Standard 6
Leaners engage collaboratively in authentic inquiry during ongoing units of study.
The students at Paine Elementary engage collaboratively in authentic inquiry during our on going units of study. Our teachers plan systematical lessons and project-based units of study. Through the classroom experiences, school wide inquiry based STEM experiences, STREAM studios, and EnRich our students work together to complete rigorous tasks, problem identification, investigation and analysis.
classroom experiences
At Paine Elementary, we believe that when students engage collaboratively through authentic, rigorous inquiry based learning experiences, their learning is enhanced.
Paine Elementary has always put a great emphasis on inquiry-based learning. Teachers in our school have seen the need for students to explore, investigate, and analyze to enhance their learning. All grade levels at various times of the year participate in inquiry-based learning in science, math, technology and more. Instructional practices at Paine include encouraging students to explore, reason, problem solve, persevere, and articulate findings and evidence. Our school follows a STREAM model including science, technology, reading, engineering, art, and math. Our district follows the Engineering Design Process (EDP) for how we go about problem solving and high-level inquiry. One way we do this is by inquiry-based learning in the classroom. Below are examples of different grade level examples of inquiry-based learning…
Kindergarten
Students were provided the opportunity to work collaboratively during a Pumpkin Investigation. Each group was given a pumpkin to estimate the circumference using yarn. Students then used the yarn closest to the estimate for measuring with cubes, squares, and chain links. After measuring, the students weighed the pumpkins to compare which one was the heaviest. Students recorded their findings in their science journals. Students were then able to identify and investigate the different parts of the pumpkin and counted seeds in groups of ten.
first grade
One of our first grade standard states: design and construct a device that uses light or sound to send a communication signal over a distance. Our first graders are given paper cups, string, yarn, wire, and tape to construct a device that they can use to communicate. They have to choose two of the three types of string offered. Then, they decide and design their own communication device. They then have to test the device and decide which one worked the best. The pictures below show what devices they created and how they tested them.
second grade
Students were given the opportunity to design a system/device to protect an egg from cracking/breaking from a five foot fall. This inquiry based project fits perfectly with our standard from our Science Course of Study, which states: Collect and evaluate data to determine appropriate uses of materials based on their properties (e.g. strength, flexibility, hardness, texture, absorbency). Students must select appropriate physical properties of various materials to build their system/device to protect the egg and then determine its usefulness as a building material.
Third grade
Students were given an assignment to research the life cycle of a specific animal. They conducted their research and then worked in pairs to showcase their learning on a collaborative Google Slides presentation. Each group was assigned to fill out and/or complete specific slides of the document. For example, on the first slide, students entered information about their animal (life span, habitat, eggs or live birth, diet, etc.), and on the second slide they entered the stages of the life cycle and descriptions of each stage. Once all of the groups were finished editing their slides, students viewed the entire document to read and comment on the work of their classmates.
fourth grade
Students become inventors as we emphasize the power of perseverance and collaboration in a Balloon Car Design Challenge. Students are introduced and engaged in a variety of texts such as Rosie Revere, Engineer and The Inventor's Secret about Thomas Edison as they connect the design process in literature. The STREAM challenge began with Brainstorming and Design. Next, the construction of their balloon car begins. Students soon identify the problem as their car must meet the criteria of it must be powered by a balloon, and it must travel in a straight line. They must build, test, and evaluate. After many trial runs, students begin to redesign and reevaluate. After much teamwork and perseverance, they experienced positive results and shared their ideas and solutions.
fifth grade
Students are faced with a challenge: build the parachute that stays in the air the longest. Many materials are given, including tissue paper, newspaper, plastic bags, string, etc. From there, students go through the Engineering Design Process to plan out what they want their parachute to look like. Students were limited in the amount of materials they could use. They begin by defining the problem, then researching. They brainstormed and created a design based on what they had found. This connected perfectly to our 5th grade standard about gravity and air resistance. Students had a great time testing these out and made so many connections!
Overall, inquiry based learning is critical to deepen learning for students. Teachers frequently include inquiry based learning in lessons and activities because our students thrive with rigor and challenges. Our math curriculum alone provides intentional investigative tasks that students collaborate to solve and analyze. Students participate in this multiple times a week through math investigations and math congress. Once students engage in a math investigation, there is typically a math congress where students present and share strategies their group or partners worked on. The class has the opportunity to analyze their own work, their classmates work, ask specific questions, and have an academic discourse. This also gives teachers live qualitative data on what not only the presenter understands, but also what the rest of the class understands. This informs the teacher of next learning steps. In science, students are always following the EDP and collaborating with one another inquiring and analyzing new things. Through this process, we have realized that we could better integrate math and science, which would enhance their STEM learning and the STEM activities in our school.
