Curriculum

The PLTW curriculum we use is an activity-, project-, and problem-based (APB) instructional design that centers on hands-on, real-world activities, projects, and problems that help students understand how the knowledge and skills they develop in the classroom may be applied in everyday life. The APB approach scaffolds student learning through structured activities and projects that empower students to become independent in the classroom and help them build skill sets to apply to an open-ended design problem. This approach provides students with unique opportunities to work collaboratively, identify problems, apply what they know, persevere through challenges, find unique solutions, and lead their own learning. (curriculum according to https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/curriculum )

One hundred percent of LCSC teachers are certified in PBL by Magnify Learning. Magnify Learning provides Project Based Learning professional development workshops that teach and model the PBL framework, and enable educators to create authentic learning experiences through the design and implementation of PBL. Authentic learning experiences help students master content, acquire employability skills, and discover they have value and purpose inside and outside the classroom.

Students at LMS participate in many STEM activities where they are engaged in the design and engineering process. Teachers also introduce different career pathways that are connected to the STEM activities. In our student-run business, Lion Manufacturing Jr, students are in engaged and collaborating while making, learning, and exploring new ideas and inventions.

2.1 Curriculum Integration

We use the PLTW program in all grades, 5-8, at LMS. PLTW focuses on pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science that engage students in hands-on activities, projects, and problems; empower them to solve real-world challenges; and inspire them to reimagine how they see themselves. LMS was chosen as a PLTW Distinguished Gateway School for 2021-22 since 100% of our students in all grade levels participate yearly .

Students take the following PLTW courses in the following grades:

  • 5th grade - Green Architecture

  • 6th Grade - Magic of Electrons

  • 7th Grade - App Creators

  • 8th Grade - Medical Detectives

PLTW Gateway

100% of our K-12 staff are certified in project based learning (PBL) through Magnify Learning. Teachers implement a minimum of one PBL unit in their classroom yearly as was added in as a part of their teaching evaluation tool. PBL units are collected yearly and are held in our PBL library on Google Drive.

2.2 Curriculum Implementation

Our curriculum implementation began with our LCSC 2020 Vision & Beyond.

Below details the timeline of goals for STEM initiatives in our corporation, each of which has been achieved.

2018-19

2019-20

  • PBL training through Magnify Leanring for 100% of LCSC K12 teachers

    • This was initially planned to span over a few years, but COVID actually helped us to get all of our teachers trained on teacher days while they were forced to quarantine in the spring of 2020.

  • Implementation of PLTW courses - Magic of Electrons, Green Architecture, Medical Detectives

  • More PLTW traing for teachers - App Creators

2020-21

  • Continuation of PLTW at all grade levels

  • Implementation of PBL into every classroom K12

  • Monthly coaching strategies with Diane Clancy from Magnify Leanring on proper implementation of PBL

  • Addition of requirement for PBL lessons to be implented in LCSC Teacher Evaluation Rubric

  • PBL training for new teachers - Hawkins, Kahle, Walton

  • Creation of Pathway Guiding Documents

2021-22

  • Continuation of PLTW at all grade levels

  • Continuation of implementation of PBL in classrooms

  • Continue training new teachers in PBL

2022-23

  • Continuation of PLTW at all grade levels

  • Continuation of implementation of PBL in classrooms

  • Continue training new teachers in PBL

  • Work with SCALE Initiative (Purdue & NSWC Crane) to develop more project based lessons relating to microchips to curriculum)


2.3 Computer Science

All students in grade 7 complete a PLTW module with an emphasis on computer science. Students are also involved with the Code.org curriculum and Scratch throughout the year. All LMS students go through a unit on digital citizenship during their WIN time.

LCSC staff have received professional development in these computer science areas:

  • code.org

  • Scratch

  • Hour of Code

  • IU computer science instructor presentation

  • STEM Fellow training

LCSC Teachers in ALL grade levels use our Computer Science & Cybersecurity Pathway Guiding Document in class with ALL students to provide computer science activities at each grade level. All students in each grade level receive this instruction during the school year.

ALL 7th grade students take our PLTW App Creators course as one of their requirments during this year in school.

2.4 Employability Skills

We are currently in our fifth year of implementing a schoolwide program called the “'Mane' Traits of a Lion." Throughout this program, our students are taught soft skills that are necessary for success in their postsecondary endeavors. These traits are as follows: Show Up, Get Grit, Be Respectful, Pay It Forward, Work Hard, Be Positive, Get Along, Be Flexible, Join the Club, and Keep Learning. LCSC has incorporated these 10 "mane" traits to instill the soft skills needed for our students to be successful in the 21st century workforce. Students are selected each month for being a representative that displays the specific Mane Trait of the Month and are rewarded for such.

In the 2021-22 school year, the LMS students decided they wanted to show off their Mane Traits and created the Mane Traits Olympics. Students in all classes competed throughout the school year to showcase their traits and win awards that culmonated at the end of the year.

When community partners work with our students, they are asked which Mane Traits they find valuable in their employees and which trait they use the most in their job.


2.5 Access and Opportunity for All Learners

ALL students - girls, boys, all ethnicities, all learning levels - participate in all PLTW courses and PBL activities offered by each teacher in the school. This is proven by us being awarded the PLTW Distinguished Gateway School.

Special education teacher is provided with weekly curriculum and lesson plans from each grade level and serves all learning disabled students in grades 5-8. She works with teachers to make modifications to activities and assessments on a daily basis for individual student academic needs. Special education students are included in our daily STEM instruction time and support staff is provided when needed. To make it easier on our special education teacher due to her unusually large caseload (47 students) and if the general education teacher feels comfortable doing so, the general education teacher will make modifications for students based on understanding of student needs.

Examples of Modifications

2.6 Assessments

A variety of assessment types are used throughout Loogootee Middle School. Presentations for group work are common and rubrics are used for evaluation of those projects. Rubrics are also used to assess the learning outcomes and needs in PLTW and STEM activities. Rubrics enable teachers to evaluate students' performance in situations that more closely replicate real life than an isolated test. They also provide students with a clear picture of what they need to do to improve their score for future learning. Students also are given individuals assessments on Google Forms or Quizizz. Students are also given applied assessments where indivudal rubrics are used for grading.

Assessment Examples

Students are given formative assessment exams three times yearly through NWEA Map Growth to determine student growth, student strengths, and areas for improvement. This data is then used by our leadership team to place students into remedidation groups during WIN time. Students also use Beable to find their Holland / RIASEC areas of strenght. This software also allows the school to acquire student lexile scores which helps differentiate student learning.

  • NWEA is used for formative assessment of students three times yearly in grades 5-8

    • Math - see top image on right

    • Reading - see bottom image on right

  • RIASEC / Lexile Spreadsheet