For the next several weeks, the EiE Blog will explore a set of skills called “engineering habits of mind.” This phrase comes from a landmark report released by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2009 that laid out guiding principles for how engineering should be taught in grades K through 12.

In 2006, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Research Council (NRC) convened a special committee to explore the question, “How should K-12 engineering be taught?” The committee’s report, released in 2009, laid out a vision based on three principles. One was that to be effective, classroom engineering activities should help students develop engineering “habits of mind.”

What will the elections mean for STEM education specifically? The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has put together a handy “K-12 Primer on the Midterm Elections.”

How do you learn to teach something new? They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Videos will never replace the first-hand experience you get in a professional development workshop, where you interact with a facilitator, share ideas with other teachers, and try out classroom activities. Still, videos are increasingly popular as a way to demonstrate teaching practices because they can capture the complexity of a bustling classroom.