At Davidson Academy's preschool, even our youngest learners engage with the engineering design process as they explore the world around them. During a unit on community helpers, students learned about various jobs within a community, including the role of engineers and their responsibilities. Teachers then challenged the students to imagine themselves as engineers tasked with building a bridge for cars to use. The question posed was, "How would you build your bridge?"

Students were given a variety of materials and worked collaboratively to design, build, and test their bridges. Throughout the process, teachers guided them with questions like, "What is missing?" and "How could this work better?" encouraging them to refine their designs. Finally, students were given time to reflect on their learning and evaluate their work.

In conjunction with their unit on animal behavior and habitats, Davidson Academy's 3rd graders partnered with the Nashville Zoo for an investigation of animal adaptations and requirements for an animal to be in a zoo. Students were placed in groups and given an animal from one of the kingdoms. Each group researched their animal to discover its unique adaptations. From there, students used their knowledge to meet three zoo requirements: nightly shelter, enrichment, and a secure enclosure. Through the use of the Engineering Design Process, students designed and created a model of their animal's enclosure that met the requirements. Using their critical thinking skills and creativity, students then collaborated to create a model of their animal using recycled materials. After creating their enclosure and animal models, students recorded videos discussing the reasoning behind their decisions.

The 2nd grade students at Davidson Academy collaborated with the high school AP Biology class to complete a 5-week study of holidays around the world with a STEAM focused activity each week. Each innovative STEAM project began with special instructions and materials for students to use to meet the week’s challenge. Students began working through the engineering process as they began to plan their designs. They actively collaborated within their small group led by a high school AP Biology student critiquing and refining their ideas to deepen their understanding of what would make their build successful. Students asked questions and began to share ideas before they planned how to execute the challenge. As the design process moved into the creating and testing phase, students used their problem-solving skills to offer various solutions to issues that thwarted the successful outcome of their design.  The group discussed and tested various solutions to create an improved plan in order to complete the challenge under the time constraints. The weekly STEAM activity complemented the unit study of the various countries that students studied in their ELA and content areas throughout that week. The schedule of countries and STEAM projects included: 

• Italy - Creating Old Befana’s Broom 

• England - Making a Gift Box for Boxing Day

• India - Building a Diwali Candle Holder

• France - Making Christmas Shoes for Father Christmas to Fill

• Germany - Making a Standing Christmas Tree. 

As a Christian school, Davidson Academy's mission is to advance the name of Jesus in all that we do. Our middle schoolers used drawing skills learned in their elective art class such as block lettering, value shading, and perspective, to create a graffiti-style depiction of each of their names that was ultimately made into a large-scale mural. Instruction for this project included authentic inquiry of the cultural origins of graffiti, as a once illegal method of messaging, that has evolved into a legitimate art form. Each student drew their name on a standard letter-sized poster board. Once the individual drawings were completed, the sum of them was organized in such a way as to form the name of ‘Jesus’, which was then displayed as a large mural titled, “In Jesus' Name”, visible to every visitor and student who used our main hallway. This endeavor was a literal depiction of our Christian belief that we are “hidden in Christ” (Colossians 3:3), as well as a reflection of our school’s guiding verse, Psalms 115:1, which reads, “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness”. 

Sixth grade students at Davidson Academy actively engage in STEAM learning across multiple disciplines. In their Ancient Civilizations Social Studies course, they experience firsthand how early scribes recorded history. After learning about Cuneiform—the world’s first known writing system—its development, and its significance, students participate in a hands-on activity that brings the lesson to life.

Using a lump of clay and a toothpick as a stylus, students replicate the process of writing in Cuneiform. Throughout the activity, they face challenges such as determining the ideal thickness of the clay, applying the right amount of pressure to make clear imprints, and avoiding contamination from other materials. This exercise teaches them how to effectively use their tools and create legible, lasting impressions in clay.

Once the activity is completed, students assess their tablets by examining the readability of their text, the quality of the dried clay, and whether they made the clay too thick or too thin. This reflection helps reinforce their learning and understanding of early written communication.

One such example is the Goldilocks Schmoldilocks PBL, where the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" serves as an analogy to explore thermal energy. In this narrative, Goldilocks encounters three bowls of porridge with varying temperatures: one too hot, one too cold, and one just right. Despite originating from the same pot and being left out for the same duration, the bowls exhibit distinct temperature variations. This incongruity prompts an investigation into the methods of thermal energy transfer, namely conduction, convection, and radiation. The objective is to understand how thermal energy moves from warmer to cooler substances until equilibrium is reached. Through hands-on investigations, students verify that thermal energy follows a predictable pattern, akin to the melting of an ice cube. By engaging in this PBL, students not only deepen their understanding of scientific concepts but also hone their critical thinking and problem-solving skills in real-world contexts. By the end of 8th grade, students and teachers alike work in tandem to ensure authentic learning experiences and cultivate a learning culture characterized by healthy relationships and mutual growth.

In the high school, our advanced art students are working in conjunction with administration to create an outdoor space for the Upper School. They have been tasked with designing a landscape and hardscape design for the outdoor space that includes walking paths, seating areas, and outdoor classroom space. In addition, they had to research the light and water needs of plants and growth requirements in order to place them in the correct area of the outdoor space. After completing the research, students collaborated to design landscape plans for the space. These plans will be presented to administration and used to create the outdoor space during the upcoming school year.

In Biology, students create an ecosystem simulation using 2-Liter bottles to explore the cycling of the essential elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen through biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem. Students work with a partner to design a way to connect a terrestrial and an aquatic ecosystem so that nutrients can cycle appropriately for a month-long time period. They assemble their ecosystems in class using the provided supplies and collect daily observations throughout the month. At the completion of their observation month, students write a lab report of their findings relating their observations back to what they know about the cycling of nutrients and the interrelationships of organisms.