In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott sits down with Sarah Schemanske, a Project Lead the Way master teacher from Ann Arbor Public Schools. With twenty years of experience across multiple grade levels, Sarah shares practical insights on building confident, curious, and collaborative learners through hands-on STEM.

Highlights include:

• How early STEM exposure helps students make informed choices later in school

• Why productive struggle builds confidence and independence

• How collaboration, design reviews, and reflection turn quiet students into leaders

• The benefits of PLTW’s real-world, activity-based approach

• How open-ended projects unlock creativity in engineering and computer science

• Why student joy can reignite teacher joy, especially during challenging seasons

Sarah also offers guidance for new teachers, thoughts on AI’s role in education, and inspiring stories of former students pursuing engineering, art, and game design.

Connect with Sarah:

LinkedIn

X (Twitter): @TeachSchemanske