Student Opportunities

When students enter our STEM program, they are immersed in a world of both problem and project based learning, our primary methods of curriculum delivery. We do this through:

• Content area teachers (Science, Math, Technology, Design, English, History) and support staff (media and technology) plan and implement PBL lessons.

• Teachers plan and implement PBL lessons as well as design whole grade, semester-encompassing PBL units. This cross-curricular problem-solving model helps students hone skills which they will take with them far beyond our walls.

• PBL's (both project and problem-based) empower students to create and complete the engineering design cycle with teachers acting as guides not lecturers.

• Stressing teamwork and collaboration allowing students become accountable to themselves and to their teammates. Conversations with business partners have confirmed that students need to be able to work as a team to identify a problem, make a plan of action, implement that plan, and reflect on their own activities.

• Teachers seek to connect their subjects with the larger world beyond our brick walls. Through weekly assignments and larger PBLs, the vast majority of STEM classes address real-world problems and seek solutions to such issues.

• Digital tools and resources are the backbone of the program. Each class utilizes laptops, apps, and such tools as 3D printers, Arduino boards, and VEX robotics kits to empower student innovation. Technology is used to create opportunities for students to think critically and creatively, to solve problems and explore relevant issues, and to communicate and collaborate. Common digital tools like Google docs, CANVAS, and Desmos help students build understanding and achieve new levels of productivity, consistent with 21st century learning.

• Offering a plethora of opportunities for students to engage in extracurricular clubs, competitions, fairs, STEM nights, and leadership opportunities. Central STEM students are our brightest ambassadors, never failing from proudly representing our program. It is through such demonstrative engagements as TSA, VEX Robotics competitions, STEM Open House, Think Tank, and other clubs and competitions that our students learn to lead, innovate, problem solve, and grow into globally competitive learners and leaders.