project-based learning
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Sometimes the Best Learning Is Locked: Using Breakout EDU in Grades 3–8
This blog post explores how Breakout EDU can transform grades 3–8 classrooms by turning academic content into engaging, collaborative problem-solving experiences. It highlights how Breakout EDU supports critical thinking, productive struggle, communication, perseverance, differentiation, and student reflection across subjects like math, reading, science, and social studies. The post also encourages teachers to move students from…
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Every Drop Counts: Exploring New Mexico’s Water Resources in the Global Innovation Lab 💧🌵
This blog post explores New Mexico’s water resources through The Global Innovation Lab’s Every Drop Counts challenge, helping students connect science, geography, agriculture, technology, law, and systems thinking. It also explains how the Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado Rio Grande case and the 2026 Supreme Court settlement affect groundwater use, farming, communities, industry, and…
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Snap Circuits Jr. in the Gifted Classroom: Where Curiosity Meets Circuitry ⚡🧠
Snap Circuits Jr. is more than a fun electronics kit—it’s a powerful tool for building critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, systems thinking, and perseverance in the gifted classroom. ⚡🧠 By moving students beyond simply following directions and challenging them to predict, troubleshoot, redesign, and invent their own circuits, teachers can transform hands-on STEM play into…
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Gifted Doesn’t Always Look Like Straight A’s: When Bright Students Struggle in the Regular Classroom
This #smithingifted blog explores why gifted doesn’t always mean straight A’s. Gifted students may struggle with missing assignments, motivation, organization, perfectionism, or repetitive work even while demonstrating advanced thinking and creativity. The post encourages educators to look beyond grades and behavior to determine what students truly need. Gifted learners still need accountability—but they also need…
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10 Creative Ways to Use micro:bit in Your Elementary STEM Classroom (Plus How FarmBeats Adds Real-World Rigor)
By Beth Smith, M.Ed. | #smithingifted The BBC micro:bit is one of my favorite STEM tools because it does far more than teach coding. It transforms students into engineers, scientists, inventors, and problem-solvers. But here’s something many teachers don’t realize… You can take your micro:bit lessons to the next level by pairing them with Microsoft…
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FarmBeats for Students: Hands-On Agriculture STEM with micro:bit (Grades 3–8)
Discover how FarmBeats for Students and the BBC micro:bit bring agriculture, coding, and engineering together through engaging, hands-on STEM activities. This blog explores how students can collect real-world data, solve authentic farming challenges, and develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and computational skills while preparing for the careers of tomorrow. Perfect for teachers looking to make STEM…
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The Benefits of Google Suite in the Gifted Classroom
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Why I Love Teaching the Hero’s Journey in Gifted Education
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Designing for Depth: Using Big Ideas to Build Complex, Challenging Curriculum
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Rubber Band Racers in the Gifted Classroom: Engineering, Energy, and a Whole Lot of “Try Again”
TeacherGeek 2.0 Rubber Band Racers turn a simple STEM build into a powerful gifted learning experience. Students explore force, motion, energy transfer, friction, measurement, data collection, and redesign as they build, test, and improve their racers. This hands-on challenge encourages problem-solving, perseverance, and engineering thinking while giving students a fun reason to collect evidence, analyze…