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Reflecting on STEM Perspectives

2026-09-30 / / 0 Comments

2026.09.30

CONT 951 – Module 1 – STEM Perspectives Part 2

What are your major takeaways from the discussion?

To teach integrated STEM effectively, teachers must be confident in the subjects and concepts they wish to integrate. In my practice, I don’t have deep knowledge of Chemistry or Biology, which is a limiting factor. I think the best way to address the gaps in my understanding is to collaborate with other teachers in those fields.

Creating a safe environment for students to collaborate on problems is critical for success in a STEM environment.

What ideas resonate with you?

I think students will be more interested in learning science and math by implementing an integrated STEM curriculum because I feel excited as I look for ways to implement it in my practice.

Teaching students a system for considering the positive and negative effects of technology is becoming more relevant. I feel our society is constantly weighing the potential effects of artificial intelligence, and this conversation is complicated! If we develop fluency in considering the implications of technology, these conversations will be less daunting and more productive.

What areas do you want to know more about?

I would like to know more about how educators can implement an integrated curriculum when the current school system we work in is designed to be siloed. Schools like the “Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry” use inquiry-based learning throughout the curriculum, so I feel it’s easier to implement a STEM approach in that setting.

How is this applicable to your current practice?

In Science 9, students are learning many branches of science throughout a single term. In this setting, I can see how concepts in electricity relate to concepts in chemistry, and from chemistry to biology, and biology to ecology. I wonder if I can utilize a STEM approach throughout the term in a way that is still accessible to students. As Kelly & Knowles (2016) discuss, students need a base of knowledge for an integrated STEM approach to be effective.

What are other thoughts, ideas and connections you have that will help you moving forward?

When designing curriculum, I will keep in the back of my mind, “How can I relate this to another field in STEM, utilize engineering design principles in my lesson, and make this relatable to my students?” I believe building this habit will help educators create more effective and interesting lessons.

Facilitating Flexible Thinking by Integrating STEM Concepts

2026-09-29 / / 0 Comments

2026.09.29

CONT 951 – Module 1 – STEM Perspectives Part 1

Creating a STEM environment.

Nurturing a holistic view of science requires careful consideration of the interconnected nature of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Ejiwale, 2012; Kelley & Knowles, 2016; Stehle, 2019). Integrating aspects of these four disciplines in student learning encourages mental flexibility and deepens knowledge. This flexibility and deep understanding are critical to thriving in a rapidly evolving global society.

To effectively teach students using integrated STEM concepts, an educator must first recognize the need for a “paradigm shift” from a traditional direct-instruction “teacher” to a “facilitator” role that guides students through challenges (Ejiwale, 2012; Kelley & Knowles, 2016). Next, a STEM educator needs to have deep knowledge of STEM concepts to address a wide variety of impromptu questions. Therefore, thorough preparation of course materials, course expectations, and environmental design is required so the educator can focus on the tasks at hand.

Stehle (2019) states that STEM activities should emphasize “real-world, problem-based learning.” Activities should pull from a bucket of skills typically “taught separately in each discipline.” Stehle, Ejiwale, and Kelley & Knowles agree that engineering design principles are what connect the skills and thought processes across disciplines.

With sufficient preparation, an educator promotes “an enabling learning environment for learners” (Ejiwale, 2012). Kelley & Knowles (2016) describe this learning environment as a “community of practice.”

Goals and challenges of STEM education, and some personal thoughts.

Students are more interested in science and math topics when learning concepts alongside real-world applications (Kelley & Knowles, 2016). By combining the four disciplines, students can make connections and deepen their understanding of the world around them, leading to increased interest in science-related careers (Ejiwale, 2012; Kelley & Knowles, 2016; Stehle, 2019).

This can be challenging, however, because students must have a base of conceptual understanding from each discipline before they can make connections between them (Kelley & Knowles, 2016). Therefore, educators must scaffold STEM learning and inquiry sufficiently to make this integrated approach accessible. Another barrier to an integrated STEM education is that educators “often feel underprepared because they are lacking authentic scientific research and inquiry experiences themselves” (Kelley & Knowles, 2016).

When I think about my educational experience, it was fairly traditional. Labs were more an assessment of a student’s ability to read and follow directions than an opportunity to ask questions, form hypotheses, and determine methods to test them. The recent practices I have observed perpetuate this rigid understanding of experimentation. A question posed as “Why do you think X happened?” has a right and a wrong answer, and if the student provides incorrect reasoning, they are docked marks. Emphasis is not placed on the thinking process, but rather on another form of regurgitation. I wonder how this problem could be addressed through practical STEM applications.

Teachers as economic vehicles.

Each article carries a theme that educators should strive to “produce citizens who are productive” (Ejiwale, 2012). Problems posed to students should include a business element so future employees have the skills employers need. I often feel conflicted about my job as an educator, which seems to primarily serve to produce citizens in the interests of capital. Or, as Kelley & Knowles (2016) frequently allude to on pages 1 & 2: to maintain American economic dominance. Perhaps an economic argument is required to gain funding from government programs.

