{"id":6079,"date":"2025-03-26T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/?post_type=insights&#038;p=6079"},"modified":"2025-03-26T13:06:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T17:06:25","slug":"stem-made-fun","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/insights\/stem-made-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Your Child Love STEM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<section style=\"background-color: #2127c3;color:#2D2D2D;\" class=\"section custom-section position-relative is-full-width align pt-0 pb-0 wp-block-acf-section\" data-desktop-bg=\"\" data-mobile-bg=\"\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns gap-2 gap-md-5 p-md-0 p-3 is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"EP 174: How to Make Your Child Love STEM | Eric Olsen\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ed7a-d50dhY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top p-md-5 p-3 is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-713524fa2e7a11f8db1070fea16b11c1\">According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/emp\/tables\/stem-employment.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>, STEM occupations are projected to grow by more than 10% from 2023 to 2033, significantly outpacing the 4.0% growth rate for all other occupations, such as healthcare support roles and office administration jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3a3c1b971cb2b0a83510e72d95291847\">Preparing students for these careers requires educators who think outside the box. Principal of Idaho Technical Career Academy, Eric Olsen, is one of those leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a40817a22e97ec379cf6c07aca27eba1\">In this episode, Eric joins Kevin to share how his creative approach to teaching, including developing innovative tools like the board game \u201cGlyphics,\u201d inspires students and shapes the future of education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-217ed9b64a156f1f4e6c8301da01c3ce\"><strong>Listen to the Full Audio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<audio class=\"w-75\" controls=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/dts.podtrac.com\/redirect.mp3\/media.blubrry.com\/1470463\/traffic.libsyn.com\/whatiwanttoknow\/Eric_Olsen_-_Full_Episode_-_WIWTK_v2_2.mp3\"><\/audio>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"external-link pt-4 has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4023c564f3b8b7496b3689d4df636d80\">Listen on: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/what-i-want-to-know-with-kevin-p-chavous\/id1561682450\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" style=\"color: white;\"><strong>Apple Podcast<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5KkzBkzDhmQB8VNrDtP3BF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" style=\"color: white;\"><strong>Spotify<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column has-dark-orange-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section style=\"background-color: #FFFFFF;color:#2D2D2D;\" class=\"section custom-section position-relative  align pb-0 wp-block-acf-section\" data-desktop-bg=\"\" data-mobile-bg=\"\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:15%\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<div class=\"title-wrap mobile-leftalign font__primary-bold align lh-base wp-elements-58500b4ab16d86979113d37b92061c48 wp-block-acf-advanced-heading has-text-color has-secondary-blue-color\">\n\t<h4 class=\"\" style=\"color:#2a72cb\">Transcript<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> The Glyphics is a game that I came up with on the kitchen table during the first summer of COVID. Basically, it\u2019s like Pictionary, if you\u2019re familiar with that game, where you try to draw what the word is. And instead, in this case, you are using pre-made plastic pieces to create the words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns more-content is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM occupations are projected to grow by over 10% from 2023 to 2033. That significantly outpaces the 4% growth rate for all other occupations, including healthcare support roles and office administration jobs. Preparing students for these careers requires educators to think outside the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eric Olson, principal of Idaho Technical Career Academy, is one of those leaders. His creative approach to teaching, including developing innovative tools like the board game Fics, is inspiring students and shaping the future of education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> The students aren\u2019t always going to enjoy learning. They\u2019re not always going to enjoy the math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I want them to enjoy the process of coming to class, being able to know that they can solve problems that maybe they thought they didn\u2019t have confidence in before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> How can creativity and innovation make learning more engaging and effective? And what can educators and parents do to keep their students engaged? This is what I want to know. Eric, welcome to the show. Once again, Eric Olson, welcome to the show. I\u2019m excited to have you on for a number of reasons. One is your creativity and obviously you enjoy what you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I want to talk a little bit about your journey, because through it all, you really, at your core, at the very beginning\u2014you\u2019ve been a math teacher, isn\u2019t that right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> So I\u2019ve been a math teacher