Embedding Creativity and English in STEM

Disciplines Using Projects

Dr. Stars Jasmine Anna University, India

jasmine@annauniv.edu

Anna University, India

What do we teach?O Technical English to all engineering departmentsO English for mediaO Communication skills to MBA students

Importance of EnglishO Humanities: Use language to deepen

human experience, and express it artistically.

O Natural, Social, and Applied Sciences: Use language in the context of professional work to understand, create or improve something in our physical, social, political, financial, legal, medical, and other worlds.

Centrality of Languagethought ideas reflection communication innovation

inquiry proposals persuasion negotiation agreement consensus strategy vision goals planning

benchmarks progress

learning teaching LANGUAGE memorization recall relationships marriage family networking

reporting evaluating reviewing revisinganalyzing categorizing labeling archivinglogic reason measurement assessmentscience technology engineering math

art music literature drama film humanities culturegrowth development maturity

problem identification understanding solutionhappiness peace prosperity

How STEM professionals use English: As a tool for work

Centrality of English

thought ideas reflection communication innovation inquiry

proposals persuasion negotiation agreement consensus strategy vision goals planning

benchmarks progress

learning teaching English memorization recall professional relationships professional networking

reporting evaluating reviewing revising

analyzing categorizing labeling archivinglogic reason measurement assessmentscience technology engineering math

professional growth and maturity creative problem-solving

What happens if we teach wrong English?

O We greatly disadvantage our students when we teach the wrong English for the wrong purposes. i.e., learning words and grammar without being able to DO anything of significant value for ourselves of our world

O What students really need is to learn the

English of professional maturity.

Issues for EmploymentO 75% of graduates are not

employable

O 25% of graduates are only readily employable

National Association of Software and Services Companies

Nasscom says only 25% of graduates

working in IT are readily employable. India's $60-billion outsourcing industry is already spending almost $1 billion a year on readying these graduates, picked up from different campuses. But only marginal headway has been made with the percentage of employable engineering graduates moving up by just a per cent over the past six years to 25%.

Crises in English Language Teaching

What do the employers expect?

• Communication and interpersonal skills• Problem solving skills• Organizational skills• Team Working• Numeracy• Negotiation skills• Apt vocabulary( Language)

What should we do?

How should we respond?

What should the college teachers do?

What is Project Based Approach?

The Project based Approach is a specific kind of Project Based learning, bringing lots of advantages to any classroom and represents the best practices in the 21st century education. It is an innovative teaching and learning practice dating back to the 16th century but within the framework of today’s research on what students need to find success and fulfillment in the current and future world.

Definition of PBLO It is an in-depth investigation of a real

world topic worthy of students’ attention and effort.

O Refers to a set of teaching strategies that enable teachers to guide students through studies of real world topics.

O Students feel highly motivated and actively involved in their own learning, leading them to produce high quality works and to grow as collaborators and individuals.

How to introduce projects to the students?

O What is your hook?

Great project- based learning begins with an engaging launch that grabs the students’ interests and attention and pulls them in. Every project needs a hook.

connecting students to their local and global communities—and providing them with real-world experiences beyond the classroom;

• fostering what researchers refer to as essential 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity;

• providing opportunities to integrate technologies into the classroom—and to use technologies as tools for achieving specific purposes instead of as ends in themselves;

• providing students with opportunities to apply the skills they acquire through systematic instruction;

• building on the individual needs, interests, and strengths of all students—and allowing students to work, where appropriate, at their own pace;

• giving students a sense of purpose and fostering self -esteem;

• providing opportunities for service learning and enhancing a sense of social justice and responsibility;

• improving research skills by helping students not only to use print and electronic resources but also field work, surveys, interviews, consultations with experts, and firsthand observations and experiences;

• honing literacy and communication skills by enabling students to use a variety of media to share the process and product of their project work with authentic audiences;

• integrating content knowledge and skills from a variety of disciplines, so that students come to see and make cross-curricular connections;

• enhancing the multicultural literacy of students by giving them opportunities to learn about and collaborate with people from other cultures.

Information that Informs STEM Training

How do I teach English in the STEM disciplines?

O Embed English within the context of professional development

O Help learners find their passionO Help learners construct and clarify their

professional identityO Help learners develop useful perspectives and

attitudesO Help learners build their professional networkO Help learners identify and participate in

professional discourseO Help learners develop their professional

knowledgebase

Science Technology Engineering Math

How to generate SUPERIOR results with STEM majors

Use an ELT textbook.

Assist learners to use and learn from the same texts that STEM professionals use.

Make learners memorize ELT word lists.

Assist learners learn the language they need for specific STEM-related tasks.

Run your class as an ELT class (with ELT games, pair work, exercises, quizzes).

