New Interdisciplinary K-8 STEM Service from Discovery Education Incorporates NAE 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering

Silver Spring, Md. (January 16, 2018) –Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today debuted the newest addition to its family of award-winning digital services.  STEM Connect is a web-based supplemental K-8 resource that empowers educators to create engaging STEM lessons that strengthen students’ critical thinking skills and inspires life-long learning.

Developed by Discovery Education’s team of STEM experts with the input of educators and curriculum experts nationwide, STEM Connect is built on a 4Cs STEM skills framework that helps students develop the creative, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills needed for success beyond graduation.  Featuring flexible, modular learning units, STEM Connect provides students an easy-to-follow educational experience through high-quality interdisciplinary resources that can be used in a wide variety of classrooms and across all subjects.

Among STEM Connect’s key features are:

• Real-World Challenges – Inspired by the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges for Engineering and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, STEM Connect’s Real World Challenges inspire younger students to pursue solutions to personal, local issues while middle school students explore possible solutions to more complex, global problems.
• Career Connections – STEM Connect provides students with opportunities to learn about diverse STEM careers in context and connects the skills they are using in the classroom to real situations around the world.
• Content Connection Activities – Ranging from math and literacy to the arts and health, the Content Connection activities ask students to apply appropriate grade-level skills in various disciplines.
• Hands-On Activities – By blending dynamic digital content with engaging opportunities for students to build, design, make, and create, STEM Connect offers a variety of hands-on activities for all students.
• Global STEM Solution Seekers – STEM Connect users are part of a global community working to solve important real-world challenges. In select units, students connect via GlobalLab, a global student laboratory, to share data and collaborate with others around the world.