ST1.6

The interdisciplinary problem-based curriculum includes a focus on real world applications.

At the elementary school level it can be very difficult to get students interested in their classroom work, especially when they cannot see any relevance or applicability in either the knowledge or the process. Oftentimes they either don't "get it" or don't "care", and who can blame them? On a surface level many math and science standards seem totally foreign and disjointed from what they deal with or encounter in their lives, and the preferred use of technology is for gaming or social media applications. So how do we combat that? The National Research Council reports that students in high-performing STEM programs “have opportunities to learn science, mathematics, and engineering by addressing problems that have real-world applications.” (Establishing effective K-12 STEM education programs) Additionally, The Common Core Standards state: “Mathematically proficient students can apply the mathematics they know to solve problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace.” Distilling the NRC and Common Core quotes, in essence students must have opportunities to apply their learning to everyday life, helps us articulate both our short and long term STEM goals at UPES. We too have found that successful learning experiences, wherein a student is able to master content or concepts and transfer that knowledge to similar situations, typically arise from hands-on activities that tie-in directly to challenges or events from their home life or community. With young learners the best way to accomplish this is to first find out what topics students care about, and then create the instructional pathways that lead from their interests back to the related standards. When confronted with relevant and realistic scenarios, for example solving the logistical mathematics of feeding hungry people, or building a structure that can withstand F4 tornado winds, students already have a high interest or engagement level. They are then far more likely to utilize their higher order thinking skills because they already have a working background knowledge on the subject and can see how their classroom problem solving translates to real-world solutions.

Gardening in the Classroom

UPES is a proud partner of School Yard Roots Garden Project. We have had a school garden on campus for close to a decade, and it is not only utilized to enhance our science and math curriculum but also has become part of the very fabric of our school culture. Memorable learning experiences stay with us throughout our lives and influence the adult that we become. School gardening projects allow children to experience the world beyond the classroom as part of their own learning and development. Studies have shown that when children learn in a hands-on environment, they have improved moods, better learning experiences and decreased anxiety. Time in the garden allows for team building and promotes communication, purpose, responsibility, mindfulness, and can show children a deep respect and responsibility for taking care of our planet. Gardening in the classroom allows for the integration of all subjects, as well as the students ability to conquer a vast range of skills including, but not limited to: the basic vocabulary of plant sciences and their application to life and work in society, a working knowledge of the principles of scientific research and their application in simple projects, the understanding of the processes, techniques, methods, equipment, and available technology of science, the use of mathematical skills to estimate, approximate, and predict outcomes and results, how to understand the environment and its purpose, and how to apply the skills and knowledge gained to make decisions in everyday situations.

All Around Town: A Community Helpers Unit

A great example of an interdisciplinary project that has real world implications and connections is a unit on communities that Kindergarten teaches at the beginning of each school year. Due to the fact that Kindergarten is the first school experience for most of our student population, this community unit is used to introduce our students to the very idea of interdisciplinary STEM education. In order to make this unit relevant to young students the teachers create a parallel between the idea of the classroom as a "community" and the "community" that is the city of Tuscaloosa. This unit connects language arts standards with STEM learning by using mentor text, anchor charts, and writing prompts. The goal is to teach students about the professionals within their community, their functions, and how that relates to the education they will be receiving at UPES. Kindergarten takes a field trip "Around the Town" to meet the actual people that they have been reading about and researching. They visit police and fire stations, a bakery, the library, an architect's office, and the hospital. After visiting these people and places the students then used what they learned to plan and build their own community on a map grid. When finished this project will have incorporated elements of mathematics (1:1 correspondence), engineering (construction of buildings), technology (computer stations), and science (meeting practitioners of science).

Alabama History and the Civil Rights Movement

It is often a challenge to connect Social Studies and STEM learning. Much of Social Studies is historical and STEM is the future, thus they are often opposite sides of the same coin. However, University Place fourth graders were able to connect the two with a STEM unit on Alabama history and the Civil Rights Movement. Students began the unit by first discovering the topography and geographical features of Alabama that made the state a candidate to import slave labor to cultivate and harvest its crops. After studying agriculture and horticulture they created a 3D salt map of the state. Then they progressed through the entire history of their home state, starting with learning about the Native Americans indigenous to the region, and ending with current state affairs. During the part of the Alabama History unit covering the Civil Rights Movement, the students learned about the struggles that African Americans faced in Alabama in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Students participated in mock voting, protest, and marches. Because we are a STEM school, we pushed students to utilize technology in their studies which led them to record new civil rights songs, they designed Glogsters, and wrote and filmed their own I Have a Dream speech. One group wanted to represent their learning by building models of the infamous Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma and the 16th Street Baptist Church. Another group built their own "boom pipes", which are carefully measured and cut sections of PVC that will create various musical pitches and notes when beat on the ground. All of these projects were entirely student-led, with additional help provided by the University of Alabama Art Department. The culminating event was a public gallery show of their collective works at Tuscaloosa's Paul R. Jones Gallery.

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