Every two years, Susan Gorman, an eighth-grade science teacher at Hallsville Middle School in Missouri, USA, brings the Olympic Games into her classroom. The Olympics themselves are exciting enough, but Gorman's students are equally drawn to the activities she designs, which are closely tied to the events they watch.

She might have the class consider why the ski jump ramp must be set at a specific height and angle, and what consequences changing these parameters would have. Or, after discussing sprinters' reaction times leaving the starting blocks, she would bring out micro:bit mini programmable computers and have students start measuring their own reaction speeds. Her goal is to bring science out of the textbook, guiding the class to ask questions and examine how the world around them works.

"While they are expected to learn science, that is not my ultimate purpose," Gorman said. "What I'm after is teaching them how to think. We explore an idea, spend some time, learn how to bring data into the discussion, learn how to have meaningful conversations, and understand how things work. That's what matters most to me."

As the Summer Olympics open on July 23, educators like Gorman are exploring how to use the event, and even past Olympic material, to design lessons. From studying the technology athletes use to thinking about the science behind sports, experts hope to bring the excitement of the Games into the classroom to spark students' interest in learning.

Measuring athlete performance

In terms of sparking enthusiasm, Gorman is on the same wavelength as her students. She brings in event clips, watches them with the class, and even cheers along. "When I watch the competitions, there is indeed a bit of a performance element," she said. "When Michael Phelps was swimming, there was a very close race, and I was screaming from my chair. So we discuss these things on a personal level."

Then, Gorman brings out tools for students to recreate the methods used to measure performance in these events. Teaching resources range from micro:bits (a customizable pocket-sized computer used as sensors and timers) to cardboard, aluminum foil, and rulers. One area she is particularly interested in is reaction time, such as how fencers perceive when they score. Gorman points out that many athletes train to shorten reaction times—like the instant needed to leave the starting blocks on the track—to improve overall performance.

In one lesson, she has students build a simple circuit to start a timer on a micro:bit and stop it when the circuit is completed. Alternatively, one student holds a ruler, and another must catch it before it falls to measure reaction time. "One thing we often do is ask: 'Where have you seen something like this?'" Gorman said. "Many kids have been in track and field or other sports. Although they are interested in the competition, they want even more to answer questions related to themselves."

Technology used by athletes

The technology athletes use is often integrated into the tools or equipment needed for their sport. "When you focus on technology, the most obvious things are swimsuits or rackets that serve specific functions," said Joshua Chamot, media affairs specialist at the U.S. National Science Foundation. The foundation partnered with NBC Learn and NBC Sports to produce a series of videos for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

This series, titled "Science of the Summer Olympics: Engineering in Sports," consists of nine video segments and is still available online. It aims to show how deeply science, technology, and engineering are integrated into modern sports. Designed for teachers, the videos feature Olympians including sprinter Usain Bolt and weightlifter Sarah Robles, helping students think more deeply about STEM applications in the real world.

STEM also helps Steve Mesler explain why a 1,400-pound bobsled appears to defy gravity on track curves. Mesler, a gold medalist on the U.S. bobsled team at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, shares knowledge gained from sports with students through Classroom Champions, an educational organization he co-founded that is dedicated to integrating STEM subjects and social-emotional learning into classrooms.

Mesler invites other Olympians to work with students, showing how science, math, and technology are everywhere. For example, the bobsled's apparent ability to move on vertical surfaces can be a great entry point for teaching Newton's first law of motion—that an object in motion tends to stay in motion. The organization can also introduce lessons on vectors and G-forces. This summer, the organization has developed activities and content around the Tokyo Olympics to help educators connect students with the science of the Games. "It helps teachers engage students, whether or not they are sports fans," Mesler said.

From the Olympic arena to the playground

Josh Levin believes that for STEM lessons to truly resonate, they also need to connect with students' personal life experiences. Levin was a member of the U.S. climbing team, which recently finished its 2021 Olympic qualifying competition. He has worked with Mesler at Classroom Champions and also independently with middle school students at Synapse School in Menlo Park, California.

Levin admits he was a math enthusiast in school and continued his STEM education, earning a mechanical engineering degree from Northeastern University. But he also recognizes that not everyone grasps these subjects as easily as he does, so he is always looking for ways to engage all students. "In STEM education, I think a very important aspect is getting students to connect emotionally," Levin said. "For many students, it's easy to see numbers and physics, but they can't connect with the material on a personal level. It looks like a foreign language."

So Levin uses sports as a bridge to connect students' personal experiences with STEM lessons. For example, a lesson might involve Newton's third law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Students learn that when climbing, if a hand grabs a hold on the left, the foot needs to find support on the right. Students may never have climbed, but they may have played on playground climbing structures. "Climbing is an inherent human movement, and every child can understand it, even if they've never touched a climbing wall," he said.

For Gorman, this is also the core of the work—finding a way to bring learning back to students and keep them actively engaged. Students may not become scientists or go to the Olympics, but if they can develop the ability not only to observe the world but also to examine it, ask questions, and seek answers, she feels she has succeeded. "For me, the highest praise is when at the end of the school year kids say, 'I still don't like science, but I liked this class,'" she said. "That's because I allowed them to follow their own thoughts and interests, so they were willing to invest in learning at that moment."