Aaron Maurer, also known as “Coffeechug” is the STEM lead for 21 school districts in Iowa helping to expand STEM, Computer Science, Makerspace, and Purposeful Play into classrooms K-12. Often spotted wearing bowties and drinking coffee he is on a quest to bring more wonder and play into the learning process in schools. Prior to this he served as an Instructional Coach for Bettendorf Middle School. He has taught sixth grade social studies, literature and computer as well as spending many years teaching gifted education in grades 4-8. From this point in his career he leaped to the role of instructional coach where he worked with other instructional coaches to create makerspaces/workspaces for hands on learning to help infuse inquiry in interdisciplinary project based learning. Aaron is also former FIRST LEGO League coach for 8 years with much success working with phenonmenal kids. He has a Master Educator License with endorsements in 5-12 Psychology – 163 5-12 World History – 166 5-12 American History – 158 5-12 Computer Science – 278 PK-12 Talented and Gifted – 107 5-8 Middle School Generalist – 182 K-8 Computer Science – 277 Currently, Aaron is a member of ISTE Making It Happen Award Lego Education Ambassador and Master Educator PBS Digital Innovator and All-Star PITSCO Tag Committee Microsoft Innovator Educator Expert Microsft Innovative Educator Fellow Global Learning Mentor(formerly Skype Master Teacher) Minecraft Global Mentor Makey Makey Ambassador Finally, Aaron was a finalist for the Iowa Teacher of the Year in 2014. He is an avid fan of STEAM, Makerspaces, and Project Based Learning. Despite these passion areas, he is a huge advocate for removing all the education jargon and buzzwords that often lead to more confusion. How about we just do good teaching? In his free time he loves to spend time with his three kids, Aiden, Addyson, and Ava, their bulldog Frankie May, and acting like the fourth child to his wife Amanda. Last, he is an avid coffee consumer frequently spotted wearing bow ties searching for the that perfect cup of joe. You can find all of his work on his website www.coffeeforthebrain.com.