STEM Meets Entrepreneurship in a Changing Workforce

Provided by: PBS LearningMedia |Published on: August 5, 2024

Videos

9101112

Synopsis

This 6-part video series features people working in careers that produce innovative solutions to global problems concerning the environment, health, and inequality.
The resource also includes discussion questions for each video, a vocabulary list, teaching tips, and a worksheet for students to complete as they watch the videos.
Students will hear from an entrepreneur cleaning up the Pacific Garbage Patch, a former fisherman in New Haven working to grow kelp, an inventor in Albany working to replace things like plastic, leather, and bacon with mushrooms, an NYC architect reimagining the future of cities, game designers in Chicago using VR to reinvent physical therapy, and housing designers in Austin using 3D printing to solve the global housing crisis.

Subjects: Engineering, Career Skills

Authors: PBS LearningMedia

Region: New York, New York City, Illinois, Texas, Coastal CT

Languages: English

Positives

Prerequisites

Students should have a basic understanding of some of the global problems we face, such as climate change, pollution, the housing crisis, and healthcare.
Students should understand what STEM is and how it relates to careers.

Differentiation & Implementation

Language arts teachers can support students in vocabulary acquisition by doing a word study on the provided vocabulary words before students watch the videos.
Teachers who are short on time can use a flipped classroom model and assign one video to groups of students and have them summarize it to the rest of the class. Students can then choose another video that sounds interesting to them to watch and complete the worksheet for.
Science teachers can host an Innovation Fair, tasking students with envisioning solutions to problems they are passionate about.
Guidance counselors can use these videos to introduce students to innovative careers in STEM, and help them research the steps it would take to have a career in these fields.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format