Out of school time (OST) programs provide school-age children with opportunities to play and explore. In this module facilitators learn how to maximize the value of these experiences by helping children to finish the learning process, developing and communicating the explanations about what they have discovered. Developing explanations is an important STEM skill, linked to the 21st century skills of critical thinking and communication. (2 hours)
Objectives
- Describe tools that support data collection in an OST program.
- Identify specific strategies that encourage children to collect objective data and to think about and explain STEM experiences.
- Experience the process of developing and expanding explanations during a STEM experience.
- Write prompts that encourage a child to expand or refine an explanation of a STEM experience.
- Describe steps a facilitator takes to support a child's inquiry as the child forms evidence-based explanations.
- Describe facilitation strategies to challenge learners who are ready for more complex STEM experiences, and strategies to support learners who are struggling to express STEM understanding.
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¡Disponsible en Español!: Click2Science: Ayudando a los estudiantes a desarrollar y a ampliar sus explicaciones de STEM
