What were the areas of strength noted in the Self Assessment?
Christian Academy provides opportunities that allow students to think and work independently, work through open-ended processes, collaborate with others, and produce end results. There are many historical and current examples of how this is accomplished.
The high school yearbook at Christian Academy was originally a teacher-led publication and has become a student publication, and it dates back to the first years of the school’s history. The early days of the Christian Academy yearbook program was mainly done after school by one teacher, a few volunteers and some students. The first book was run off on a copier and was approximately twenty-five pages long. During the past ten years, the publication of the yearbook moved completely into the classroom as a student-led publication and started as a half credit elective. The class was named Digital Design and Publication, and in the last five years it has evolved into a full credit class where the students’ work and dedication has produced award-winning books, including last year’s award by SCISA for photography. This year’s book is 276 pages as a full color digital print product and is planned, designed, and promoted by the students. Incorporated throughout the class are opportunities for students to work independently and collaboratively on a locally relevant and real-world series of problems and solutions as they produce the yearbook.
A recent addition to the Christian Academy curriculum is the Introduction to Engineering course, which is a weekly mandatory elective for 7th and 8th graders. This course builds off of concepts taught to K-6th graders, and is a more formal look at engineering. The course focuses on the components of STEM, using the Engineering Design Process, and exploring various engineering disciplines and related careers. Student learning activities include research, hands on activities, guest speakers, and field trips. For example, when exploring Civil Engineering, students watched and took notes from an informative video (Crash Course Engineering), performed guided online career research, built and tested Truss bridge models, and interacted with a guest speaker from a local civil engineering firm, Thomas & Hutton.
A middle school learning experience is evident through The Native American Project jointly accomplished through collaboration by the 7th grade core teachers and computer technology teachers. Students research, work in groups, and evaluate real life challenges faced by Native Americans. After students complete specific research, they develop a prototype and propose a solution. In addition, students work to write a research paper, create a digital presentation of their work, evaluate their prototype, and make suggestions for improvement. Students keep a notebook with maps, diagrams, Mayan math, art, creation of a specific replicas, service projects and a scavenger hunt. Part of the culmination of the project includes a student presentation and luncheon with the local members of the Waccamaw Tribe and a field trip opportunity to the Wacammaw Pau Waw.
Third, fourth, and fifth grades use a similar system in multiple projects to encourage and observe independent and inquiry-based learning environments including but not limited to the Raft, the Straw, The Animal Habitat, the Mouse and the Motorcycle, and the Smithsonian. Teachers plan carefully to scaffold learning for students that allows each one to understand, think about possible design options, and meet together as a small group to collaborate. In the teaching process, educators in these classrooms take time to allow questions to be asked from a variety of angles, independent thinking to be done, written, drawn, and analyzed before students are asked to collaborate. Ways to communicate, share ideas, and how to navigate creatively through problem-solving are taught as part of these classroom environments while young people strive to work alone and together effectively toward individual and common goals. This work begins in the earliest grade levels and continues to prepare students for the upcoming middle school STEM experiences which require mastery in the upper elementary years.
In the earliest grade levels, inquiry-based learning is evident as seen in examples such as the Kindergarten Apple Project. This project is embedded in a real-world connected unit of cross-curricular study that allows students to ask questions as well as think independently and creatively while designing and evaluating their own work. Part of the unit includes reading, writing, studying, researching, charting, and experimenting with apples. Within this, students are given an assignment to ask, think, and then create a unique apple structure built with toothpicks and apples. Teachers verbalize the goals and achievement desired by students. Students are then asked to “seek out a challenge” and change the base of the structure. They are asked to improve, redesign and/or rebuild their original structures with a new base. Finally, their structures are compared to real world towers or buildings that resemble their own structure. These connections were discussed and shared as a class. This example illustrates a fun, engaging, and hands-on learning environment where questions are asked in a safe, encouraging way.
In addition to the daily classroom experiences offered, when outside of the classroom, students have varied ways to engage in authentic problem solving as they collaborate and communicate. In grades 4-8, the First Lego League/robotics program gives students parameters for identifying a problem in a real-world scientific topic with three parts. One of those three parts is called the Innovation Project which includes developing a solution to a problem students have identified. The process involves research, partnering with community members, creating a prototype through research and designing solutions, and then presenting to community partners or other audiences. Also, high school students have the opportunity to participate in student government as part of the school program separate from class time, as this work is done by students at lunchtime and of their own choosing. Student Government works together on projects and activities that benefit the student body. Within this collaborative group, each officer has a task they must complete. The officers work together to plan events in which they learn and employ advertising, marketing, budgeting, and profits. For example, the officers plan the logistics of the events together. Each officer has a role within that event that they must fill. The president must plan a budget for the event based on food, decorations, music and other needs. The treasurer is responsible for collecting the money raised from the events and entering it into a budget spreadsheet. It is his or her duty to report to the group on funds coming in and funds going out. The secretary is responsible for advertising and promoting the event (often done digitally by creating flyers, drafts of t-shirt designs, and making announcements). The officers are learning real world applications in finance, budgeting, event planning, safety/police protection, and marketing. Additionally, the officers travel and collaborate with other schools as part of SCISA. In addition to the student government experiences, field trips at all grade levels also enhance STEM learning at Christian Academy. Our students have the opportunity to travel to places such as Boeing in Charleston, Camp Pinehill and Camp St. Christopher (where team-building and hands-on, problem-solving activities are a primary area of focus), and Physics Day in Columbia which allows for students to experience science in action. Questions are often the first part of lessons planned for these trips, and reflections of students’ own thinking metacognitively are part of the standards-based trips and experiences planned annually.
What actions are being implemented to sustain the areas of strength?
Throughout the history of the school, students have been given varied and multiple opportunities to engage in areas that relate to student-centered and inquiry based learning and creative and complex problem solving. For example, since 2018, Introduction to Engineering and Google Applications, AP Economics have been added to an already challenging collection of STEM course offerings. Teachers have the flexibility and autonomy to creatively connect real world experiences to standards for classroom learning through the use of STEM activities and objectives. School leadership supports and encourages teachers in this process. Teachers will continue to develop their skills in STEM through regular professional development and peer collaboration.
What were areas in need of improvement? What plans are being made to improve the area of need?
Christian Academy has an opportunity to improve learning experiences to focus on, rather than only include, real-world, locally-relevant, complex, open-ended problems that require problem identification, investigation, and analysis. In the 2019-20 school year, faculty and staff were encouraged to improve the authenticity and relevance of STEM projects through cross-curricular open-ended problem solving. This year’s evaluation will provide opportunities to continue and improve upon STEM student learning experiences. In addition, Christian Academy is exploring additional computer science, engineering, and other course offerings as part of the future plan related to this indicator.
