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Standard 1: School/program provides equitable opportunities for students to engage in high quality STEM learning.
Standard 1: School/program provides equitable opportunities for students to engage in high quality STEM learning.
STEAM plays such an important role in our students’ futures, both academically and economically. STEAM jobs are the driving force behind our global economy and are essential in remaining competitive in the global marketplace. We also know that participation in STEAM activities leads to increased academic achievement. We believe that ALL students should have the opportunity to engage in high-quality STEAM learning. Because we serve an under-resourced, rural community, everything we do with STEAM reaches a person that would otherwise have little exposure and limited access to STEAM careers. With this in mind, we created our STEAM clubs. All students are able to choose from a variety of STEAM clubs each year based on their interests.
While we ensure that all students have access to STEAM, we have also made an effort to reach the untapped demographic of young girls in STEAM. Since 2016, CES has hosted a Girls Who Code Club for all girls in 3rd and 4th grade with a goal to incorporate girls in Kindergarten through 4th grade. Because only 24% of women are working in STEAM careers, our Girls Who Code club focuses on providing powerful opportunities for our girls to be exposed to and participate in coding activities and strengthen STEAM competencies. Girls in this club are engaged in computer science learning through the Girls Who Code curriculum as well as CS-First (Teach Computer Science and Coding to Kids).
The Girls Who Code initiative has also been extended to Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. This special day allows girls in the coding club to coordinate and plan a day during which all K-4th grade girls have the opportunity to participate in special STEAM activities. These activities give our girls a glimpse of what engineering is in order to stir up inquisitiveness into the world of STEAM.
Our Gifted classes provide non-traditional students with an opportunity to be engaged in challenging STEAM projects outside of the regular curriculum. Students in third and fourth grades are provided with a certified teacher once a week for two hours to explore STEAM challenges and real-life experiences. Students in the gifted program participate in creative and engaging STEAM lessons which include, but are not limited to, Osmos, 3D printing, and Artie. During one of the gifted projects, students created a virtual desk pet house using Google Slides. Students earned objects to add to their pet house as incentives for completing activities. Then, students used Tinkercad to code a house for a “real” desk pet and printed it using the 3D printer. The gifted teacher monitors and adjusts the level of challenge as necessary for these students.
During physical education class, students took their fitness into their own hands through our fitness tracking program. Each student received his/her fitness testing data from second through fourth grades. They created a chart and tracker using Google Sheets to see how their fitness testing levels had improved, declined, or stayed the same over those years. After analyzing the data, each student then created a plan to improve their weakest areas for Spring testing. Students collaborated with each other to bounce ideas back and forth and help each other in setting goals. They also researched muscles and what type of movements strengthen them. They showcased their plan by either creating a poster or a virtual poster and presented their plan and goals to the coach and their peers.
All students participate in three to four Problem-Based Learning (PBL) units of study per year. Teachers collaboratively plan authentic PBL’s that include STEAM learning experiences as well as Computational Thinking activities and practices. Through these learning experiences, students develop problem-solving skills, collaboration skills, communication skills, tap into their creativity, and strengthen their soft skills all around.
Strengths
Our club days have helped our students have fun while creating a positive STEAM identity. We have been proud of the sustainability and growth of our Girls Who Code initiative. Girls now have more options within the club. The club is now more accessible as it has been opened up to allow more girls to participate.
Sustainability
Over time our club choices and other offerings have grown. We remain focused on adding more interesting club options as well as creating other new initiatives that will reach all of our students. Over the past few years, we have increased the number of PBLs being implemented in the classroom.
Continuous Improvement
As we measured the implementation of our STEAM clubs against the rubric, we considered the extent to which they are monitored. As a result, we would like to prioritize collecting and analyzing data regarding desired goals. It would be helpful for our club leaders to create formal lesson plans with stated outcomes for the STEAM learning activity. Club leaders could also provide evidence of learning using a variety of methods such as rubrics, completed products, social media posts, or whatever method fits the learning activity. We are also considering the creation of a school-wide project-based learning unit that elicits collaboration from our students across all subjects and grade levels.
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