When the Teacher Steps Back, the Learning Steps Up

For Kelsy Achtenberg, the best sign that a lesson is working is how little she has to say.

As the STEM coordinator, math lead, and Director at The Innovation School in Bismarck, North Dakota, Kelsy Achtenberg has built her teaching practice around hands-on, project-based learning. Or, as she puts it, “Meaningful learning by giving students something real to figure out.”

As part of her prize as one of the 2025 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award winners, Kelsy booked a Satellite Challenge for her students. Satellite Challenges are hands-on, digital STEM programs that transport students into realistic space simulations via a laptop, so the experience fits naturally into her classroom.

A mission built for hands-on learning

The Innovation School doesn’t sort students by grade level, so Kelsy’s twelve students spanned fourth through eighth grade. For the Satellite Challenge she selected, students would be split into four teams, each playing a vital role in getting a lander to the lunar surface and exploring the Moon for suitable sites for a future human base. Kelsy deliberately paired strong problem-solvers with more technically minded students, so every team had a spread of both age and ability.

She also timed the experience at the close of a space-themed inquiry block, where students had just finished studying how the Earth, Moon, and Sun interact to create tides and seasons.

“This was a perfect thing to go from concept to a real-world simulation,” Kelsy said. She’s always on the lookout for activities that give her students the chance to apply what they know, ask questions, test ideas, and solve problems together.

“We’re very much about real-world, hands-on, making learning applicable,” she said. When taught that way, she has noticed that, “the buy-in is so much greater.”

With the foundational science already in place, the Satellite Challenge offered a chance to put that knowledge to work.

Getting out of the way

Ask Kelsy what stood out most about the Challenge, and she doesn’t point to a specific moment of instruction. She points to its absence.

“I don’t know if the kids really ever asked me a question during this whole thing,” she said. “It was really cool because they really just worked together.” Instead of coming to her, students turned to each other. They gathered around whiteboards, worked through problems, asked one another questions, and divided responsibilities.

At one point, a student asked a question to Suzanne, the flight director who facilitated the Challenge remotely from Framingham, Massachusetts. When Suzanne couldn’t answer outright, the two ended up researching it side by side.

That kind of collaboration is by design.

“That’s what it’s really like to work in a STEM field,” Kelsy said, impressed by her students. For her, kids taking ownership of their learning is the clearest marker of success.

“I don’t hold all the information,” she tells her students. “This is your learning.”

Confidence built on real stakes

Kelsy also watched students embrace failure along the way, something she considers essential rather than incidental. “The stakes are low,” she said, “so let ’em fail, let ’em get in there.” That freedom to try, stumble, and adjust—without a teacher stepping in to smooth the path—helps give students the confidence to forge their own paths and draw their own conclusions.

They learn by doing, and in doing so, they build confidence.

It’s also, she notes, a rare kind of ownership. In a school day that often happens to students, a project where they’re the ones with the answers changes the equation entirely.

Making space for curiosity

The Satellite Challenge also created room for the kind of questions that can be difficult to manufacture in a traditional lesson.

As students worked through the simulation, Kelsy heard them wonder why certain things worked the way they did, how different concepts were connected, and why particular steps were necessary. Why can’t a rocket use brakes in space? Then, as they progressed, those questions often led to their own “light bulb” moments.

For Kelsy, those moments matter as much as the content itself.

“The goal isn’t necessarily for every student to become an expert on space,” she explains. “It’s more important to me that they discover something they didn’t know was possible, become excited about learning more, and gain confidence in their ability to figure things out.”

Letting students own the learning

For educators looking to create more authentic, student-driven learning experiences, Kelsy’s Satellite Challenge experience offers a compelling reminder: Give students a meaningful problem, surround them with the right support, and let them take the lead. The learning that follows may surprise you.

Educators interested in bringing a Satellite Challenge to their own classrooms can learn more about the program and how to get involved through Challenger Center.

Photo credit: All photos were provided by Kelsy Achtenberg with permission from The Innovation School.