ST1.7

STEM educators collaborate as an interdisciplinary team to plan, implement, and improve integrated STEM learning experiences.

One of the reasons we believed that UPES would be able to successfully adopt, or shift to, a STEM approach (style, philosophy) to educating students was because we had a faculty that operated under the guise that "teaching best practices" naturally included a high level of across-the-board collaboration and teamwork. The idea of integrated learning experiences was nothing new for them. Most had been working together for more than five years and were already utilizing each other at every opportunity to address the constant struggle of balancing academic concerns (enrichment and intervention needs) and the time constraints they faced on a daily basis. In its nascent stages, this cross-curricular instruction was done mostly to give students an additional or alternate method of accessing content. Our music teacher reexplained fractions through musical notes, beats and rhythms. In PE the coach would have workout stations set up in the formation of our solar system and students would learn planetary facts as they completed a fitness cycle. And in art class there might be an extension for social studies and reading block because it gave the students a way to express their understanding in a nontraditional mode.

The early successes we witnessed from this level of teamwork led us to develop a more sophisticated and sustainable framework for full-on interdisciplinary education. A willingness to collaborate and plan was already in place, so our main challenges have been more on the logistical side: How do we ensure that all parties are involved in the planning process? Where will teachers consistently get support in delivering instruction? What STEM learning experiences can we intertwine with the current standards or skills being taught? We answered these questions by hiring a full-time STEM Coordinator and developing a master schedule for all faculty members. Our master schedule allots dedicated planning time each day for teachers and once weekly for grade levels to meet with specialists (i.e. media/library, music, art, PE). The STEM Coordinator facilitates these meetings to assist in the development of STEM activities and units, always with an eye towards content crossover opportunities. The agenda is relatively simple: Plan. Implement. Extend. In the planning phase teachers begin by brainstorming activities, possible lesson tie-ins with other subjects, and any potential methods that students might be able to demonstrate competency or understanding. We are especially cognizant of sustaining a concerted effort to incorporate engineering and technology (often the toughest disciplines to meld with elementary education standards and foundations) into plans whenever possible. In the implementation phase the STEM Coordinator looks for opportunities wherein they might connect with a specialist, what technology or resources could be utilized and whether additional support, such as the UA STEM Team or one of our professional partners, should be added to the project. Lastly, the group together looks for ways to extend or improve the learning, possibly through a field trip, extra curricular activity or community homework assignment. Through these daily and weekly meetings we've been able to establish an even greater level of school-wide collegiality and ensure that STEM learning experiences are part of the every day fabric and culture of education here at UPES.

UPES Master Schedule 17-18 _4.doc

Collaborative Planning and Scheduling

Each week our grade level teams meet with our STEM Coordinator to discuss the integration of content, ideas and disciplines. These collaboration efforts produce the type of cross-curricular activities and lessons that allow students to access material and information in a multitude of ways. The main goal of these meetings is to provide students with a means in which to make academic and intellectual connections. For instance, while outlining the upcoming reading unit on Leonardo DaVinci, one team noticed the connections to be made to math and science through DaVinci's catapult. The teachers used the literature assignment to guide corresponding kinetic energy lessons in science and then arranged to build mini catapults to utilize in math class as they worked on measurement and data collection. Another recurring outcome, and type of connection, that arises out of these planning sessions is the arranging of outside partners, professionals and community stakeholders to come help provide additional resources or supports to the upcoming lessons. An example of this is when our STEM Coordinator brought in the Planning Commissioner of Tuscaloosa City to assist a teacher that was reading about towns and cities across the nation.

Something else we've realized during the development of our program is that we must set aside schedule time for STEM-specific learning experiences. In a typical elementary school schedule ninety-minute reading and math blocks take up the majority of the day. Even when allowing for cross-curricular activities and lessons, it is vital to find available portions of the weekly schedule that can be solely dedicated to pursuing computer science and coding, Lego engineering, gardening and Club Day (See Master Schedule, Above). All of our teachers understand that these "specials" are at times stand-alone in nature (not necessarily directly related to the current classroom content), and can take them away from core instruction time, but are still an invaluable part of an holistic learning environment.

Music & STEM

One great example of collaborative, interdisciplinary education is the pairing of our music and math programs at University Place. We are extraordinarily lucky to have a music teacher that is interested in highlighting the ways in which music education can be an additional resource in the development of mathematical thinking and skill. Many times we've witnessed the "AHA!" moment when a student realizes the connection between the numbers they're struggling to make sense of in class and the songs that they are exploring through instrumentation. Children typically love music yet rarely recognize that the rhythms and beats they are utilizing are entirely mathematical in nature:

Meter – Beats are arranged in repeated groupings or SETS

Pitch - Corresponds to plotting points on a grid

Rhythms - Fractional breakup of a note sequence

Kinesthetic Fractions

UPES music classes work on this fractional relationship in many ways. We often focus on equivalent fractions, whether equivalent to the whole or to smaller note value that is serving as our unit of measurement, the beat. We not only experience the fractional nature of rhythm in singing, playing, and writing, we also experience it through movement. When putting these fractions in our bodies, we may do so independently, in personal space or may put them in a more complicated synergistic activity. In the included video, we begin with the whole, then progress to increasingly smaller fractions, then reverse, all the while measuring by the consistent steady beat, the quarter note. Through collaborative planning, our math teachers then use this method and the music to reinforce their lessons on fractions.

video-1520354304.mp4

Seuss and STEM

Collaboration is a huge part of the reason the students and teachers are successful at UPES. We believe that two minds are better than one, and for a STEM curriculum to be successful it takes a team. The UPES faculty is that team. All faculty, both within and across grade levels, collaborate with one another. One example of this is Suess and STEM. Each year all of our students from Pre-K to Fifth grade participate in Read Across America week. This week is dedicated to Dr. Suess and the impact he has made on children's literature. We believe that reading is the cornerstone for all learning and should be directly connect to STEM. Our teachers work to create week long thematic units that integrate Dr. Suess themed content across all academic disciplines. Our students learn to be creative, innovative, and imaginative by studying this influential children's book author. They learn how to think outside the box and challenge themselves to find alternative solutions to problems. At UPES Read Across America week culminates with a school-wide event that we like to call Seuss and STEM Day! A few of the notable Seuss and STEM experiences our students have been able to partake are the "Cat in the Hat" tower challenge, the Ten Apples Up on Top Challenge, the Truffala tree challenge, the "Go Dog Go" racetrack challenge, making Oobleck, and painting with baking soda and vinegar!

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