Cultivating STEM Identities

Book excerpt: "A focus on STEM engages our curiosity, beckons us to marvel, to ask questions, to cultivate childlike wonder, and alongside that a pursuit to understand. This is the joy of STEM." -Wendy Ward Hoffer STEM content can feel daunting. Many elementary teachers don't yet think of themselves as mathematicians or scientists and lack confidence in their abilities to teach STEM content. Who you are as a teacher informs who your students become. Consciously or unconsciously, your beliefs about STEM impact your behavior and instruction. Wendy Ward Hoffer believes that we can each grow our own confidence and competence as STEM thinker and learners, then intentionally pass these attributes on to our students. With Wendy's guidance, you will learn how to embrace a growth mindset and model the curiosity, persistence, flexibility, and positive regard for STEM needed to design and facilitate rich STEM experiences for all students. Each chapter includes current research findings along with concrete, practical approaches to help you make STEM learning meaningful and to foster students' independence as mathematicians and scientists. We are all scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technology creators and users, making sense of our own worlds every day. Bring positive STEM identities to life in your classroom and watch your students develop the dispositions and habits of mind that will spark bright STEM futures.