STEAM Designs: Real-Life Problem Solving

This workshop introduces educators to strategies for engaging students in authentic, real-world problem-solving through STEAM-based design challenges. Teachers explore how to align the 5E instructional model with engineering design processes, connecting lessons to students’ lives while reinforcing science, math, and social science concepts. Participants are guided through model lessons on topics such as oil spills, earthquake-resistant buildings, water access, and overcrowded schools. The session emphasizes creativity, teamwork, and iterative problem-solving as key elements of student learning.

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• Classroom instruction that limits students to closed-ended problems rather than open-ended, real-world challenges.
  
  
• Lack of integration of engineering design principles and authentic inquiry into STEM/STEAM lessons.
  
  
• Student disengagement when lessons feel disconnected from their lived experiences or pressing global issues.

1. Designing Authentic STEAM Challenges: Participants will learn how to structure lessons around real-world problems (e.g., environmental disasters, infrastructure challenges, resource access) that encourage open-ended solutions and authentic engagement.
   
   
2. Integrating the 5E Model with Engineering Design: Educators will gain strategies for blending inquiry-based learning (engage, explore, explain, extend, evaluate) with iterative design processes—promoting both scientific reasoning and engineering problem-solving.
   
   
3. Promoting Collaboration and Resilience: Teachers will practice methods to foster teamwork, creativity, and persistence in students by using hands-on materials, allowing multiple solutions, and reframing failure as part of the learning process