STEAMY Summer

On this episode of the STEAMY Summer podcast series, our guest is Joseph Kerney, a fourth grade teacher at the University of Chicago Lab School. He’s finishing his sixth year at the school after teaching for several years in Chicago Public Schools.

Joseph discusses cross-curricular learning in STEAM, shares his experience using Osmo tools to increase students’ engagement in subjects that aren’t typically their favorites, tells us about the dreams he has for his students and himself, and more.

Hot Tip: To close out the episode, Joseph shares his number one “Hot Tip” for educators using Osmo learning tools to begin the next school year. He recommends using Osmo Words to spark students’ interest; even reluctant spellers have fun and get engaged in their learning.

On this episode of the STEAMY Summer podcast series, we hear from Nisha Sangvhi, a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. At her practice, Integrated Pediatrics in Aurora, Illinois, Nisha provides therapy services in home settings and in the community to address goals that are determined by the child's needs.

Nisha discusses why she believes a child’s job is to play; explains how she uses Osmo tools to help children develop fine motor skills, visual-perceptual motor skills, comprehension and expression of language, and executive functioning; why these skills are all relevant to students’ STEAM learning; and more.

Hot Tip: To close out the episode, Nisha shares her number one “Hot Tip” for educators using Osmo learning tools to begin the next school year: find what your students like, meet them where they are, and get them truly engaged so they’ll excel in their skill development.

Dave Blanchard is the guest on episode two of Osmo Education’s STEAMY Summer podcast series. Dave is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Development in the School of Education at Saint Cloud State University in Minnesota. He specializes in modern learning experiences, andragogy, and tangible educational technology, and is always rolling up his sleeves to help educators better design learning experiences.

Dave explains how educators can approach STEAMY summer activities like true scientists, discusses what new teachers need to know about differentiation in STEAM, defines modern learning environments and shares what’s required for newer educators to become familiar with such environments, tells us why he feels strongly about the benefits of tangible edtech, and more.