since I moved to Idaho. So for the last 13 years, I\u2019ve had a couple of careers\u2014so not your typical career pathway, I guess you would say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I started off in engineering and didn\u2019t love it. I got a degree in teaching math and physics and then I went back to school and I got a graduate degree in education of deaf and hard of hearing. My wife and I were looking around for where we wanted to raise our kids, so when we moved out to Idaho, I knew I would be shifting careers. I went back to my roots in education and I found a high school math teaching job and went to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am currently on a contract where I split my time between teaching and doing administration. And I really enjoy it because I still have a foot in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> So talk to me about the Idaho Technical Career Academy\u2014its mission and purpose and how things are going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> So, Idaho Technical Career Academy is a virtual charter school. So any student in Idaho\u2014we cover the entire state. Idaho\u2019s a large state. We have a lot of rural communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We don\u2019t have any huge cities like L.A. or New York. Boise\u2019s our biggest city, and I have students and teachers all around the state of Idaho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We do live classes, so just like you and I are sitting here talking together, I run classes that way\u2014we all do. And the focus for us is\u2014we have all the regular classes that a traditional brick-and-mortar school has: math, social studies, history, English, and those types of classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But beyond that, it\u2019s in the name\u2014the Career Academy. So we have some pathways and students choose a pathway. They can even switch a pathway or do more than one. Maybe they want to do pharmacy technician\u2014they can go down that pathway. Or they want to do something with agriculture\u2014they can go down that pathway. And those pathways are evolving all the time based on feedback from industry. So they\u2019re constantly evolving so that students are coming out with certifications\u2014for example, Adobe certification, Excel certification, or an Ag certification\u2014and with the skills they\u2019re going to need to move forward after high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, as I said before, I really like that aspect of this school and other schools that offer students some other options for getting real-life skills that are going to prove useful to them, one way or another, when they move on to the next step after high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> Yeah, let\u2019s talk about Glyphics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a game that you created, and when I heard about this and looked at some of the videos and the work you\u2019ve done, I was reminded of this popular saying, and I want to read it since I want to get it right. It says that there\u2019s no such thing as a student who doesn\u2019t like STEM\u2014they just haven\u2019t found the right problem to solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when you talk about creativity in education\u2014just talk about Glyphics, because I do think that quote really applies. So many young people have been conditioned to believe that they don\u2019t like math, they don\u2019t like STEM, they don\u2019t like this, they don\u2019t like that. But once it comes down to how they\u2019re introduced to it, how it\u2019s brought to them in a way that\u2019s creative and fun and engaging\u2014all that\u2019s wrapped into your approach with this game, Glyphics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> So Glyphics is a game that I came up with on the kitchen table during the first summer of COVID when we were just hanging out. Basically, it\u2019s like Pictionary, if you\u2019re familiar with that game, where you try to draw what the word is. And instead, in this case, you are using pre-made plastic pieces to create the words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My wife likes to refer to it as \u201cPictionary for people that can\u2019t draw,\u201d which is as good an explanation as any.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, speaking of STEM, I was trying to come up with this game and I was using household objects like pens and pencils and things, and there\u2019s just not that many shapes lying around the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And my son, who was only in third or fourth grade, said, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you get a 3D printer and make your own pieces?\u201d That was his suggestion. We got a 3D printer, and I had no idea how to use it. We had to figure it out. He got me a program called Tinkercad that they use in elementary school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I used this Tinkercad program to start making pieces for this game. I\u2019ve had the privilege of seeing some amazing math teachers and science teachers that absolutely engage students and make them enjoy earth science, enjoy biology, maybe even enjoy math from time to time. That\u2019s one of my goals, actually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Students aren\u2019t always going to enjoy learning. They\u2019re not always going to enjoy math. But I want them to enjoy the process of coming to class, working together, being able to know that they can solve problems that maybe they thought they didn\u2019t have confidence in before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so