We know elementary school is a critical time for students’ career interests. By the end of fifth grade, some students have already decided to pursue a career in STEM, while others have concluded such a career is “unthinkable” (DeWitt, 2011). The good news is that teaching about professions at the elementary level can affect this trajectory: students with greater knowledge of STEM careers are more likely to aspire to careers in those fields. (Blotnicky, 2018).
Help your students see themselves in a future STEM career with this list of resources from EiE.
Match your students interests and passions with a future career in STEM with Careers for Engineers. Developed in collaboration with Dell Technologies, this experience begins with a personality quiz in which students answer a few questions about their interests, hobbies, and preferences. Based on their answers, students are matched with an exciting career in STEM, then view an infographic about one of the engineering or computer science careers.
Each infographic includes the problems the featured engineer solves, the technologies they design, and the ways in which they help people. To extend students’ learning further, each infographic also includes links to activities, videos, exhibits, and podcasts about the career in question.
Learn more about Careers for Engineers on our blog and click here to take the quiz!
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For more examples of careers in STEM, visit Learn.EiE. This innovative teaching platform is filled with standards-aligned videos, instructional resources and student activities that support teachers with quick, quality lessons to engage them in real-world, interactive STEM learning and offers a glimpse at many STEM-related careers.
Designed to supplement any science program, the FREE resources on topics including earth, space, and life sciences make STEM learning accessible anytime, anywhere. All activities are materials-light and can be completed using commonly found classroom materials.
1. Go to Learn.EiE.org
2. Login or Sign up for a free account
3. Explore free content including videos, activities, and more!
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Check out this video from McGraw Hill, STEM Careers: Inspire the Next Generation of Innovators, which includes interviews with several engineers and scientists about their background, their inspiration to enter their field, a glimpse of their day-to-day work, and more.
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Everyday is a new opportunity to inspire a student to strive for a future career in STEM. How do you inspire your students to love STEM? Let us know in the comments.
