mat at the brick with the heavier mass?
    Student: Uhm...
    Adriane Davis: Who would like to do the honors?
    Student: Gabriel.
    Adriane Davis: Which engineer?
    Student: Okay. Oh, God.

    +++ 00:06:33 +++
    Students: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
    Adriane Davis: All right.
    [applause]
    Adriane Davis: Let's give them a hand.
    Adriane Davis: I tried to coach them in what is the feedback that your structure is giving you right now. Which way is it giving or which way do you need to adjust the mass?
    Adriane Davis: It's leaning this way, so which way do you need to pull the brick in order to compensate?
    Student: To the right, towards me.
    Adriane Davis: Yes. I think you have too much weight on that side. You may bring it closer to me.

    +++ 00:07:07 +++
    Students: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
    [applause]
    Adriane Davis: Try and find the center of gravity, because that will help your tower.
    Students: [laughter]
    Adriane Davis: Are you pressing it down?
    Student: No.

    +++ 00:07:36 +++
    Adriane Davis: You may not have been successful today in building this structure, but that doesn't mean you won't be successful in the future.
    Adriane Davis: At the end of the activity, we had a share out, and I allowed the groups to share what they learned. What would they do differently next time?
    Student: We took into consideration what you said, that triangles are stronger than squares.
    Student: You know where the sticks are going up to make-- to get the height of the structure?
    Adriane Davis: Mm-hmm.
    Student: To use more sticks to hold, because it was leaning to the side if we-- when we used one.

    +++ 00:08:11 +++
    Adriane Davis: All this week in my classroom, we have been exploring STEM careers. So at the end of my lesson, actually I had four students come up where they were able to share what their goal is. Now this was framed in an "I will and I can" statement, because I believe that the affirmative is more powerful.
    Jaycee [ph?]: Hi, my name is Jaycee Hurst [ph?], and I can and I will be a cardiologist.

    +++ 00:08:36 +++
    Adriane Davis: I don't want my kids to not have an opportunity because nobody opened a door for them, because nobody gave them a chance to explore and pushed them to higher levels that they may not have even known existed. I believe in them and I believe in myself, and I know that we will continue to grow.

    Wendy: Hello. My name is Wendy Rodriguez and I can and I will become an astronomer.
    Adriane Davis: Let's give everybody a hand today.
    [applause]
    GFX:
    TCH
    Teaching Channel
    #### End of C0804_003001_Davis_Class.FINAL_SD.mp4 ####

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School Details

Dallas Environmental Science Acade
3531 North Westmoreland Road
Dallas TX 75212
Population: 460

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Adriane Davis