there\u2019s a lot of things we can do in math class that aren\u2019t just math that can carry on beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> How has that game been received by your students? And a follow-up\u2014what has happened just as you\u2019ve put it out there in a viral way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> So the school has been very supportive, and the students have been very supportive. Some students have actually gone on Amazon and left reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And recently, a local news station in Boise did an interview with me and a bunch of my students and another teacher about my newest game, Flip Seven. And that was so much fun. We went into the studio with the game, with the students, and we actually played the game. And then they actually asked the students a couple of questions about the game and about our school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a great experience. The students loved it. Their parents were really happy. I was very grateful to the station for bringing us on and bringing the students into the studio. Really a very memorable experience\u2014a lot of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> It all speaks to this idea of creativity in education, and how education and learning is delivered to students. Talk a little bit about why that\u2019s important and the change you see just by introducing this game to certain students\u2014who may otherwise not be engaged\u2014but suddenly their interest is piqued and it bears some fruit in terms of their involvement in school, attendance, and being engaged in the whole deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> A lot of the students that self-select to go to a virtual school are there for a reason. We don\u2019t know what that reason is necessarily\u2014maybe anxiety or whatever it happens to be. So engaging them virtually can be a huge challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year I\u2019ve been experimenting a little bit. In addition to my normal math curriculum, I\u2019ve started to introduce some mini TED Talks on motivation, getting enough sleep, success as a journey. And they\u2019re not me, by the way\u2014they\u2019re not me preaching. I went out and found the first couple, and then I actually turned it over to students. I said, \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to figure out what I think you need, but really you know best what you need.\u201d So I gave them an assignment to find materials and actually make a response\u2014like some questions that go along with these five to seven-minute videos. And I\u2019ve been assigning the students videos to other students. Fascinating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, like you said, stuff that\u2019s going to transfer outside of the curriculum\u2014or in addition to the curriculum\u2014or help students engage, which is what I\u2019m looking for. Engage and think about\u2014if they\u2019re already engaging, great. If they\u2019re not engaging, why are they not engaging? Is there something I can do to help them engage? Is there something they can do on their own to motivate themselves to jump into the fray in class and not be afraid to raise their hand and answer questions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> That\u2019s great stuff. As I hear you talk about engagement, creativity, different ways to engage students\u2014it really comes down to the most important thing in the teacher-student relationship: and that\u2019s relationship. You have to build a relationship that\u2019s based on trust so the students buy into you as their teacher\u2014or their learning guide, which is probably a more appropriate title now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in order to do that, you have to think outside the box. So kudos to you for doing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The curriculum is still what it is. But how you get the students to pay attention to it really is based on that relationship and those engagement tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One last area I want to talk to you about. We\u2019d be remiss not to ask you\u2014as a math teacher\u2014about how artificial intelligence is transforming many fields. Talk about how you think AI is changing student engagement, particularly in STEM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> I know it can be a struggle in English, with students being able to just put a prompt in and get their English paper done. One of the biggest concerns for teachers, of course, is not students using AI to help them understand the material\u2014but students, frankly, just using the AI to do their homework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teachers have always been a pretty creative bunch. One of the things I\u2019ve done in my class is now require students to make little videos of themselves explaining how to do the math. I feel like that\u2019s a little harder to do via AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I\u2019ve gone through and replaced some of my more traditional multiple choice or short-answer formative assessments\u2014quizzes and things like that\u2014with these short little videos. I call them \u201creels\u201d because they\u2019re used to TikTok reels. So I just call them \u201cyou are the teacher\u201d reels. You\u2019re the teacher. You\u2019re teaching the material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t just do it to avoid the AI. I also do it because the research is pretty clear that the highest form of learning is when you can teach the material. Any teacher will tell you