Practical STEAM routines for the elementary project-based classroom.
Bonnie Kirkley hosts a classroom-focused show that turns STEAM into repeatable routines, from the engineering design process to claim, evidence and reasoning. Solo teaching episodes sit alongside conversations about project platforms, and episodes sign off by asking listeners whether they heart STEAM too.
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The I Heart STEAM Teacher Podcast is Bonnie Kirkley's show about getting STEM, STEAM and project-based learning to work in real elementary classrooms, and it leans on routines a teacher can reuse. The intros set the mood fast: a cheerful hello to the iHeartSteamers, a call of full steam ahead, and in one case a mock meeting in the teacher's lounge. Then the work starts. The clearest thread is the Set It Up series, whose installments cover Let Them Curate, the engineering design process, design thinking, and claim, evidence and reasoning. In 'The Engineering Design Process for Kids: Set it UP Series 2', Kirkley lays out ask, imagine, plan, create and improve. She insists every project needs a driving question as its North Star, and she treats sharing as a needed step once the build is complete. The four C's, creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking, serve as the test any STEM or STEAM lesson should pass. Design thinking gets the empathy treatment. Kirkley counts through ways to build it, from photos that prompt students to name emotions to role play to a class pet, and admits that a certain diaper commercial makes her cry every time. The claim, evidence and reasoning installment reaches for a crime lab, suggesting a fingerprinting demonstration to show how investigators prove or disprove a claim, and connects the vocabulary to Common Core language standards. That same installment doubles as an end-of-season celebration of a year of the podcast. A 2021 kickoff goes back to basics, down to teaching students to make eye contact and check that a classmate is not already talking before they speak. Interviews shift the frame to the tools teachers lean on. In 'Family STEAM With Lobee Learning', the mother and son team of John and Tandy Moy describe a platform built on hands-on materials, a digital experience and live instruction. The talk turns to teachers driving from store to store to gather and count supplies, and Kirkley recalls trips with four buggies full of materials. 'Real World Projects for the Elementary Classroom' brings in the teacher creators behind Rock by Rock to talk through K through fifth grade projects and virtual field trips with experts. One line from that conversation stands out: it is okay if students do not finish a project, because in real life people start things and move on. Around the lessons sit plenty of pointers, including a free STEM guide, printable STEAM journals, an elf investigation for December, and training in a STEAM University Facebook group on bringing STEAM into writing and ELA. The delivery is bubbly and conversational, and one interview ends with thanks to Jango for rattling his collar in the background. Episodes sign off with the same question, asking listeners whether they heart STEAM too.
Made for: Suits a listener who teaches or plans for the elementary grades and wants step-by-step routines for STEM, STEAM and project-based learning, delivered with steady encouragement.
What sets it apart: Rather than general teaching talk, it breaks STEAM into specific classroom systems, one per Set It Up installment, and pairs them with interviews about the platforms that supply projects and materials.
Learn about my adventures in STEM/STEAM and Project-Based Learning when you listen to the I Heart STEAM Teacher Podcast. I will share the good, the bad, and the joyful with you on my mission with a team of educators creating the ultimate STEAM certified school! Anything and everything you will ever need to know about STEM/STEAM and project-based learning will be shared right here in the I Heart STEAM Teacher Podcast.Hey y'all! I'm Bonnie Kirkley anSTEAM Educational Coach and Consultant. I help Elementary Teachers and Administrators create classrooms that grow STEM or STEAM as a community culture, so that they can foster students who will become creative critical thinkers engaged in Project-B…
Bonnie Kirkley gives your cup tower a driving question before you start stacking.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A practical conversation about making hands-on STEAM easier to equip, teach, and extend.
The I Heart STEAM Teacher Podcast frames John Moy's work with Lowy Learning as a practical answer to a familiar classroom problem: project-based STEAM can be valuable, but the setup often asks too much of teachers.
A grounded conversation about starting project-based learning, adapting resources, and treating unfinished work as part of real learning.
Real-world learning gives this episode its spine, with Bonnie Kirkley joined by former teachers Jeff and Sungae for a grounded look at project-based learning built around collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.
Classroom craft through unexpected lenses.
Practical SEL for teenage pressure points.
Classroom craft, hard conversations, and teachers' own stories.
The I Heart STEAM Teacher Podcast features John Moy and Tandy Moy on how Lobee Learning grew from Tandy’s 38-year teaching career and gifted education work into a school-focused platform.
Rock by Rock includes zines, videos, hands-on activities, and two real-world experts inside each third-grade project.
Host Bonnie Kirkley interviews Jason Reagan about his work in STEAM education as part of a celebration series.
Bonnie Kirkley explains how the engineering design process can organize STEM and STEAM projects through five steps: ask, imagine, plan, create, and improve.
Bonnie Kirkley discusses strategies for deep student engagement in STEAM education, sharing insights from her experience as an educational coach.
Bonnie Kirkley uses her 12 years in STEAM education to reframe STEM and STEAM as classroom culture, not simply coding or robotics.
Bonnie Kirkley interviews Sarah Lalonde, a retired K-4 teacher with 13 years in special education and 18 in second grade, who runs the Science and STEAM Team store on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Bonnie Kirkley interviews a school principal about her leadership perspective in STEAM education.
Host Bonnie Kirkley introduces a guest expert in project-based learning (PBL) to discuss STEAM education strategies.