Cultivating STEM Identity with Creative Problem Solving featuring Wendy Ward Hoffer

Our students are the problem solvers of the future! Unfortunately, by 3rd grade 50% of kids have already decided if they are confident STEM learners or not. Let’s disrupt this trend by creating learning experiences that shift mindsets from, “I don’t like…” or “I’ve never been very good at…” to productive and positive STEM identities that foster joy, curiosity, and understanding of STEM related content. Listen in as Wendy Ward Hoffer shares the what, why and how of cultivating productive teacher and student STEM identities on the Phenomenal Teaching Podcast. Wendy and Michelle Morris Jones discuss the connections between STEM education and equity, health, and authentic problem solving. Wendy shares specific ways for teachers to increase their own efficacy so they may feel more confident and excited to support creative problem solving in their science and math classrooms. In addition, Wendy offers examples of life-worthy science and math experiences rooted in problem solving, reflection, academic language, and authenticity. This episode connects to the Planning and Community strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework.

Wendy is the author of the new Phenomenal Teaching, as well as Cultivating STEM Identities, Minds on Mathematics and Science as Thinking, all published by Heinemann. She is also the author of NCTM’s Developing Literate Mathematicians. Wendy serves as Senior Director of Content Development and Publications for the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC) and travels nationally to provide professional learning to teachers at all levels. Wendy is passionate about promoting rich thinking in all content areas, especially math and science. She is the co-facilitator of our upcoming Science Institute.

The “Phenomenal Teaching Podcast” is brought to you by Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) and is intended to elevate the strands of the PEBC Teaching Framework illustrated in Wendy Ward Hoffer’s book, Phenomenal Teaching. Thank you for joining us this season as we strive to share the stories of educators who are making schools and classrooms more phenomenal than ever before by implementing community, planning, workshop, thinking strategies, discourse, and assessment strategies that promote agency, equity, and understanding.