STEAM Newsletter – Celebrating National Mentoring Month!
January 18, 2023
Happy New Year! Welcome to the first installment of the CAN STEAM newsletter for 2023! This January, we are celebrating National Mentoring Month, a national celebration of the role models and mentors that have made monumental differences in the lives of so many.
Listed as one of Moonshot’s four transformative practices, role models and mentors play a significant role in showing young women what is possible for them in STEM.
There are a multitude of resources that you can explore to see why #MentoringAmplifies. Explore these resources specifically surrounding the importance of role models in STEM for girls and other youth:
- FabFems - A collection of resources for role models, educators, and parents to inspire and educate girls about science, computer science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses and careers.
- Career Girls - A comprehensive video-based career exploration tool for girls featuring diverse women STEM role models. It’s free to use and contains 16,000 videos, as well as career quizzes and resources.
- National Mentoring Resource Center – A collection of mentoring resources including handbooks, curricula, manuals, and other resources that practitioners can use to implement and further develop program practices.
- Techbridge Role Model Training and Resources – These resources are for adult or near-peer role models to develop skills for engaging girls and historically excluded youth in STEM through guides, videos, and questions.
In This Newsletter:
Cal Water H2O Challenge
Registration Closes: January 31st, 2023
The Cal Water H2O Classroom Challenge is a FREE project-based learning competition for California classrooms and school-based clubs grades 4-6. Teach your students about water conservation while competing for a $3,500 classroom grant and more!
Click2Engineering Winter Community of Practice
February 1, 15, March 1, 15, 2023; 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM PST
The CoP is organized around the 10 Practices for an Engineering Mindset, and includes hands-on engineering activities, developing engineering experiences for youth, and learning skills to facilitate engineering practices.
ACRES Training Cohort: Asking Purposeful Questions
February 13, 27, March 13, 2023; 7:00 - 9:00am PST
Questions begin a path towards discovery, imagination, and STEM exploration. How can we help youth expand and clarify their thinking and develop their reasoning through the questions we ask them? This module is a great way to train staff on how to facilitate STEM learning. Experienced educators also love being part of a cohort as a way to connect with other educators across the country, to learn new lesson plans, and to reflect on practice. This is their introductory module and a prerequisite to other opportunities.
*The expectation is that you will be live at all three sessions and an active member of this coaching cohort.
To learn more and register, click here!
Register: Use the code AC227PQ
IF/THEN Ambassadors – January
Incorporating Role Models
The IF/THEN® Collection is the largest free resource of its kind dedicated to increasing access to authentic and relatable images of real women in STEM. Afua Bruce, Computer Engineer and Allison Fundis, Ocean Explorer are highlighted in celebration of National Mentoring Month!
- Ambassador Profile, Will Computers Take Over the World?!, Make a Change with Data Activity, Afua Bruce
- Ambassador Profile, On the Job, Bottled Ocean Waves Activity, Allison Fundis
Mizzen by Mott
The Mizzen By Mott app delivers inspiring and engaging activities that spark learning in young people. Supported by the Mott Foundation, Mizzen is available at no cost to afterschool professionals! Encourage partners to download the Mizzen By Mott app to access STEM activities at your finger-touch!
Featured Activities & Playlists
- Playlist: STEM Activities for K-5th Grade in Small Groups – This playlist is a great mix of engineering and science activities that are easy and fun for small groups of students.
- Playlist: Science Notebooks for 3rd – 12th Grade – Keeping a notebook can help your students think and act like scientists and engineers. Sample these easy-to-implement strategies and lessons to bring science notebooking into your program.
- Module: S.INQ Up Earth and Space for 6-8th Grade – Earth and Space is an inquiry and exploration-based curriculum that uses hands-on activities focused on the relationships between the earth, the solar system, and human impacts on our global environment.
Check Out CAN’s Other Newsletters!
Access the CAN newsletter archives to view past newsletters today! You may be interested in some of our other newsletters as well: