BU Wheelock’s Earl Center for Learning and Innovation will host this enriching professional development series for cur-rent and prospective STEM educators focusing on innova-tive STEM technologies and pedagogies.

Our first STEM Institute will take place on May 16. The format is flexible: participants will have their choice of attending up to two sessions hosted by the participating organizations. Most sessions will last an hour, but a few are designed to take up the whole two hours.

The STEM Institute will also provide a space where pro-spective teachers, early-career teachers, and seasoned vet-erans will all come together to witness and participate in an active model of collaborative education. Through events like the STEM Institute, we hope to foster partnerships that enhance collaboration among University faculty, students, staff, and external partners.

Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human DevelopmentEarl Center for Learning & Innovation

STEM InstituteMay 16, 2019 | 4:00–6:30 PM | at the Earl Center, 180 Riverway, BU Fenway Campus

Register TodayWhen you confirm that you’ll be joining us at the STEM Institute, you’ll also have the opportunity to choose which sessions you’d like to attend. You can also request parking space (which is limited) and let us know of any dietary restrictions, as we’ll be serving dinner at the event.

RSVP HERE: wheelocksteminstitute2019.eventbrite.com

Please feel free to share this invitation with student/staff members that are helping to plan your Innovation Week event. RSVP by Friday, May 10th.

Session Schedule & Details

STEM Institute: May 16, 2019, 4:00–6:30 PM at the Earl Center for Learning & Innovation

Single-Session Workshops (1 hour)

Session A Session B

Double-Session Workshops (2 hours)

Sustainable Innovations in Industry

Chemistry with a Conscience

Dr. Kimberly Farah Dr. Monica R.

Hall-Porter

Dr. Megina Baker

Dr. Gregory Benoit

Dr. Wynter J. Duncanson

Contact: Kellyanne Mahoney Session Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 15Grade Level: Middle & High School

Description: Make Code You Can Touch with Tin-kercad: Can coding enhance human imagination? During this session, participants will learn about the concept of generative design and how and why humans are collaborating with automation to make things like art, buildings, and products. Participants will also analyze, create, and remix interesting algo-rithm components using Tinkercad Codeblocks and consider how they might engage students in creat-ing code you can touch.

Contact: Kate AndersonSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 20Grade Level: Middle & High School Teachers

Description: Beyond Benign will offer two distinct sessions at the STEM Institute:

Session A: Sustainable Innovations in IndustryCome learn how companies are using inspiration from nature to create sustainable solutions to their pollution problems by using novel materials. In this hands-on workshop, we will explore sus-tainable materials and share how sustainability, engineering, and innovation intersect and can be easily applied to your formal or informal teaching setting.

Session B: Chemistry with a Conscience Join us in a hands-on workshop that explores how natural materials can replace harmful chem-ical reactions in the classroom. By using greener reactions, you will be able to have students safely investigate their reactions and have lab exper-iments be more affordable. We will supply you with access to over 200+ lesson plans that are ready to excite your students about how to be sustainable in chemistry.

STEM Institute: May 16, 2019, 4:00–6:30 PM at the Earl Center for Learning & Innovation

Contact: Jonah BoucherSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 15Grade Level: Elementary & Middle School Teachers

Description: Add a new dimension to coding and math curriculum with this easy-to-use 3D design platform! BlocksCAD unites computational thinking with classroom math including geometry, coordi-nates, and transformations, all while students are creating their favorite characters, functional tools, and much more! This workshop will give you the chance to explore the tool and learn how our curric-ulum meets modern computer science needs in the context of existing math and makerspace infrastruc-ture.

STEM Institute: May 16, 2019, 4:00–6:30 PM at the Earl Center for Learning & Innovation

Contact: Dr. Greg BenoitSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 10Grade Level: High School Mathematics

Description: The Case of the Missing StudentA student is accidentally left on the subway plat-form during a class trip. When you return to the platform, he is gone. This is a game-like experience where you must collaborate, critically think, commu-nicate, be creative and most importantly use math to unlock a series of clues that will help you find the missing student!

Contact: Jake WeisbergSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 20Grade Level: Middle & High School Teachers

Description: Interactive Circuitry For Kids With Arduino” This workshop will demystify using inter-active circuitry in the classroom. You will learn the fundamentals of one of the most popular electronics prototyping platforms for DIYers and professional engineers, the Arduino Uno, and then use it, along with Circuit Lab’s kid-friendly software, to build a creative open-ended electronics project. This is real STEM in action – providing kids from grades 3-12 access to the same electrical engineering tools commonly used by professionals, and teaching logic, linear thinking, and the fundamentals of electricity along the way.

