STEM K12 13: Students demonstrate STEM content knowledge representative of STEM literacy outcomes that prepare them for the next level of learning and work.

Impact Narrative:

At Kelly Mill, we provide students with many opportunities to showcase their success with STEM content knowledge. We offer students multiple opportunities to practice STEM literacy skills using the 4Cs (Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creativity), problem-solving, and flexibility. We believe students' STEM literacy will increase when these skills pair with reflection, iteration, strategically-planned partnerships, and parental support.

Students at Kelly Mill use numerous skills to identify problems and follow the engineering process to begin their journey. Students communicate their findings and elaborate on their results through rubrics with success criteria, self-assess their performance, and reflect on how they can improve. We engrain this process into students by encouraging lifelong learning, critical thinking, collaborating, and problem-solving.

In 2012, students began tackling the topic of human impact on our environment. Students sought to partner with outside stakeholders to create recycling bins using tires and showcase a real need for "away from home recycling containers." They accomplished this during the Tackling Trash with Tires competition sponsored by Siemens, where students identified a problem and collaborated towards building a solution. Afterward, students decided to turn this into a school-wide effort and created the Kelly Mill ECO Team. Students made a recycling ECO Team, started a recycling program, recorded data from their collections, and analyzed results. This ECO Team continues this service and data collection weekly.

We also offer opportunities for students to participate in after-school clubs: such as Lego Club and Robotics, where children practice STEM literacy traits and work together toward a common goal. The Robotics program helps prepare students for life after the classroom by teaching real-world skills through academic lessons. Additionally, our Math Club exposes students to mathematical reasoning within STEM, and children work to create and solve problems within the engineering process. These processes learned through STEM outcomes generalize students becoming real-world problem solvers and successful in the future.

Moving forward, Kelly Mill plans to incorporate The 5E Model of Science Instruction into our partnerships with our school clubs and outside stakeholders. We plan to use volunteers to help with clubs and support student participation and competition at county and state levels. Partnerships with local businesses will help further our "next ventures" and opportunities that we can provide for every student to access STEM materials. Our newly created Creativity Playground is an extension of our Robotics Club and serves as a place for all students to explore coding and robotics. We hope to continue to build activities within this framework to further STEM literacy that prepares students for the next level of learning and work.

Initiatives/Actions/Artifacts:

• 5th grade circuit project. Rubric and self assessment

• Tackling Trash with Tires- Siemens We can Change the World  

• Recycling ECO Team

• Lego Club

• Robotics Club

• Creativity Playground

• 4Cs

• 5E Model of Science Instruction