Building Spatial Reasoning & Productive Struggle in STEM Classrooms | STEM Educator Workshop скачать в хорошем качестве

Building Spatial Reasoning & Productive Struggle in STEM Classrooms | STEM Educator Workshop

How do we rebuild the foundational STEM skills many students are missing? In this STEM Educator Workshop, Alyssa and the Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence team lead a thoughtful discussion on why hands-on play, spatial reasoning, and productive struggle are essential building blocks for STEM learning across K–12 and postsecondary classrooms. This session moves beyond the idea of “STEM mindset” and focuses on the physical and cognitive foundations students need to succeed in engineering, electronics, coding, physics, and robotics. Alyssa explains how limited early experiences with physical materials can impact students’ ability to grasp abstract concepts later, and why structured, tactile learning experiences matter more than ever. The workshop explores what makes an effective STEM activity, including inclusivity, guided structure with benchmarks, opportunities for independent exploration, and activities that allow for multiple solutions rather than guaranteed success. Participants discuss how gradual release models—moving from lockstep instruction to independence—help students build confidence while still encouraging productive struggle and resilience. A wide range of classroom tools and strategies are discussed, from no-cost exploration activities using everyday mechanisms to electronics kits, coding platforms, robotics tools, CAD resources, and open-ended building materials. Alyssa also demonstrates award-winning Upper Story educational games including Turing Tumble, Spintronics, and Bridge or Bust, explaining how each scaffolds learning in computational thinking, electronics, and engineering design while reinforcing iteration and conceptual understanding. The session concludes with a demonstration of how AI tools can be used to generate reflection questions aligned to learning targets, support assessment design, and create classroom management materials. This recording is designed for middle school, high school, CTE, and postsecondary educators seeking practical, hands-on strategies to strengthen STEM engagement and deepen student thinking. For CEU documentation, contact Jason.Bruns@mnsu.edu . To learn more about educator programming through the Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence, visit: engineering.mnsu.edu