I had the pleasure of sharing some educational research I completed this year with a phenomenal undergraduate student, Rylynn Peters, and colleague, Mary McFadden. You can see photos of their work below.
 I have been working on my podcast which I will write about more in a future post (see posts below or my LinkedIn for more on the podcast. While getting it prepared for release this month, I have been exploring the role of ChatGPT in elementary science education. As you may know ChatGPT is a an AI writing program (click here to learn more and try it) and I thought I would give it the challenge of writing a story about about two first graders named Ruby and Skye learning about the sun. Below is the AI story. I used to write stories for struggling and hesitant readers with their names. Does ChatGPT have that potential in STEM Education? You be the judge.  Ruby and Skye Learn About the Sun by ChatGPT
Once upon a time, there were two best friends named Ruby and Skye. They loved to play outside and explore the world around them. One day, as they were playing, Ruby looked up at the sky and said, "Skye, have you ever wondered where the sun comes from?" Skye replied, "No, I haven't. Why do you ask?" Ruby said, "I heard my teacher talking about it in school and I'm curious. Let's go find out!" So, they set out on a journey to find the sun. They asked everyone they met if they knew where the sun came from, but no one seemed to know the answer. Just when they were about to give up, they met a wise old owl who said, "The sun comes from a place far away in space, where it was born as a giant ball of gas and fire." Ruby and Skye were amazed. They thanked the owl for his help and continued on their journey, eager to learn more about the sun. As they walked, they noticed that the sun was getting warmer and warmer. They realized that the sun was not only a ball of fire, but it also provided light and heat for the Earth. When they finally returned home, Ruby and Skye were full of knowledge about the sun. They shared their adventure with their families and friends, and everyone was amazed by what they had learned. From that day on, Ruby and Skye never forgot the incredible journey they had taken to find the sun. They knew that the sun would always be there to light up their days and warm their hearts. I launched a new STEM podcast series that looks at science, technology, engineering and mathematics from the perspective of teaching and learning. I Series 1 we explore the (STEM)2 learning framework within the context of NASA and the Canadian Space Agency's Artemis 1 Mission. Check out the entire series on my website (click here) for Spreaker, Apple Podcast, YouTube or coming soon on Spotify.  My students, colleagues and I had a great night co-hosting a STEM Night at Coral Cliffs Elementary School. Learn more about our event in the local new story (click here). Students and families explored the following STEM Theme: Diverse Living Communities – Past, Present and Future through a variety of activities. The Dinosaur Discovery Site shared their fossils and artifacts from Utah’s ancient past. The Red Cliffs Desert Reserve program presented a programs on plants and animals in this region. We also had several programs from Utah Tech University sharing their programs on robotics (K-12 STEM K-12 Outreach Center) and STEM mapping technology (UT GIS Program). Charline Para (Navajo Nation) with the District’s Title VI program provided information on the history of the region’s land and people. Students constructed a paper village and programmed miniature robots to navigate streets and paths in a series of challenges. The College of Education’s future teachers had a variety of math and science activities for elementary students to explore as well. We had a fun night of STEM! 
 While we are still in the midst of the pandemic, many public health and medical professionals have begun to reflect on the government response to the pandemic in order better understand how to more affectively plan for future pandemics. In the United States, Dr. Sanjey Gupta interviewed conducted an "Autopsy of a pandemic" by interviewing six of the leading doctors involved in the Covid-19 response. The same reflective processes should also be utilized in education where educational systems struggled with the challenges of greatly revised, dispersed, and remote/online learning. Like the public health response in many different countries around the world, initial research would suggest that educational processes and school districts in some nations were less impacted than others. For educators we must ask: Why did this occur and how might we be more effective with future disruptions to educational systems?
This is a particularly important question within STEM/STEAM education where students and community members must better understand the history and science between how different societies experience and respond to pandemics and other natural disasters. Here are four areas where educational research is needed as it relates to STEM education and pandemics: Challenge #1 - Increasing student understanding of the history and nature of pandemics: While disease outbreaks and pandemics are still a regularly occurring phenomenon in many parts of the world, the 2020 Pandemic was relatively novel for many parts of Europe and North America compared to other parts of the world that have experienced massive outbreaks and or pandemics. What is he role and relationship between a culture's lived experience/memories/stories with outbreaks/pandemics and its educational processes? Challenge #2 - Better understanding student misconceptions about microscopic illness and their prevention: The pandemic has illuminated significant student (and public) misconceptions about viruses and other microscopic diseases. What are the most significant misconceptions students at different levels have and how should STEM educators address them in future teaching and learning about pandemics and other natural disasters? Challenge #3 - Understanding the challenges and innovations that emerged in STEM education: The pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to educational systems whereby formal STEM programs (schools & universities) and informal STEM programs (museums & science centres) were converted to online programs and remote learning. Many schools and museums were idled by necessary closures as educators reoriented teaching with educational technologies and platforms many likely never used such as Zoom. What were the most significant challenges, innovations and take-aways for STEM educators during this period that enhance the future of formal/informal STEM education at schools, museums, science centres, parks, etc.? Challenge #4 - The pandemic's effect on the STEM gap within multicultural and inclusive education and need for revised plans for addressing it: Educational research is beginning to illuminated the significant effect the pandemic had on student learning within different contextual factors within diverse multicultural identities and other socioeconomic factors. It is evident that inclusive and culturally responsive STEM educational practices will likely have to be revisited and reimagined in many important areas in order to address growing gaps and divides previously existing in STEM education. How do educators work with students, their families, communities and STEM organizations to provide additional and enriched STEM opportunities that build upon and address these important social inequities in education? While many other questions exist, I believe we will begin seeing quite a bit of educational research within the four areas identified above. Feel free to contact me with your thoughts on these questions and what I have missed. Science is a dynamic ongoing reflective and iterative process. In this case, STEM/STEAM education must also be.  Image: istock/ninitta While people have been discussing graduation ceremonies, it is important to consider what school will look like next year. Below are some topics and strategies I have been reading about as schools around the world begin to reopen with a few thoughts of mine in (parentheses).
