I recently judged the prestigious 2025 Educators Pick Best of STEM awards competition. It is always a highlight of my year as it allows me to keep my finger on the pulse of cutting-edge STEM education tools. I get to meet with amazing edtech companies and hear all about what they are creating to support today’s teachers and students.
This year, I was also interviewed about my take on several of the products/programs. As we settled into the questions, the interviewer asked, “What’s the most rewarding moment you’ve experienced when teaching science?”
This is a tough question, as my career spanned 32 years and included many wonderfully rewarding moments. However, one always hovers near the top.
I was teaching 5th grade (my favorite) back in the days when Dell mini laptops (aka Netbooks) and Flip video cameras had just come out (yep, I’m old!).
My students had gotten to the erosion and weathering unit in the standards, and I wanted to make it relevant and meaningful. Their teams were tasked with recording and investigating evidence of erosion around our school campus. They each chose a location and had to create a digital presentation that included group videos, research on the causes and effects of the erosion, and how it could be solved.
I invited several “dignitaries from the community” (the principal, the district tech director, my dad (a life-long science educator), etc.) to be the judging panel. The top two teams went on to present to the entire school board, including the Superintendent.
The outcome was amazing! The board selected the best presentation and voted to add a $25,000 line item in their budget to repair the erosion issue, taking the advice of the winning team on how to best prevent future occurrences. Talk about agency!
This month’s Tide newsletter focuses on similar standards, and also includes:
Foundational read-aloud picture books, A Gift of Dust by Martha Brockenbrough/Juana Martinez-Neal and A River of Dust by Jilanne Hoffman/Eugenia Mello
A short video on how I use ChatGPT and Gamma to create a relevant science lesson plan and lesson slides in less than 15 minutes
A link to Gemini Elementary STEM Expert, a Gem I built just for us to save time (it is automatically programmed to incorporate the Next Gen Science Standards, Common Core Reading and Math Standards, Computer Science Standards, the 4 Cs, and the 5E framework!)
Several FREE teacher guides related to earth science lessons
A link to Eric Curts’ amazing AI prompts for educators
Click below to get your copy, and remember, you can always check out all issues of The Tide on Collazo Cove’s Newsletter page!
And finally, I have some fun writing news! I was a winner of this year’s Kidlit Chuckle Challenge hosted by April Berry, Bri Lawyer, Julie Hauswirth, and Kris DeCaro. In this contest, writers choose one character and one random item from the hysterical lists provided by these crazy ladies and construct a funny story using 200 words or fewer. You can read my entry below. I hope it makes you laugh!
Until next month, keep up the amazing work. I know the hours you’re putting in, and I appreciate all you’re doing for your students/readers!
Kim
What fun to judge this competition! I always look forward to the insight and value you provide in your newsletters - it’s a treasure for educators!
Kim, this is fabulous. Maybe the award list can include picture books for enhancing STEAM and STEM lessons in the future.