(Collaboration among students yields "BIG" results)

STEM K12 7: Students engage collaboratively in authentic inquiry during ongoing units of study.

Impact Narrative:

Since we opened our doors in 2012, Kelly Mill Elementary has authentically engaged students in STEM inquiry. Many pathways are provided for students to follow their passions or interests and answer questions about the world around them. Students have opportunities to collaborate within the school-wide community and beyond the classroom.

Students work together with community members to build outdoor spaces for students and teachers to utilize for learning. Through partnering with local greenhouses and conservation groups, we create gardens, build flower beds, install birdhouses for local species, and carve out peaceful spaces to be enjoyed by everyone. Through these processes, students learn more about the natural world around them, ask questions, and develop a natural curiosity. Teachers use this as a springboard to foster students' engagement. This undertaking yields many benefits both physically and mentally for all stakeholders.

One example of this occurred during a unit of study on life cycles. One small question, "What is milkweed?" led the school on a path of inquiry and exploration. Through a partnership between the Keep Forsyth Beautiful Association and members of the school community, Kelly Mill created a thriving milkweed garden planted and cared for by students. As students worked together on this project and learned about the relationship between the milkweed and Monarch Butterflies, new questions arose. Students reached out to Monarchs Across Georgia as a resource of information and discovered that Georgia was a favorite and necessary location during the migration of the Monarch Butterfly. Over the years, students have tagged butterflies for tracking their migration and uploading data to Journey North, a national database tracking the migration of various species of animals. Students took ownership of this project and continued to work together to elaborate on the original question posed about milkweed. Today, Kelly Mill is a part of the journey of the fourth generation Monarchs and is a National Monarch Waystation.

The students and teachers at Kelly Mill are on a daily pursuit of the next "What is milkweed?" opportunity. Students are empowered to ask questions and explore the world around them. The students at Kelly Mill embody the desire to think and act like scientists. Our children know that collaboration is key to success and have become naturals when it comes to finding the answers to their questions and, of course, asking more questions. We will continue asking, being curious, and elaborate on using data to strengthen our STEM outcomes.

Initiatives/Actions/Artifacts:

• Teacher Peer Observation Schedule

• Students Building the Garden Beds

• Bringing Veggies Back

• Gardens to Monarchs

• Kelly Mill Elementary Monarchs

• Monarchs Across Georgia

• Journey North

• Virtual STEM Experiences