Testimonials
Jack Sayers
Serving as the first student of SWITCH resulted in a transformative experience for my academic and professional life. When I learned about the idea, I was hesitant at first. There had never been a student at SWITCH, and I wasn’t sure whether or not we would be able to pull it off. After meeting with Director Lewis, however, my worries soon faded.
I was looking forward to serving as a page in the Iowa House of Representatives from January through May of 2023, but I was worried about how I would do schoolwork. Director Lewis brought the idea of work-based learning to me, where I would submit assignments to my regular teachers (English and Government) that were based on my position in the Iowa Legislature. For example, after attending Governor Reynold’s Condition of the State Address in January, I submitted a summary of the speech to my English teacher with proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. This project met certain standards that the Iowa Department of Education required, so I was able to get a grade on the assignment as if I were in the classroom.
While discussing the semester with Director Lewis, we believed that it would be beneficial to have a capstone project at the end of the year. I knew I wanted to do something big, and I also knew that Director Lewis would support me through any project I wanted to take on. This is when I created the idea of a Southwest Iowa Legislative Dinner, where elected officials of different levels could come together to discuss their roles and positions on certain issues in front of the people of our great state. This was a succesful bipartisan event, with both Republicans and Democrats attending. I was pleased to have one of the first events of this kind, and I know I could not have done it without SWITCH.
Overall, partnering with SWITCH turned out to be extremely successful for my path as a student, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested.
STEM Testimonials
East Mills Elementary - Miss Cheyenne Ruby's 4th Grade Class
“I like how the STEM Cart will help you in life . The car model is my favorite project. We got to build hands on and it was very fun. The STEM Cart will help you.” ~Adyson
“The Science cart is so fun. My favorite part is using the tools. The activities make you think, build, and problem solve.” ~Aubree
“The STEM cart lets you build lots of things with lots of tools. The reason I like the stem cart is because you have fun while building stuff like cars, grabbers, and lots of other things. I have built three things so far and it has been really fun. I have built a rubber band racer, a wiggle bot, and a grabber tool. There are lots of things to experiment with, build with, and it makes our learning so much fun.” ~Emree
“I like the STEM cart because it is hands-on creations, like the wiggle bot. The STEM cart allows you to create your own ideas, be engineers, and problem solve different tasks. I get to experiment and try my own things while learning.” ~James
“I like the STEM cart. My Favorite project has been the grab lab because it was really fun. I like the STEM activities because you get to use your imagination. You get to make your own ideas and talk with friends to make things better. That is why I like the STEM cart.” ~Mara
“I like the STEM cart because of how I can build things. The STEM cart helped me make and discover and build new things. I can invent anything in my mind and build it hands on in my classroom with the STEM cart. I used to not like to build new things, but now I can do it with all these fun activities. I believe in myself. I can build things like the grabber and wiggle bot and show my own ideas. The STEM cart has lots of things to be happy about and make me happy.” ~Tony
“The STEM cart is fun to work with. I like the projects that we work on. My favorite project is the grabber. I also like the scribble robot. For the grabber tool I used a long black pole. The cart gives me lots of learning using my hands. Science and school is so fun with the STEM cart.” ~Zayne
“I like the STEM cart because it has a lot of materials to build with. The stem cart just makes me better at building. I very much do like the a cart because there's just so many things you can do.” ~Micah
“My opinion is that the STEM cart is a really good tool for our classroom. I like that we can have it in our classroom. My favorite project is the car thing that was really fun to make. It is a really cool cart to have in our classroom. The STEM cart lets me and my class discover, learn, build, create, collaborate, and problem solve. Making cool things with the cart is really cool.” ~Lillian
“I like the STEM cart because you get to make your own thing. First, you get to make your own stuff with your plan. You can do things however you want and nothing is ever wrong. You get to problem solve and use the project. Then you get to take it home and show your parents how it works. Then you can tell them how you made it. Then you can share it with your friends. The STEM cart has made learning so much fun. I love to share my projects.” ~Laila
“The STEM cart has truly made a major impact on my classroom and the hands-on engagement opportunities I am able to provide my students. The excitement of seeing 15 students all working around one table collaborating effectively is remarkable. I see students questioning each other, problem solving together, communicating effectively, and building/creating elaborate plans then bringing those plans and imagination to life. The smile on my students' faces and the aha moments that have happened because of this STEM cart are major highlights in my classroom. The STEM cart has given many opportunities for us to discuss GRIT, problem solving, effective communication, teamwork, problem solving, determination, and perseverance. Students are seeing that there are no wrong answers or ways to build, but only ways to make things better and to continue learning. The lessons we have learned while building and problem solving using the cart have spilled over into other class subjects. We are truly a class of problem solvers, critical thinkers, and believers. Students know that we can always keep trying, we can ask questions, and we can celebrate all the victories and even failures because we learn and grow from them; just like we learn and grow when we are building.” ~Miss Ruby, 4th grade teacher
TeacherGeek Makerspace STEM Cart
2023 Scale-Up Award received from Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council
Miss Ruby's 4th Grade Class - Engaged in STEM Activities
