How to Make STEM Education More Meaningful, Rigorous, and Equitable for Students

This session will describe how to make learning experiences in STEM more meaningful, rigorous, and equitable for students. Meaningful learning occurs when students have opportunities to make sense of the world around them. Rigorous work presses learners to go beyond what they currently know and can do. A rigorous learning experience gives students an opportunity to use core ideas and practices of science to figure something out. Equity means giving all students, rather than a select few, a fair opportunity to learn. It also means doing everything possible to ensure that every student feels like their ideas and participation are valued because they have unique life experiences and ways of talking or thinking that are useful for figuring out how or why something happens. The session will give teachers an opportunity to participate in the same sort of rich and meaningful learning experiences that we want students to experience.