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D1: Culture
D1: Culture
At Mt. Vernon High School our students and encouraged to incorporate the 5Cs of learning; collaboration, communication, creative thinking, critical thinking, and citizenship skills. The 5Cs of learning are skills that will serve them well as they progress through their learning pathways. As they enter the global job market, the 5Cs will also be employability skills employers want to see in their employees. The 5Cs are also a major focus of STEM best practices. All instruction, at MVHS, employs as many of these skills as possible.
Our teachers, in the Defined STEM Program, use their common plan time to prepare lessons that address the computer science standards. A STEM approach to lesson planning allows teachers to build in problem-solving and design-thinking opportunities for students to practice the 5Cs of learning. STEM infused lessons are prepared, planned, and executed weekly. Instructional and STEM coaches collaborate with classroom teachers to provide support, resources, and live-event learning.
Students’ attitudes and interests show growth in the area of STEM education. The STEM culture at MVHS is changing the way our students rank their priorities. One student noted, "I’m glad I had the opportunity to contribute to the MV STEM program, this real-life application of design has further inspired me to pursue a career in graphic design.”
D2: Curriculum
D2: Curriculum
We consider our curriculum as the skeleton of our STEM program. Just as bones provide a form for the body to stand, our curriculum provides the rich rigorous strength for our Defined STEM program. Curriculum, for teaching STEM lessons, consists of Project Lead the Way, and interdisciplinary teacher-made project-based, as well as community-based learning experiences.
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is delivered by our PLTW teacher and offered in the Computer Science Pathway. PLTW is a rich and robust curriculum vetted by the Indiana Department of Education as a platform for STEM instruction. PLTW lessons are evidence-based with rigorous research and multiple practices.
Having been a part of the PBL Works training, many of our classroom teachers are now creating project-based and community-based STEM lessons to engage their students. PBL lessons deepen learning and help students achieve success in college, career, and life. These lessons are shared with other teachers across our district. Collaborative planning time is used to refine lessons and plan engaging instruction. “PBL can be transformative for students, especially those furthest from educational opportunity. Now more than ever, we need young people who are ready, willing, and able to tackle the challenges of their lives and the world they will inherit - and nothing prepares them better than Project Based Learning.”*
In the early part of 2022, all of our teachers had the opportunity to be trained in project-based learning through Equitable Education Solutions. With 100% of our teachers trained, we will continue to build rich STEM units that engage students in critical thinking, creative thinking and transformational challenges.
"Evidence-Based Practices Overview." https://ngss.sdcoe.net/Evidence-Based-Practices/Evidence-Based-Practices-Overview. Accessed 24 Oct. 2021.
*"Why Do We Focus on Project Based Learning? | PBLWorks." https://www.pblworks.org/why-project-based-learning. Accessed 24 Oct. 2021.
D3: Instruction
D3: Instruction
Instruction is the muscle that moves our curriculum forward and into the minds and hands of our students. Without dedicated and passionate administrators and teachers the curriculum will not move. Our muscle lies in the fact that our staff believes in the STEM approach and in its power to help our students obtain the skills needed to succeed in the future. Like the muscles of a body, our instruction provides the support and protection our students need to engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate the STEM curriculum.
Our School Board members have initiated feedback from teachers on their needs to provide a quality program. They have provided listening ears and promised support in establishing a successful STEM program. Administrative support and protection is witnessed in the non-evaluative walk through feedback forms and discussions. Teachers are provided the support to try new approaches to presentation and implementation of STEM lessons.
Our Technology Director provides teacher-vetted modern equipment/devices and programs to make STEM instruction engaging for all. Technology plays an important part of every day instruction in every classroom at MVHS.
Instructional, as well as STEM, coaches provide assistance to teachers in the form of instructional best practices, curated resources, collaboratively planned units of study, video self-reflections, and the construction of learning challenges.
By providing instructional support for our teachers, they in turn provide support to our students as they navigate the STEM curriculum. As teachers provide rich group interactions and instruction, they also provide students with non-evaluative debriefing opportunities where students are allowed to refine and practice their collaborative and communicative group skills.
D4: Partnerships
D4: Partnerships
Our tenets of collaboration, communication, creative thinking, critical thinking, and citizenship skills are strengthened by our community partnerships. We value our community partnerships as the life-blood coursing through our Defined STEM program. Defining life-blood as the indispensable factor or influence that gives something its strength and vitality, our partners bring new ideas, opportunities, and experiences to our teachers and students through their continued support of our STEM efforts. With the help of our partners, we have created learning environments that are conducive to the daily activities of a STEM program. Those environments feature flexible seating, movable furniture, feature walls, instructional kits, recycled materials, building supplies, and robotics, to name a few. Our partners give monetary support, instruction, career exposure, and multiple opportunities for students to be involved in problem solving, construction, and live-event learning. Through our partnerships, students are exposed to successful individuals who are experts in their jobs, many of which are STEM related. Being able to foster those relationships, whether they be advisory or active participants, only strengthens our instruction and educational experiences.
We are happy to say that our partnerships are continually forming and growing as we learn to reach out and invite the community to be an active part of our STEM instruction.
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