Works Cited

Ejiwale, J. A. (2012). Facilitating Teaching and Learning Across STEM Fields. Journal of STEM Education, 13(3), 87–94.

Kelley, T. R., & Knowles, J. G. (2016). A conceptual framework for integrated STEM education. International Journal of STEM Education, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-016-0046-z

Stehle, S. M., & Peters-Burton, E. E. (2019). Developing student 21st Century skills in selected exemplary inclusive STEM high schools. International Journal of STEM Education, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-019-0192-1

Addressing Unconscious Bias in Schools

2026-09-29 / / 0 Comments

Journal 2026.09.29

CONT 961 – Module 1 – Establishing an EDI Learning Community

The Readings

The Harvard EdCast podcast episode titled “Unconscious Bias in Schools” and the online article “Strategies for Countering Unconscious Bias in the Classroom” discuss how educators need to be aware that they are not immune to acting prejudiced toward racialized students.

Educators likely want to provide quality instruction to all students, regardless of race (Anderson, 2019; Bowman, 2020). However, racist beliefs and habits are developed through societal “indoctrination” throughout one’s life. Learned racist biases need to be addressed in order to provide equitable instruction to all students.

Do the authors agree on strategies for teachers to reduce bias?

Both Anderson (2019) and Bowman (2020) agree that educators must:

  1. acknowledge that they have some bias toward racialized individuals;
  2. be willing to take risks and be uncomfortable to address said biases; and
  3. name their identity as a racialized person themselves.

Both authors employ the use of the term “unconscious bias” to describe racism. Sarah Fiarman explains that this verbiage helps make tackling racism more palatable for white educators, as people tend to retreat when there is an implication that they are racist (Anderson, 2019).

How does our recognition of bias help us to provide an equitable learning experience?

Recognizing bias helps educators provide an equitable learning experience by reducing the outward effects of racist conditioning perpetuated by society. During the Harvard EdCast podcast, Tracey Benson describes an experience with a teacher he hired as a principal. He observed that a group of black students in a classroom with a white female teacher were not participating during lessons, nor were they being called on by the teacher (Anderson, 2019). He noted that the teacher often had her back turned toward the group of black students and therefore did not see them throughout the lesson. A couple of days after informing the teacher of his observation, Benson returned to the classroom and noted that the teacher was calling on students to participate. By simply acknowledging the unconscious bias that the teacher exhibited, the black students began to receive a more equitable learning experience. This example shows that actively addressing potential unconscious bias is a huge first step in creating a more equitable learning environment.

In my own practice.

In my Grade 8 science class, I had a seating arrangement that changed every two weeks. One time, I thought that I had found the perfect seating arrangement. For a few days, the class was on task, collaborative, and engaged like I had never seen before. However, during the latter half of the first week, a student began to act out. This behaviour was uncharacteristic of the student. At first, I didn’t think much of it; I thought that maybe they were having a bad couple of days. By Friday, I could feel a tension whenever I interacted with this student. After class, I had asked them if something was wrong. The student became animated and said, to the effect of, “Mr. Spong, I’m constantly separated from my friends. Look at how you single me out on the other side of the class! Johnny, Jim, Jared, and Josh all sit in that corner. It’s unfair!”

For a moment, I was speechless.

Here I was, thinking the new seating plan was perfect, but actually a student felt I was treating them unfairly by keeping them isolated from their friends. I had no idea that this was a pattern across multiple seating arrangements. I apologized for my actions, assured the student that I was doing this accidentally, and changed the seating plan the next day.

By explicitly acknowledging my unconscious bias toward the student, I showed respect, dignity, and mutual concern, which in turn strengthened our relationship (Evans, 2022).

By asking questions, building relationships with all students, and being aware of others’ emotions, I learned about an unconscious bias I might not have noticed otherwise. This interaction changed how I view seating arrangements and made me much more careful.

Thank you for reading,

Jordan

Works Cited

Anderson, J. (2019, November 20). Unconscious bias in schools. Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unconscious-bias-in-schools/id1062333296?i=1000457358698

Bowman, K. D., West, C., & Toner, M. (2020, August 4). Strategies for countering unconscious bias in the classroom. Association of International Educators (NAFSA). https://www.nafsa.org/ie-magazine/2020/8/4/strategies-countering-unconscious-bias-classroom

Evans, K., & Vaandering, D. (2022). The little book of restorative justice in education: Fostering responsibility, healing, and Hope in schools. Good Books.

Reflection Simulation Lab Activity

2025-05-04 /

Part IV: How does the mirror know?

Try this PhET simulation of a plane mirror

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/geometric-optics-basics/latest/geometric-optics-basics_all.html?initialScreen=2

How does the mirror know?

A viral internet question about mirrors has been making the rounds.

Using the information you’ve learned about rays and mirrors, predict how the mirror ‘knows’ you are there, even if you can’t see yourself.

@bethanyking68

I have the best husband in the world. I am legitimately curious how this works and he is so patient. Made by #SpikesStudio – 30% Coupon – Spikes30OFF

♬ original sound – InFaith Fashions💕Bethany💕🙏

Watch the video below for a clear explanation of how this works!

