Throughout our transformation into a STEM school, teachers and staff have worked diligently to learn teaching methods and strategies to support students in becoming successful in the learner-centered classroom. All MES staff is dedicated to providing students with a rigorous, integrated STEM-based education through effective teaching. MES teachers have put countless hours into collaborating and developing the STEM curriculum for their classroom and honing their skills in supporting their students in a STEM instructional approach. .

Professional development has been provided for 100 percent of classroom teachers in implementing a STEM instructional approach in the context of solving a real-world or challenge problem. All classroom teachers attended a two-day classroom teacher training for implementing PLTW Launch. This training provided teachers with the knowledge to effectively implement an integrated, inquiry-based STEM program into their classroom. During the training, teachers were given time to plan for a module and collaborate with their peers about the best approaches for implementation. Teachers also attended a week-long training aimed at creating and implementing project-based units into their curriculum. PBL is another inquiry-based learning approach that lends well to the STEM classroom.

Collaboration plays an integral role in developing employability skills to prepare students for today’s workforce, in addition to having added benefits for students. In the classroom, it can help students think more deeply and creatively about a subject and develop more empathy for others' perspectives. All teachers at MES have their students engage in meaningful group activities throughout the week. STudents perform experiments, create and present projects, and design solutions to problems in groups. A school-wide plan for group roles has been established and is used in grades K-5. Students learn about the expectations of each role from the beginning of their educational career. Students also complete self-assessments where they reflect over the type of group member they were for a particular project or problem.

Students at MES use a variety of technologies to enhance their learning in investigations and problem solving. 1:1 Chromebooks were implemented during the 2018-2019 school year. All students in grades one through six have a Chromebook for classroom use. Students in kindergarten use a mixture of ipads and Chromebooks. These devices are used to help our students learn in a variety of ways. Besides general uses of technology, all students also work with Code.org during their specials time. With Code.org, students learn about algorithms and how computer code is written. The Medora Makerspace, a collaborative space for making and learning, there are several technologies that students use to design and produce a variety of projects. A laser cutter and two 3D printers are available for classroom teachers to use with their students.

Each quarter, an integrated PLTW module is implemented in each grade level for all students. PLTW Launch modules engage students in cross-disciplinary activities that build knowledge and skills in areas including computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. In addition, each module empowers students to develop essential skills such as problem solving, critical and creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and perseverance. Students also engage in teacher developed STEM projects each quarter. The mixture of PLTW modules and teacher-created curriculum provides students with a broad range of STEM exposure.