STEM Made Simple with Expert Dena Scoullos
STEM might sound like one more thing to add to your already full teaching plate, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, when it is done well, STEM can make learning more fun, more engaging, and more hands-on for both you and your students. This week on the Rainbow Skies for Teachers podcast, Ash chats with educator and STEM advocate Dena Scoullos about practical, inspiring ways to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics into your classroom.
Whether you’re brand new to the idea of STEM or you’ve already started experimenting with maker spaces and coding activities, this conversation will leave you feeling confident and ready to take the next step.
Why STEM is Fun and Accessible
STEM isn’t just about robotics labs or advanced coding programs. Dena shares how she first fell in love with STEM by noticing how it sparks creativity, collaboration, and problem solving in her students. The best part? STEM is accessible to every classroom teacher, no matter your background or resources.
Instead of thinking of STEM as “one more subject,” Dena encourages us to see it as a way of thinking and exploring. It is about giving students challenges where they can tinker, test, and learn through hands-on experience
Integrating STEM into Everyday Units
One of the highlights of this episode is Dena’s practical advice for weaving STEM into the lessons you are already teaching. You don’t need to create brand new units or stay after school for hours of extra planning. For example, a literacy lesson could transform into a STEM opportunity by adding a storybook-inspired design challenge. A maths lesson might include building or measuring activities that encourage creative problem solving.
The beauty of this approach is that STEM becomes part of your teaching toolkit rather than an additional task on your to-do list.
Simple Must-Haves for a Classroom STEM Space
You don’t need expensive kits or high-tech gadgets to get started. Dena shares her favourite go-to materials that can easily form the foundation of a classroom STEM or maker space. Items like craft sticks, masking tape, recycled cardboard, and LEGO bricks can be used in endless ways to support student creativity.
These everyday resources encourage students to take risks, experiment, and learn from their mistakes. And the best part is, you probably already have many of them tucked away in your storeroom.
Storybook-Inspired STEM Challenges
One of the most fun ideas Dena shares in this episode is using picture books as inspiration for STEM activities. After reading a story together, challenge students to design, build, or test something connected to the characters or plot. This not only deepens comprehension but also makes STEM accessible to younger learners who might not have experienced it before.
Dena has a great example of this here.
Quick STEM Ideas for Early Finishers
We all know the challenge of keeping early finishers engaged while the rest of the class is still working. Dena offers some brilliant low-prep STEM ideas that students can pick up and run with independently. From building task cards to STEAM-inspired art sheets, these activities help students stay productive while building critical thinking skills.
Not only do these quick tasks keep students busy, they also help them develop persistence and resilience, two qualities that are at the heart of STEM learning.
Tech Tools Made Easy
If you’re not a tech expert, don’t worry. Dena shares some fantastic online resources and apps that even the most hesitant teacher can use with confidence.
These tools are designed for classroom use, so you don’t need to be an expert to introduce them. They give students the opportunity to develop future-focused skills in a supportive environment.
Encouragement for Every Teacher
Perhaps the most encouraging message in this episode is that STEM is for every teacher and every classroom. You don’t need a background in technology or engineering to bring these experiences to your students. What matters most is creating opportunities for children to explore, take risks, and learn by doing.
As Dena reminds us, STEM is about fostering creativity and resilience. By offering students hands-on challenges, you are helping them develop skills that will serve them far beyond the classroom walls.
Explore STEM With Confidence
By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with:
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Practical strategies to integrate STEM into your teaching
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Storybook-inspired challenges to engage students
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Early finisher ideas that are fun and meaningful
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Tech tools that even non-techy teachers can use
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Encouragement to give STEM a go without adding extra workload
STEM really can be simple. It’s about sparking curiosity, nurturing creativity, and giving students space to learn through exploration- we can make STEM a joyful part of everyday classroom life.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Find Dena’s book “Let’s Explore STEM” here (also available on Amazon)
Connect with Dena on Instagram @misstechqueen or visit her website for more STEM ideas www.misstechqueen.com
Steam art sheets (for fast finishers)
https://misstechqueen.com/freestemchallenge/
Coding links: https://code.org/en-US and https://www.kodable.com/
Miss Tech Queen TPT store – https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/miss-tech-queen-stem
About Today’s Guest:
Dena Scoullos is a technology & enrichment teacher in Hazlet, New Jersey, teaching grades 1-4. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes technology, STEM, project-based learning, and hands-on activities. Outside the classroom, she runs an online store, Miss Tech Queen, on Teachers Pay Teachers, providing lesson plans, worksheets, and other resources to educators worldwide. Dena is also a published author and wrote a book titled, “Let’s Explore STEM.”
Dena has shared her passion for using technology in the classroom by presenting professional development workshops in her district, ISTE, Teach with Tech, and Launch Into Tech Online Conferences. She was even featured on PBS, NJTV’s Learning Live & Camp TV.
