Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com Providing Interactive Keynotes and Teaching Seminars that Inspire and Motivate Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:34:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Parents Get a Hands-On-Minds-On Introduction to STEM Education http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/2012/04/07/parents-get-a-hands-on-minds-on-introduction-to-stem-education/ http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/2012/04/07/parents-get-a-hands-on-minds-on-introduction-to-stem-education/#comments Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:34:57 +0000 admin http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/?p=236 Eighty parents recently took part in a hands-on-minds-on inquiry-based science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workshop during the Expanding Your Horizons Conference held at University of Central Florida February, 2012. During the one hour STEM workshop conducted by Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski parents conducted investigations with super-absorbing polymers, they also took part in the Marshmallow Challenge. The goal of the Marshmallow Challenge is to build the tallest free-standing structure within 18 minutes using only the following materials (20 spaghetti sticks, one yard of string, one yard of tape, and one large marshmallow). At the end of 18 minutes the structure must be free-standing, holding the marshmallow on top. I have found the Marshmallow Challenge to be a fantastic exercise to incorporate in my STEM teacher training sessions. To build a successful structure group participants must collaborate, communicate, and work as a team. It’s quite fascinating to observe the differences in how the individual groups go about designing, building and testing the structures. For more information about the STEM teacher training and STEM family science nights check out my teacher training website http://www.drdianateachertraining.com.

The following video highlights parents conducting investigations with super-absorbing polymers, and taking part in the Marshmallow Challenge.

]]> http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/2012/04/07/parents-get-a-hands-on-minds-on-introduction-to-stem-education/feed/ 0 Interactive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Keynote Workshop For Parents 2011 http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/2011/03/11/interactive-science-technology-engineering-and-math-stem-keynote-workshop-for-parents-2011/ http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/2011/03/11/interactive-science-technology-engineering-and-math-stem-keynote-workshop-for-parents-2011/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 03:48:20 +0000 admin http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/?p=228 STEM education is the “buzz word” in the educational arena, and to promote STEM education I conduct interactive STEM keynote workshops for parents. During the interactive keynote workshops parents are actively engaged in exploring science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts through hands-on-minds-on investigations. The following photos are from a recent interactive keynote workshop I conducted for parents during the Expanding Your Horizons Conference held at University of North Florida in Jacksonville this past February. The keypoints and explorations focused on: exploring and analyzing structure and function in the natural world and man-made objects, and exploring the field of biomimicry and how it has impacted STEM fields. The following photos are from the one hour interactive STEM keynote workshop.

]]> http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/2011/03/11/interactive-science-technology-engineering-and-math-stem-keynote-workshop-for-parents-2011/feed/ 0 Expanding Your Horizons Conference Interactive Keynote STEM Presentation For Parents http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/2010/02/28/expanding-your-horizons-conference-interactive-keynote-stem-presentation-for-parents/ http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/2010/02/28/expanding-your-horizons-conference-interactive-keynote-stem-presentation-for-parents/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:18:52 +0000 admin http://www.drdianakeynotespeaker.com/?p=62         On February 20th UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science was host to the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) Conference. Expanding Your Horizons is a national organization whose goal is to motivate young women in science and mathematics by exposing them to hands-on-minds-on workshops for a day. The unique aspect of this conference is that the parents of the junior high girls can remain on the campus and participate in workshops designed for parents. I provided an interactive keynote presentation workshop for 75 parents entitled “Exploring Patterns, Shapes, and Structures from Nature to Engineering.”  The interactive keynote presentation workshop integrated science, technology, engineering, and math principles. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. Currently, STEM education is a major focus of reform in math and science education, and I felt that the parent workshop should focus on STEM concepts as well. To explore STEM concepts parents were given a pre-packaged bag that contained a wide-assortment of objects from nature as well as man-made items whose design is based on models borrowed from nature. Parents were asked to observe, compare, and analyze structure and function of the objects using eye-loupes. Parents worked in groups of two which allowed them to develop theories as to why certain objects had a particular structure etc., as well as correlating the natural object to a modern-day invention. Objects and concepts the group explored included: golf balls, bird feather, model airplane wing, aerodynamics, seed structure and dispersal, sea shells, hexagonal nuts and bolts, soap film, architectural design, and geometrical structures. As always, I was very impressed with the group of parents that participated in the parent Expanding Your Horizons session. They were totally immersed in the learning process via hands-on-minds-on explorations, busily jotting down their observations, building models, and exchanging ideas with one another. Additionally, parents heard presentations from Megan Clementi, Miss Florida USA 2010 who earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCF, and Janet McCulloh, Mrs. Florida 2009 who earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCF and a MS in Electrical Engineering from GA Tech.

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