School-wide Inquiry based STEM experiences
In addition, Paine Elementary has also had multiple school wide integrated learning experiences. School-wide STEM experiences are an engaging way to have all staff and all students working collaboratively and learn from one another. These school-wide days encourage collaboration and inquiry-based learning. A couple of examples of these experiences are the Leprechaun Trap Challenge and Polar Express STEM Day. Below are pictures from two of our school wide inquiry based STEM experiences.
Leprechaun Trap Challenge
All students started off the day by reading, "How to Catch a Leprechaun" and participated in the Engineering Design Process using recycled materials sent in by parents. All students were actively engaged in the rigorous task by planning, creating, testing, improving, and reflecting. On this day, students also participated in a Leprechaun Digital Breakout.
POlar Express STEM Day
The Polar Express STEM Day was a school-wide initiative that students participated in. Students were able to wear their pajamas to school and had opportunities to engage in authentic inquiry through many STEM Challenges.
Through observation, our school-wide STEM experiences lead to high attendance because students do not want to miss engaging experiences to collaborate with their peers. We’ve also noticed that these days have low discipline issues, as students value the opportunity to participate in high-level inquiry based experiences.
During the STEM certification process, we see the value of collaborative, integrated experiences and student and teacher reflection. Students are reflecting on their learning in all grade levels on a weekly basis. Through this process, we see the value of creating more frequent integrated experiences and reflecting on these integrated experiences. With beginning the STREAM Studio this year, we look forward to the integrated inquiry-based learning experiences all students will participate in. Students will have multiple opportunities to reflect on their integrated learning in the STREAM studio and we expect this to transition into classrooms too. Teachers are already working together to plan engaging inquiry-based learning experiences for upcoming units of study.
We can see in the data that these instructional practices and experiences for students are beneficial in helping the students grow in their knowledge and communication skills. We expect that experiences and training in the STREAM studio will increase the frequency of integrated inquiry-based learning in the classroom by increasing confidence for teachers.
stream studio
The PES STREAM Studio will be a place for learners to engage in authentic inquiry through systematically planned, rigorous learning experiences. The STREAM Studio is being developed as a physical space as well as a library of learning experiences for students. The goal is to use the STREAM Studio as a way to deepen all students’ understanding of content standards through authentic, inquiry-driven learning experiences.
The STREAM Studio is still in development during the 2022-2023 school year. The school librarian and principal are collaborating with grade level teachers to develop STREAM Studio challenges that align with STEM content standards and follow the Engineering Design Process, which will engage students in authentic inquiry. Teachers will be able to schedule time to bring their class to the STREAM Studio to participate in a learning experience. The teacher can facilitate the experience on their own or in collaboration with the librarian.
While we do not have data yet, there will be a reflection piece for each learning experience. The anticipated data that we gather from STREAM Studio learning experience reflections will be used to guide future experience design and to tweak current experiences. Reflections from both students and teachers will be important for making the STREAM Studio a central part of STEM education at Paine. By participating in these rigorous, investigative challenges, the EDP should become more ingrained in teachers’ everyday practices.
2nd Grade teachers exploring the new STREAM Studio
STREAM Studio/EDP Experience Example
Our principal sharing a STREAM Studio lesson and scheduling information with all faculty members
enrich
EnRICh teachers plan and implement rigorous and engaging project-based units of study that allow students to push the boundaries in STREAM through rigorous inquiry and collaboration. EnRICh began as a way to challenge and push the boundaries of all of our students academically. Students have an opportunity to select sessions based on their interests as well as be referred for specific sessions and teams, such as 4th and 5th grade Math Teams and Science Olympiad. In these sessions, students are the masters of their own learning with a small amount of teacher facilitation. The end result is for students to produce some type of product to showcase their learning. For example, in Paine Passports, students had to create a Google Slideshow to showcase the Seven Wonders of the World as well as create a travel brochure for their favorite.
When EnRICH first started, it included grades 4 and 5. After the success of the program, teachers and staff were able to expand to third grade, and now second grade as well. EnRICH gives students the opportunity to investigate and collaborate throughout planned project-based units of study. Students are very engaged and look forward to this time each week. Their excitement and buy-in has allowed this opportunity to grow each year.
EnRICH Student Survey Results:
One EnRICH example that has been offered to students is our Maze Runners course. Maze Runners is a unit of study that was planned and implemented as a rigorous project-based unit for students to be engaged and collaborate while investigating geometry and coding. Students designed a maze that included geometric shapes, angles, and obstacles using the Sphero robots as an explorer. Students used their understanding of geometry by collaboratively creating a maze that included right angles, acute angles, obtuse angles, parallel lines, and intersecting lines. Students had to collaborate with their groups to identify and investigate shapes that would fit the maze criteria. Students also used the inquiry process to make adjustments to their shapes and to code their Spheros. Students appeared to enjoy the weekly plans and activities. The final products were great, but we did not have enough time to make the shapes as detailed as we would have liked.
