This week's lesson required that my lesson be geared towards STEM education which focuses on the usage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Therefore I based my lesson's theme around the Engineering Design Process (EDP). I started out my lesson by explaining the steps of the EDP, and we looked at several different technologies and the scientists usage of the EDP to create their products. My students then worked collaboratively to create their own prototype by drawing it out on a large of piece of butcher paper and including the steps of the EDP that they used. My students really enjoyed this lesson, and I was so impressed to see the prototypes they were able to come up with.
There was one particular strategy we were required to use this week called the five E's strategy. The five E's we were asked to use include: engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation. I liked using this strategy because it requires me to break down my lesson and cover every important aspect from how I want to engage my students to how I will evaluate my students. This process was a little bit different from how I usually plan my lessons because while I am always certain to have how I want to engage, explain, and evaluate my lessons, I don't always spend enough time on the exploring and elaborating portion of my lessons.
I enjoyed focusing on STEM education this week, and I also enjoyed using a more in-depth and organized lesson plan layout.
