STEM PBL Units enable students to make STEM connections locally and regionally by completing STEM projects and corresponding STEM PBL Activators. The framework of our STEM PBL Units includes a meaningful STEM challenge, authentic inquiry, student choice, applied development, and public engagement. Additionally, all STEM PBL Units contain 3-D printing connections, career connections, and alignment to the national career clusters.
In the Structural Design STEM PBL Unit, students are challenged to complete any of the three Activators chosen by them or the teacher. PBL Activators available include Growing Green, where students will present a working prototype of their greenhouse to greenhouse operators and school administrators; Building Here, where students use a straw structure to model the shape of a building for their community that reflects the architecture or terrain around it; and Geodesic Greens, where students engineer a geodesic dome greenhouse to be used on a Martian base for growing food.
The unit comes with materials and equipment needed for a class of 24 students, a teacher’s guide containing activity details and instructions, and a guide with three STEM PBL Activators containing starter ideas, cross-curricular connections, a concept map, and career cluster alignment. A Getting Started with STEM PBL e-learning course comes with the purchase of a unit.
Click here to take a look at how Pitsco’s STEM PBL compares to PBLWorks Gold Standard, HQPBL, and the Legacy Cycle.
Click here to download a blank STEM PBL Planning Form.
Note: E-learning course access will be provided via email upon shipping confirmation.