they really learned their material the first year they taught it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And good teachers continue to learn from their students\u2014if they don\u2019t get too stuck in their ways. You give a student a chance to do something with the material, and then they explain it in a way you\u2019ve never really thought of before. They come up with a way and you\u2019re like, \u201cWow, that\u2019s great. I\u2019m gonna use that next year when I\u2019m teaching this, because that was so awesome what you just said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> How have the students responded to this new approach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> Some of them are really having fun with it. \u201cHey, Mr. Olsen, it\u2019s me again, here\u2019s our next\u2026\u201d Kind of hamming it up a little bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And they realize why I\u2019m doing it. Actually, one of those little TED Talks that I did was \u201cWhy does Mr. Olsen make us do videos?\u201d And it explains the research behind it\u2014if they can talk their way through the problem, then they\u2019re really digesting it and going to retain it. Whereas if they just listen to me blab on and then write it down, they might have 20% recall as opposed to 80%. It\u2019s a huge difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some students procrastinate and then finally do it. And then they say\u2014not surprisingly\u2014\u201cOh, Mr. Olsen, that wasn\u2019t as bad as I thought it was gonna be.\u201d And I say, \u201cWell, don\u2019t tell me, tell the rest of the class.\u201d And they do! They get on the mic and tell the rest of the class, \u201cYou guys need to do your videos. They\u2019re not as bad as you think they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> Eric Olson, I appreciate all you\u2019re doing. Good luck with the ITCA, and thank you for joining us on <em>What I Want to Know<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Olsen:<\/strong> It\u2019s been a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kevin P. Chavous:<\/strong> Thanks for listening to <em>What I Want to Know<\/em>. Be sure to follow and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app so you can explore other episodes and dive into our discussions on the future of education. And write a review of the show!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also encourage you to join the conversation and let me know what you want to know using hashtag <strong>#WIWTK<\/strong> on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s hashtag <strong>#WIWTK<\/strong>. For more information on Stride and online education, visit <strong>stridelearning.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m your host, Kevin P. Chavous. Thank you for joining <em>What I Want to Know<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"javascript:void(0);\" class=\"toggle-link\">Read more<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:15%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-light-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-light-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide mb-5 mt-5\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-4 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:15%\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<div class=\"title-wrap mobile-leftalign font__primary-bold align lh-base mb-3 wp-elements-1856fbdff540c15d0c7139676282ea1c wp-block-acf-advanced-heading has-text-color has-secondary-blue-color\">\n\t<h4 class=\"\" style=\"color:#2a72cb\">Meet the Experts<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"title-wrap mobile-leftalign font__primary-bold align lh-base wp-block-acf-advanced-heading\">\n\t<h5 class=\"\" style=\"color:#000000\">Meet Eric<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Eric Olsen is the principal of <a href=\"https:\/\/itca.k12.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Idaho Technical Career Academy<\/a> (ITCA), a virtual public school dedicated to preparing students for technical and STEM careers. Known for his inventive teaching methods, Eric developed \u201cGlyphics,\u201d a board game promoting critical thinking and collaboration, earning recognition for his transformative teaching style.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:15%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this episode, Eric joins Kevin to share how his creative approach to teaching, including developing innovative tools like the board game \u201cGlyphics,\u201d inspires students and shapes the future of education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6080,"template":"","insights_category":[12],"insights_tag":[17],"insights_keyword":[75,77,72,78,73,76],"class_list":["post-6079","insights","type-insights","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","insights_category-education-policy-advocacy","insights_tag-podcast","insights_keyword-education","insights_keyword-equity","insights_keyword-podcasts","insights_keyword-policy","insights_keyword-student","insights_keyword-teacher"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights\/6079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/insights"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"insights_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights_category?post=6079"},{"taxonomy":"insights_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights_tag?post=6079"},{"taxonomy":"insights_keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stridelearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights_keyword?post=6079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}