@seandreww

The viral “how does the mirror know” illusion explained

♬ original sound – Sean Andrew
Pictured: Austin (middle).

Ed Tech Reflection 7 – A Reflection on EDCI 336

2024-12-03 /
The Obsidian Logo

Michael may have completely changed my life he stressed the importance of writing down and keeping our thoughts organized. In passing, he mentioned this app called Obsidian. I have only been using the note-taking app for about a month, and am already noticing the fruits of keeping an organized file system alongside a linked note-taking application. I’ve heard colleagues ask, “Do you know where to find x thing that y said about in that lecture last week?” and I will jump in and say, “Yes! just a moment,” I’ll open my notes app and find a link to the resource they are asking about by traversing a web of linked ideas. It is so empowering to be able to utilize my all-over-the-place way of thinking in a tangible and practical way.

I made a gif of my obsidian video!

Trevor Mackenzie discussed inquiry-based learning, which I had never heard of before. As a prospective science and mathematics teacher, I’ve been skeptical that it is possible due to the amount of content that we are required to cover.

Months later, while completing my final draft for my Professional Resource Project, I started using simulations as the primary vessel for teaching my tutoring student. We both realized that allowing the students to determine the definition on their own with subtle guidance from the teacher, led to a richer (and quicker) understanding of the material presented.

Light bulb icons
by Vector Stall – Flaticon

Then I had an aha! moment. This could be the bridge between inquiry learning and science/math. I am so curious to research this more and present my findings.

Later in the course, Jeff Hopkins of the Pacific School for Innovation and Inquiry spoke to us about their teaching philosophy, which flips traditional schooling on its head. Students attend this school with very little guidance, follow their own inquiry projects, and hit curricular competencies through interdisciplinary learning. It seems to me that Jeff has proved that an inquiry-based environment can provide an excellent way to teach students. It makes me wonder if our system of drawing hard lines between subjects (i.e. physics does not come with chemistry, which ia completely different from social studies) is the best approach? Perhaps this is the post-modern approach?1 I’m not sure, but for now, I am grateful for the opportunity.

I haven’t been to work yet, but I’m certain I’ve chosen the right profession.

  1. I love to say things are post-modern, but sometimes I question if I truly know what that means. I think of post-modernism as a philosophy that does not adhere to rigid structures and boundaries. That everything is connected. I could go on-and-on about these sorts of things. ↩︎

Reflection 6: AI, Ethics, and Education

2024-12-03 /

On November 26, 2024, Michael led a class discussion focused on AI. As a class we considered some social, economic, environmental, and educational implications of AI technology. My colleagues and I shared our experiences with AI, homing in on how it has helped them (or hasn’t).

Photo by Rock’n Roll Monkey on Unsplash

The potential to diminish motivation for students to learn and cheating on assignments are the two most common themes I noticed during our class. Some people shared experiences that they have had with cheating students, and their opinions on the best way to approach this kind of situation.

My colleagues state that it is not difficult to spot if a student has been using AI inappropriately because:

  1. The AI does not ‘speak’ in the student’s voice. AI is often boring and devoid of personality.
  2. AI will ‘hallucinate’ incorrect information, and present it as fact.
  3. Students will not be able to explain what they have handed in.

Here’s an interesting fact from Wikipedia:

Analysts estimated that chatbots hallucinate as much as 27% of the time, with factual errors present in 46% of generated texts.

Chatbots & hallucination in 2023, Wikipedia

In the classroom, teachers should have clear expectations of when it is appropriate to use AI. Teachers should have a sound rationale as to why and how it could harm learning and a course of action if a student is suspected of unreasonable AI use.

An AI generated image of a robot writing… something. Notice the double sided glowing pencil! No mistakes here.
From The College Contemporary student magazine.

My colleagues recommend having an open dialogue with students suspected of using AI to cheat on an assignment. Essentially, be inquisitive as opposed to accusatory – direct but not confrontational, and brainstorm alternative ways for a student to prove their knowledge. According to Michigan Highschool professor Aaron Romoslawski, most of the time students use AI because they are struggling, and don’t know what to do. We need to be empathetic!

For me, the most impactful part of our conversation was when we discussed the water/power usage of AI queries. According to this article cited by the World Economic Forum, AI uses 33 TIMES more power than task-specific applications. The power required for AI computations doubles roughly every 10 days.

AI also consumes a lot of water due to this power consumption and for data centre cooling purposes. According to OECD, every 10-50 queries consumes roughly 500ml of water. In July 2010, the Independent claimed that a single Google search uses 0.5ml of water. Assuming both of these numbers are accurate today, AI queries consume 20-100 times more water per-query than a simple Google search.

Since learning this, I am hestitant to use AI at all due to it’s potential impacts on our environment. Currently Microsoft and OpenAI intend to combat this issue by opening nuclear power plants. The upside is that perhaps this is the step toward a nuclear-powered future. I believe that we will figure this out.

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