STEMLens: We Want to See What You See!
We invite you to share your STEMlens – a fun, engaging, STEM education challenge designed to get us all to share our unique STEM mindsets with each other.
Below are examples of some STEMlens images submitted by children and adults in our growing talkSTEM community. Educators, we have included a section on assessment with a convenient rubric that you can use as an assessment tool if you want to motivate and engage your students by using STEMlens as an activity that you can use, regardless of what topic you are teaching!
What if I’m not good at Math, Science, or STEM?
No need to be an expert in math or science! We want you to put on your photographer and explorer hats – take a look at your home, backyard, neighborhood, favorite building, tree, park, strip mall or absolutely anything! We do not expect you to solve algebraic equations, make detailed calculations, or even have a formal STEM background to join the movement. Of course, if you are inspired to make connections to your formal learning experiences, we’d love to see! This is open to all adults and children with a wide range of interests and skills! Capturing YOUR unique way of looking at YOUR environment will help all children understand that there is a tremendous diversity in ways of connecting STEM to varied spaces, objects, artworks, activities…you name it! In this way, they will understand that each of them has a good deal to offer in terms of their unique STEM understandings, observations, connections, and questions!
Founder Dr. Dhingra shares her #STEMlens when watching her dog, Pi, wagging her tail.
The goal is to have these learning moments in your own backyard, without having to be in a specific STEM venue. At talkSTEM, we believe every child is a STEM child and every space is a STEM space. We encourage all students, families, and educators to see the world through a STEM lens. #STEMlens also provides the opportunity to introduce STEM into your young student’s lives to foster a STEM mindset. The following images are examples of talkSTEM team member #STEMlens submissions.
Assessment is an ongoing process that needs to take place all the time. All educators, mentors, parents, and coaches assess their students, mentees, children, athletes…..that’s how they can plan their own next steps and make sure they are being as helpful as they can be. Assessment is not evaluation, rather it is a means by which teachers can sit with their students and see where they are in their thinking. In fact, the word comes from the Latin “assidere” meaning to sit beside. Assess your students in a fun yet valuable way using the quick and easy personalized STEM image that we are inviting all to use for their own purposes and in their own ways -#STEMlens. We’ve even developed a rubric you can use! Have students find real-world examples of fractions, ratios, forces, geometry, and more in their own homes, campuses, and neighborhoods. This can be a quick homework assignment, a unit assessment, group assessments or anything else you come up with!
We invite you to look at your world with a STEM lens, and have fun! All you need is your smartphone and your mind! We can’t wait to see what you see!
Dr. Koshi Dhingra has dedicated her career to STEM education and is passionate about having every child live up to their potential. Seeing a lack of girls and other underrepresented youth in STEM programs, she founded talkSTEM in 2015 to address the imbalance. She has a doctorate in science education from Teachers College, Columbia University, has years of experience teaching in graduate and undergraduate programs, and has held leadership roles in universities. She advises and collaborates with a broad range of educational institutions globally. Dr. Dhingra began her career teaching science in middle and high school in New York. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, three children, and two dogs.
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