ZOEY'S STEM JOURNEY

Maker Mindz:  What does STEM mean to you? 

Zoey:  It is problem solving, analytical thinking. Just works for my brain! 

Maker Mindz:  Why do you think STEM is important? 

Zoey:  STEM helps build everything around us. 

Maker Mindz:  What was your favorite STEM experiment? 

Zoey:  We synthesized bio-diesel from vegetable oil. In general, I enjoy hands-on projects! 

Maker Mindz:  If you could invent something using STEM, what would it be? 

Zoey:  Easy, it will be a wind-powered car. I am looking forward to the Chem-E-Car competition next year! 

Maker Mindz:  Do you have a role model in STEM field? 

Zoey:  I look up to my Seniors who are doing well and are successful. 

Maker Mindz:  What is the one thing you wish more people knew about STEM? 

Zoey:  I wish people knew how creative STEM can get. 

Maker Mindz:  Do you think current STEM education makes it difficult to understand STEM topics? 

Zoey:  I did not have access to pursue higher level classes through my school. And I wanted to... However, many of my peers had a hard time with standard curriculum.  

Maker Mindz:  What do you think can help? 

Zoey:  Some of the concepts are hard. May be a different way of teaching, giving partial credits for effort to encourage students can help... Low grades can discourage students to pursue STEM. And grades are important to students.

I enjoyed my chemistry class in High School. Our teacher encouraged us to solve problems on our own. We did lots of fun experiments & that helped a lot.

Encouraging kids to solve a problem & asking them to figure it out can help.

Maker Mindz:  Share an example when you felt intimidated to take a STEM class. 

Zoey:  When it comes to building stuff, it is all guys in a room & that can feel intimidating. It feels like they already know what they are doing.  

Maker Mindz:  How do you think we can solve this? 

Zoey:  For me, I wish I got into building things when I was younger. I think if our teachers can push for more programs that encourage building things that can help. It can help visualize stuff.

It can take the fear out from an early age!

Maker Mindz:  If you could teach someone one thing about STEM, what would it be? 

Zoey:  How to look at things in a new way! 

What I found is learning is the easiest when it makes sense to you. Find your process that works for you, that helps you grasp the concept. The way teacher might be teaching you, may not be the way you need to learn it. So figuring out what makes sense to you and making it make sense to you and not just relying on what makes sense to your teacher.  

I think that is important to figure out.