Open-source materials are materials that are freely available for use, modification, and distribution. The materials were created by experts in the field and can be used to create a collaborative learning environment, allowing students to learn from each other, share ideas, and give back to the community.
Free, Open-Source STEM Materials
JASON Learning has numerous open-source (free!) materials that can be used in addition to your existing access or can be used to try JASON in your classroom! These content collections, resources, and activities have been designated as freely available to share our work and impact with as many students and educators as possible.
Nationwide Open-Source Materials
Why is JASON Learning providing open-source materials?
JASON provides open-source materials for K-12 STEM education to help promote the development of STEM skills in ALL students. This helps to ensure that all students have access to quality STEM education, regardless of their zip code and economic status.
Who can use open-source materials?
Anyone can use our open-source materials to learn and develop their STEM skills, including individuals, businesses, and organizations.
Design and Pitch Challenges in STEM
JASON Learning and North Carolina State University (NCSU) have partnered to develop Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM. These challenges are award-winning, open-source, and available to anyone nationwide! Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM asks students to examine significant problems in real-world circumstances and consider how they can create solutions, and develop an engaging pitch to convince others that it’s worth funding.
Entrepreneurship is no longer only related to business; it is a mindset and life skill. It involves the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve problems and create new solutions. It requires an understanding of the STEM principles behind the products and services being developed, as well as the ability to think critically and strategically about how to best use those principles to create value. JASON Learning takes this idea a step further and teaches K-12 students how to grow their entrepreneurial skills and mindset to develop innovative solutions to meet their local community’s needs. We know that students are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow—how can they become the entrepreneurs of today?
In Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM, students will meet inventors and entrepreneurs who share their insights into the process of creation, from concept to prototype, pitch, production, and distribution. They will encounter a selection of Challenges that can be approached from many angles, using different areas of knowledge, techniques, and technology. Finally, it is their task to come up with an innovative solution to a Challenge and create a short, engaging pitch to convince a panel of investors that it’s worth funding.
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See how schools have utilized Design and Pitch Challenges in STEM in their districts!
ReMA Recycling Collection
ReMA Recycling Collection
Help your students to become more environmentally conscious, understand the importance of preserving natural resources, and develop innovative solutions to environmental challenges with our open-source recycling collection.
ReMA & JASON Learning have developed a hands-on curriculum and challenge for teachers and students nationwide to understand both the importance of recycling and the recycling industry.
Databot Ninja Physics
Farm Hero
Presented by Farm Hero and JASON Learning
Explore how soil health supports sustainable agriculture and nutritious food systems. Through examples from Farm Hero farms, students investigate regenerative farming practices and design solutions that support healthy soil and healthy food choices in their communities.
In this collection, students learn how soil works as a living system. They study plant growth and nutrient cycling, then examine regenerative methods such as cover cropping, crop rotation, composting, and reduced tillage. The set closes with a project-based learning challenge where students design and present a solution for their school or community.
Acknowledgements: This collection was developed with JASON Learning and Farm Hero.
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Connected Storm Sanctuary Design Thinking Mission
Presented by UScellular™ and JASON Learning
Created in collaboration with UScellular, this innovative STEM learning experience, middle and high school students will imagine and prototype solutions that use mobile technologies to create a better storm sanctuary: a temporary space where families can come together, connect, engage, and be safe during, and immediately after, a natural disaster.
By applying design thinking strategies, students are encouraged to achieve the best possible outcome for the end user, who could be a person, an organization, or even your whole community. This methodology draws on logic, imagination, and intuition, as well as knowledge and reasoning, to explore, design, and test possible solutions.
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STEM Role Model Career Pathways
JASON Learning introduces students to careers in STEM through our live role model webcast series. In these live events, students meet scientists, engineers, designers, and other professionals who share their journey to their careers—from what sparked their passion to the courses they studied, the adventures they have been on, and their day-to-day experiences.
Take a journey into JASON’s past live events and explore the different career opportunities there are in STEM fields. Some of the industries covered are outlined below.
Virginia-Specific Open-Source Materials
SPARK — CTE: Advanced Manufacturing
The field of Advanced Manufacturing is at the center of innovation, providing exciting career opportunities in designing, building, and maintaining the devices and infrastructure that support our ever-changing world.
Free for school districts located in GO Virginia Region 5. Region 5 consists of the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg; and the counties of Accomack, Isle of Wight, James City, Northampton, Southampton, and York.
- Enhancing with Peripherals
- Cultivating the Digital Thread
- Fabricating Composite Materials
SPARK: Setting Pathways that Activate Real-world Knowledge was developed in partnership between JASON Learning and Portsmouth Public Schools, supported by a GO Virginia Region 5 Economic Growth and Diversification grant.
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SPARK - Advanced Manufacturing
VIMS — Marine Science: Microplastics
JASON Learning and the Virginia Institute for Marine Science (VIMS) have partnered to give students compelling information about our diverse waterways and the environmental impact of common but destructive practices with plastics and waste.
Beyond the Water Bottle Challenge: Minimizing Microplastic Pollution
Design thinking, citizen science, microplastic debris, life cycle analysis, decomposition, circular economy, environmental impact, and prototype.
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VIMS - Marine Science