Run your class as a seminar or project, with real tasks in real contexts for real purposes evaluated by real STEM standards.

STEM-PROJECTS

1. Vocabulary projects

Projects in Science and Technology

Survey introductory books in the field

that describes professional activity and then learn the verbs (along with an object) that characterize what professionals actually do in the field

e.g.,analyze problems, determine causes, design solutions,

develop algorithms, write code, test programs, fix bugs

Vocabulary Project-2O Survey webpages in the field and identify every

verb-object combination that begins with the word write (a keyword in IT)

O e.g., write a report, write email, write software, write a (computer) program, write (source) code, write (computer, requirements, design, technical, user) documentation, write an algorithm, write a review, write a (research) paper, write script, write applications, write applets, write plug-ins (or plugins), write queries...

Characteristic vocabulary project-3

Compile words ofO Latin Origins: femur, fibula, tibia O Greek Origins: electro-, macro-, micro-

O Everyday words with special meaningsO apple a brand of computerO bug an error in a computer program O bucket an area of computer memory O gate a control electrode O flavour a label for different types of quarks

or software (computing)

How to use WORD SPLASH: 1 Students work in groups with a reading journal

2. the students are looking at the words, read aloud to students.

3. They need to connect two of the words or phrases together and tell how they might go together in the article

4. The students then need to share with another

5. The students then read the articles to learn how the words and phrases are connected in the article and compare the connections with their predictions

7. Students can then share their findings with the other group. The teacher may also lead a discussion of how the word/phrases were used.

BUILDING

Visit your audi. or language lab, study the acoustics fitted and present your findings in class

Research questions raised

1.What is the extent of the disadvantage in mathematics learning due to low English language proficiency at the senior secondary and university undergraduate levels?

2. What specific language features cause difficulty for particular groups of senior and undergraduate students learning mathematics, and how do these compare with language difficulties experienced by first language (L1) students?

3. What is the relative importance of technical language knowledge compared with general language proficiency in the learning of mathematics at undergraduate levels?

Features of the classroom mathematics register

Multiple semiotic registerO mathematics symbolic notationO oral languageO written languageO graphs and visual displays Grammatical patternsO technical vocabularyO dense noun phrasesO being and having verbsO conjunctions with technical meaningO implicit logical relationships. (Schleppegrell, 2007)

Math ProjectsO Prepare a list of Mathematics jargon under the different heads O Ambiguous wordsangle average base below cardinal changecommon degree difference face figure improper leaves left make mean model natural odd parallel point power product proper rational real record right root sign square table times unit volume

Language of Measurement- Length/ Width/Height/Thickness/Depth/Mass/Capacity

Frame as many sentences as possible

O The bridge is five kms longO The length of the bridge is three kmO The bridge is three metres in wide.

O -----------

Making observations in different ways-

Use ‘If’ or ‘When’ and make observations.

When hot air ------

Project O Collect at least TEN areas where

engineering principle is applied and make observations.

Identify the term/word from the definition and give 2 objects with that properties.

FRAYER DIAGRAM

i) That which resists corrosion-ii) Will bend easily-iii) Will not bend easily-iv) That which can shine-v) Can be shaped into thin wires-

Problem solving in real life context

O Learning from authentic challenges-O Windmill challenge- Visit the actual

installation site-talk to engineers in the field- learn the working of it- learn the problems- find solutions to the problem-

Group or individual project

Project on community issue or global issues

O Community issue is a way for students to contribute their voices in nation building and be aware of the problem.

O Student driven- readiness to address the problem-

O Go into the society to find the cause of the evil

O Could offer lasting solutions using technology.

Students’ projects on Issues

Women Abuse Child Labour

Resume Project

O Study good examplesdesign, content, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary

O Write bad exampleswith poor design, content, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary

O Compare 3 or more examples Develop criteria for evaluation (of doc and candidate)Select candidate for target job

O Prepare the profile of a company and prepare CV for that particular position

O Use a résumé or CV or both as a learning and a planning document

Genre: User Review

O Purpose: To communicate user experiences and evaluations for the benefit of other potential users

O Example: (epinions.com) Undergraduates can post reviews of items connected to their fields of study / career goals to demonstrate their growing expertise.

Information that Informs STEM Training

Students majoring in an engineering discipline must be able to

Collaborate in teams to accomplish a common goal by integrating personal initiative and group cooperation

Communicate effectively and efficiently with clients, users and peers both verbally and in writing, using appropriate terminology

Computing Accreditation Commission, ABET (www.abet.org)

PROJCTS

VOCABULARY

POSTER

SURVEY

NEWSPAPER

DOCUMNTARY

CASE STUDY

THANK YOU