Schools are/will try and reopen in many areas that do not have adequate testing/tracing plans and/or in communities that may or may not be meeting local and national re-opening guidelines (Districts with testing/tracing are better positioned for smaller localized closures while other districts that open without these are at higher risk for early closure if outbreaks occur.) Teachers will be wearing masks. Students will be wearing masks. Some schools will have teachers and students wearing face guards. (Districts that require full equipment will likely see fewer closures than districts that allow teachers and students to opt out of mask and other safety equipment requirements.) School staff and students will likely have daily temperature checks in order to enter buildings/classrooms. (While this strategy may not catch asymptomatic staff/students, this health precaution will likely reduce illness in buildings.) Schools may be operating at reduced capacity with opened classes distanced from each other. For example: Grade 5 and Ks may come in for a half day twice per week while Grades 4 and 1 coming in during the other half. School hours will be shorter and teachers will likely be teaching shorter repeated lessons to half or third sized classes. (Schools operating at full capacity are at greater risk for possible infection, and the hybrid schedule above allows for class tracing.) Schools with cases will individually close if testing/tracing is robust enough. Teachers will likely rotate between teaching onsite and online if their classes become infected. (Inadequate testing/tracing will likely make localized single site closures impossible.) There will be high rates of absenteeism during the first term. Evidence from previous pandemics indicates that many families are likely to not send their children to school during the pandemic. (Schools will need to run onsite and offsite options simultaneously with dedicated teachers/paraprofessionals supporting each model.) While the weather is favourable, many classes will be held outside where air circulation is strongest. Physical education is a particularly good candidate for outdoor classes. (Having students dispersed and exercising outside might decrease transmission when compared to using the school's gym and other indoor spaces.) Schools will likely be experimenting with 25%, 40%, 50% and 80% schedules with the rest of learning occurring at home. (Schools that start at 100% are at a higher risk of transmission and early closure than more cautious models.) Low SES (socio economic status), students with exceptionalities, and English Language Learners will likely have targeted enrichment learning within the reduced schedule described above. This may mean additional time directly with their teachers while other students are learning at home. (The biggest lesson in our spring teaching block was the problem of inclusive education for all at-risk students.) Schools will need to come up with plans to address serious illness by students and staff. Education Weekly reports that 1/3 of teachers at risk for serious health impacts from Covid-19. Recent studies on children illuminate additional risks as well. (School districts will likely need to run, possibly through lawsuits by resistant districts, offsite programs for these concerns.) Finally, no matter your beliefs it is important to realize that early monitoring and tracing response mistakes were made (compared to other countries such as South Korea and New Zealand) that makes it more challenging for educational systems to successfully respond to this pandemic. However, until a vaccine is available (by Fall 2021), I believe that it will be important for schools to continue to do their best for students and staff. As a Dually (a person living a life in two countries at the same time), I have tried to create this post for both Canada and the United States. Several provinces are trying to reopen schools including British Columbia for the month of June. Most public schools in the States (I wonder about the territories) are on summer vacation. The difference between Pandemic 1918 and Pandemic 2020 is that, as a society, we have access to much higher levels of health and safety information that previous pandemics. Despite these medical, scientific, and health advances, I am predicting that schools will struggle and there will continue to be large scale closures during the 2020-2021 academic year. However, that should not stop us from doing our best to create safe, inclusive, and empowering education for all students and staff in the coming year. Feel free to share and post your comments below.  In November, my university students participated in a STEM night at Coral Cliff Elementary School. These future teachers did a fantastic job with hands-on educational displays and activities ranging from the Arctic, desert ecology, electricity, earthquakes, and understanding different types of waves. In addition to student activities, we constructed a full sized Stegosaurus (a Faison's Giant - see the previous blog on Chris Faison) using cardboard and PVC. The event would not have been possible without the coordination of the wonderful principal and staff at Coral Cliff and the Dinosaur Dinosaur Discovery Site (a local museum in St. George). I want to thank all of my students and colleagues for helping make this STEM night possible.
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