Contact: Dr. Megina BakerSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour)Max Participants: 10Grade Level: Early Childhood & ElementaryDescription: For young children, learning key sci-ence concepts like observation, experimentation, and data collection doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. In this interactive workshop, we will use simple natural materials and a learning through play approach to engage young scientists and make this learning visible.

Contact: Dr. Wynter J. DuncansonSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 10Grade Level: Middle & High School Teachers

Description: Participants will learn about microflu-idics and its application for biomedical engineering and other engineering disciplines. Participants will also use design thinking to build a prototype and test their models out. After you leave this work-shop, you will have a fun method to use with your students to demonstrate microfluidic devices and concepts. Your students will be able to predict flow rates based on the dimensions of the microfluidic channels. You will find yourself designing, making, and testing Jell-O microfluidics devices in your kitchen.

Contact: Christina NawnSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 20Grade Level: PreK-2nd Grade Teachers

Description: In this hands-on session, participants will be able to play and code with KIBO, the playful screen-free robotic kit for young learners. KIBO lets 4- to 7-year-olds create, design, decorate and bring their own robot to life! KIBO makes it easy to bring robotics and coding to your young learners and spark their interest in STEAM concepts in a fun, creative way.

STEM Institute: May 16, 2019, 4:00–6:30 PM at the Earl Center for Learning & Innovation

Contact: Dr. Kimberly FarahSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 20Grade Level: High School

Description: Who Did It?: Using Forensic Serology and DNA Analysis in the Classroom. The author has de-veloped several inquiry-based activities centered on blood typing, serology and DNA analysis for use in biology or forensics classes. These activities involve little to equipment and can be incorporated into a larger 10-12 week forensic science unit. The work-shop will begin with an overview of forensic serology and DNA analysis. Paternity testing as well as the use of mitochondrial DNA for introducing patterns of genetic inheritance will be included. Participants will use blood typing results, and will use DNA with a focus on interpretation of DNA profiles.

Contact: Dr. Monica R. Hall-PorterSession Type: Demonstration (1 hour) Max Participants: 20Grade Level: High SchoolDescription: The Skin Microbiome Discovery Project: Introduce educators to a biotechnology unit cen-tered on bacteria that colonize the human body and the techniques used to identify and characterize these bacteria. Participants in this workshop can expect to work in small groups to

• Collect samples of bacteria.• Test bacteria for antibiotic resistance.• Isolate bacterial DNA and use PCR (Polymerase

Chain Reaction) to amplify a bacterial gene. • Have the bacterial DNA sequenced, and analyze

the sequences to identify bacteria.Lastly present findings and gain experience with several of the techniques employed in the project.

Contact: Emily WilsonSession Type: Mini-workshop (1 hour) Max Participants: 15Grade Level: Elementary & Middle School Teachers

Description: Participants will go through a “Splat Workshop.” Splats are programmable tiles that students can run and jump on. Participants will learn about the importance of play in the classroom.

Contact: Cortney WieberSession Type: Demonstration (2 hours)Max Participants: 20Grade Level: Teachers Across Grades 3-8

Description: Science from Scientists Instructors will facilitate a workshop that highlights the six basic simple machines: the inclined plane, the wedge, the screw, the lever, the wheel and axle, and the pulley. The students are then challenged to design and build a Rube Goldberg device to ring a service bell in a chain reaction using multiple simple machines. Af-ter the devices are built, the groups will present their devices and describe the simple machines used in their designs.

Contact: Merredith PortsmoreSession Type: Demonstration (2 hours)Max Participants: 15Grade Level: Elementary & Middle School

Description: Novel Engineering allows students to engage in meaningful, integrated engineering and literacy tasks while meeting standards for both disciplines. Novel Engineering is an approach, not a set curriculum, so teachers can implement it in a way that makes the most sense for their individual settings. Although Novel Engineering is a sim-ple concept, implementation is complex because teachers need to consider a multitude of logistical, pedagogical, and discipline-related issues. Teachers play a pivotal role in Novel Engineering units by pro-viding a supportive, responsive environment where K-8 students can build on their ideas as they work on complex problems. This workshop will provide a brief introduction to the Novel Engineering idea and walk participants through a sample Novel Engineer-ing projects.

STEM Institute: May 16, 2019, 4:00–6:30 PM at the Earl Center for Learning & Innovation