In STEM education, so much focus is put on execution techniques that we sometimes forget how great technologies first started – from wild, out-of-the-box daringness. I reignite this natural quality in students by engaging them in pitching projects, where students motivate their visions by pitching what they want to do, why they want to do it and how it can be possible. The question concerned is not how a given task can be accomplished by certain ways of coding or calculations, because AI is taking up most of these jobs now. What I care about is getting students to ask: What do I aspire to do? Why is it important to the world? Why should people care about it like I do? Does it mean that students will pitch whatever ideas regardless of feasibility? No. They will research for existing technologies relevant to their ideas. They will construct mockups or prototypes, and explain technical logics to persuade that their ideas are no mere fantasies. Execution techniques learnt this way does not overshine their purpose, their “core and soul.” This is important because techniques change too quickly (Humans are beginning to pass the job of code writing to AI, for example). STEM education should be about the future, not the present.
I will share my experiences in joining public hackathon competitions and leading STEM projects in different approaches. These experiences shaped my philosophy in what STEM education should focus on. Next, I will talk about the framework of pitching projects I engage students in. I have run this framework in a curriculum and also in secluded small teams. On one hand, we turn to AI to solve a lot of executional problems and focus on idea construction and articulation. On the other hand, I will share how I help students cooperate efficiently over co-editing platforms, and add values to their projects by working with professionals. The students learn from journalists how to collect support by interviews, refine their ideas according to comments from artists and programmers, and learn pitching skills from people working in business public relations. The authentic experiences and general skills involved go beyond the scope of STEM, and will benefit the students regardless of whether they opt for STEM-related careers in the future.
The audience will be encouraged to reflect and exchange on:
1. The value of humans in the AI- era
2. The “core and soul” of STEM education
3. How STEM education can benefit “non-STEM students”
February 2025 - 21CLHK
Job Role Applicability:
- Technology Director
- Curriculum Director / Coordinator
- English/Language Arts Teacher
- Science / STEAM Teacher
- Technology Coach
- Social Studies Teacher
- 21st Century Skills
- Social Studies
- Coaching
- Emergent Technology
- Digital Citizenship
- Personalized Learning
- Professional Learning
Presentation
- Upper Elementary [Age 8 - 10]
- Middle School [Age 11 - 13]
- High School [Age 14 - 17]