Innovations and Design Class

Pleasant Valley School

Pleasant Valley School provides students in grade 4-6 the opportunity to partake in authentic learning experiences. The Innovation and Design Studio is utilized by all students throughout the six-day class cycle, as a special area class. During their time in Innovation and Design, students design, learn, collaborate, experiment, and explore. Students spend the first trimester focusing on coding and computer programing, exploring various programming languages, with the main focus on learning how to write code using JavaScript.

During the second trimester, students investigate the Engineering Design Process through a variety of activities, the capstone project building on the coding skills they’ve acquired during trimester one, and combining them with new technologies including Makey Makey circuit kits and Sphero robots. Students reflect on the steps in the design process as they ask, imagine, plan, create, and improve.

The third trimester (for grades 4-5) combines the skills and topics students have investigated over the course of the year to design and build a solution for a real world problem that exists in our society. Grade 6 students will investigate and learn about their STEM type through an online survey, read articles pertaining to STEM careers via the STEM Jobs magazines/curriculum, and will choose a STEM career to research, explore, and share with their classmates.