Daily Instruction

We believe in collaboration to develop, implement and improve STEM Learning. Therefore, we have implemented Professional Learning Community protocols in consistently facilitated planning sessions with grade level teams, and departmentalized teams that occur weekly. During these planning sessions, teachers and faculty members collaborate to plan standards based instruction using backwards design. Teams work to develop assessments and analyze assessment data to modify future instruction. Teachers willingly share ideas and resources to create engaging interdisciplinary unit plans. The evidence of our growth towards reaching these goals includes our PLC agenda, lessons plans, and PBL planning documents.

The mission of the professional learning community team is to ensure students are learning. This planning requires us to address all learners and plan meaningful lessons.

We believe in STEM courses and curriculum alignment. During STEM PLCs, we plan and collaborate weekly. We use Eureka’s math curriculum, which teaches students how to solve problems in various ways. The humanities and STEM coaches plan with teachers to embed interdisciplinary teaching where students get multiple perspectives. It enables students to understand insights from different disciplines, synthesize information surrounding a topic, and ultimately offer a complete understanding of an issue.

Integrating our standards into daily instruction is crucial to our success as a STEM school. Aligned and driven by the Georgia Standards of Excellence, our units are organized in a meaningful and authentic way to spark student inquiry and problem-solving initiatives. All STEM inquiry relates and expands upon these key elements. Teachers and the support team collaborate to review and internalize the unit of study before facilitating learning, during the units, and reflect upon learning after to make sure we are providing high-quality interdisciplinary teaching to our students.

As a way to measure teacher facilitation and curriculum success, teachers and support team also review student work throughout the unit. This gives an opportunity to reflect upon how well the students processed and understood the curriculum that was being delivered. In addition, it allows the teachers and coaches the opportunity to develop remediation lessons that incorporate STEM standards and revise units for future use. Although some pre-created units are used as resources, it is not the sole resource used. It drives our math pacing and allows us to be flexible and intentional when creating interdisciplinary science units.