A Defined STEM Learning Experience From:

Laura Bryson

9th/10th Grade Honors English

Northwest Carbarrus High School (NC)

Performance Task:

Here’s what we did: Students were asked to login and choose a literary task related to world literature and research the topic. Students were able to choose a topic that sparked their interest and learn more about it. Both my students and I enjoyed not having to search for valid or credible research because the task already had it all in one place for them. From their research students completed a variety of writing prompts. Students felt it was easier to complete the assignment because all the sources were in one spot. 

Why Defined STEM Was the Perfect Fit: 

Teachers’ time is valuable and limited, and creating a new writing prompt or assignment can be time-consuming. Defined STEM was easy to use and all the prompts were already created, which means more time allotted to more critical instructional tasks in the classroom. Giving students the ability to choose their research topic within Defined STEM cut out the teacher approval process, and empowered students to drive their own learning. When conducting research it is always difficult to ensure students are using credible sources, and with Defined STEM it’s already done for you. I feel as if my students learned more about digital research and how to formulate a research paper thanks to the task.