Due to technical issues, we’ll be posting a backup show this week. Please enjoy this reposting of one of our top Over Coffee® episodes of 2024!

For Anthony Quan, education is about helping students understand the world around them.

And he sees the arts as essential to facilitating that understanding.

As Los Angeles County Office of Education STEM Science Coordinator, Anthony serves all 81 school districts in the county. Focusing on STEAM as well as STEM initiatives, he also provides resources and training for teachers at numerous other institutions, at both K through 12 and college level.

And he sees the “A” of “STEAM” as a crucial element.

“You really can’t understand the world if you’re just learning science,” he explains.

“(Or) if you’re just learning math…technology (or) engineering.”

History, art and storytelling, he continues, are essential to that understanding.

Anthony, who has a background as a marine biologist and an award-winning middle school science teacher, is also the founder of the Los Angeles County Engaging Girls in STEM: a program designed to show girls the possibilities of future careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

One theme, multiple areas

Imagination and a sense of curiosity are at the core of his work.

So is the concept of STEAM as a facilitator for teaching multiple subjects.

“Through a STEAM lens, we can now take one idea and flow in all these different content areas,” he says.

“Where can we address one theme) through math, science, history, P.E., etcetera?”

He also encourages teachers to ask students, “What else are you thinking? What questions are coming up? What do you understand, at this point?”

And the goal, he continues, is to get the students “jazzed” about the world around them.

One such opportunity for teachers is coming up this summer.

Boba and relevance

In partnership with UCLA Science Project, LACOE will be offering two one-day teacher workshops in July and August.

“Science of Boba” will have participants exploring culturally relevant teaching–as they explore the science, including physics, chemistry and life science concepts, behind this popular beverage! (Here’s the link for more information.)

Anthony talked about his background, shared the story of Engaging Girls in STEM and offered a closer look at ways to incorporate the arts into STEM teaching, as well as resources available to students and educators through LACOE.

On this edition of Over Coffee®we cover:

• How Anthony first discovered his passion for science;

• His creative journey, from a background in marine biology to his career in education;

• The story of the Engaging Girls in STEM program;

• One of Anthony’s favorite memories for the first Engaging Girls in STEM event;

• An examination of some of the STEM resources which L.A. County Office of Education offers, and what they can mean to girls who are more oriented towards the arts;

• One resource which he shares with teachers, for exploring STEM from an “arts” standpoint;

• Some additional approaches to teaching science through a STEAM lens;

• A closer look at AI in the classroom, and the ethics involved;

• What Anthony considers the most fun, in engaging girls through science, technology, engineering, art and math;

• Some of the concepts Anthony used to engage his own students, during his time as a middle-school teacher;

• What Next Generation Science Standards are, and how they came about;

• How Anthony’s perspective on curriculum has changed, from observing his daughter and students learning;

• The technologies he considers most exciting, for empowering girls for future careers;

• An activity through which he guides teachers, to teach engagement;

• A more arts-oriented look at math;

• What Anthony would like to do with Engaging Girls in STEM within the next five years (hint: this would be a lot of fun!).