NARRATIVE

Winfield Middle School provides equitable opportunities for students to engage in high-quality STEM learning.

Students are provided the ability to experience and achieve in an equitable learning environment. Our teachers are not merely focused on preventing the negative consequences of inequity, but on how students can benefit as a result of equity.

True classroom equity is exemplified at Winfield Middle School by ensuring that all students are both respected and included, regardless of their individual backgrounds or abilities. Classroom climates are created to ensure that every student has accessibility to the educational resources and rigor they require at any given time. This type of STEM/project-based climate can be exasperating for teachers. Therefore, the use of autonomy to encourage accountability, independence, and self-direction allows the student to become empowered in a positive way, and as a result, a driving force for learning in the classroom.

Realizing that each student brings strength and talent to both the class and lessons, Winfield teachers are able to help our students believe that there is a true value and necessity for both their skills and perspective in the classroom. Empowering our students and releasing autonomy helps build self-confidence. As a result, students are not inhibited by more responsibility and thrive while engaged in cooperative learning. Drawing from each other’s strengths, they develop the ability to succeed when faced with rigorous STEM activities.

Rigor, by definition, is the result of work that challenges students’ thinking in new and interesting ways. The recent pandemic upended our entire education system. Unfortunately, distance learning and limited operations exacerbated inequalities for our low-socio-economic population. The increased use of technology during the coronavirus pandemic has, therefore, proven the importance of our STEM curriculum at Winfield City which is designed for all students of all backgrounds to prepare them for both local and global challenges. Our investment in the current inequity in STEM education will pay dividends for future generations and ensure that Winfield Middle School remains a leader in STEM education.

Strengths: Winfield City School's strength for Standard 1 is Engagement. Our school strives to serve all students and give all students a chance to explore STEM education and STEM fields. Administration, educators, parents, and community members strive to give all Winfield students amazing opportunities that take place in and outside of the standard classroom.

Opportunities for Improvement: Winfield City Schools shows room for growth with Results and Sustainability. In the recent Covid pandemic years, Winfield City Schools has been forced to back off with some face-to-face encounters and partnerships outside of the school system. The stakeholders have continuously supported us, but the distance that the pandemic required made collecting data difficult. It also slowed down the growth that Winfield City expected to have with the STEM initiatives.

Genetic Variation

Students used plastic DNA models in order to construct a short sequence that represents a gene and to illustrate how errors made in copying DNA result in genetic mutations and consequently variation.

PH Testing

Students learned about how pollution affects ecosystems and then tested the pH of various areas of a fictional town. They then had to use that data to determine where the pollution was coming from and what steps needed to be taken to mitigate the damage.

Hello!

Students created wearable nametags to introduce themselves to the class but they couldn’t use ANY writing utensil! Supplies included an index card, paper clip, yarn, scissors. Each student worked through the Engineering

Design Process to create their

finished product.

GEMS

The GEMS (Girls Excelling in Math and Science) clubs were started in 1994 by a parent, Laura Reasoner Jones, who was dismayed to hear her 10-year old daughter Julie opts herself out of attending a magnet school because “Math is hard, Mom.” She started the first GEMS club at Julie’s school for her and her friends in fifth and sixth grade, and the clubs have spread all over the world. Originally, the GEMS mission was to encourage girls to take higher-level classes on math and science in high school so that they did not limit their options in higher education. Now, our mission is to ensure that a girl sees herself as a change agent or a problem-solver, a possible technology entrepreneur, engineer, or a scientist, and as a person who makes a difference. Over the years, GEMS has expanded its mission to encourage girls to pursue education and careers in all STEM fields, including technology, engineering, making, and related high-paying, entrepreneurial enterprises.

GEMS at WMS focuses on introducing 5^th through 8^th grade girls to VEX IQ Robotics. The study of robotics inherently incorporates all four pillars of STEM. VEX IQ is a snap-together robotics system designed from the ground up to provide this opportunity to future engineers of all skill levels. By packaging advanced concepts into an accessible package, the system also naturally encourages teamwork, problem solving, and leadership for students.

Robotics/Coding

The earlier we introduce children to coding, the more comfortable they will be when presented with more in-depth learning opportunities in middle and high school. Also, early exposure to coding helps teach children how important it is to understand computers as the valuable tools that they are rather than merely fun playthings. Learning the fundamentals of coding provides students with skills that will serve them well in virtually any career they choose. Plus, there are few things that ignite and excite a room full of learners like a coding class, especially when the coding is used in conjunction with robotics.

Children learn with all of their senses, and robotics aligns more naturally with the active, hands-on development of young students. Studies have shown that a multi-sensory approach activates a larger number of cognitive connections. When working with robotics, students are emotionally and physically engaged, which results in active learning and enhanced long-term experiential recall.

In Grade 5, WMS students continue to use and build on the fundamentals of robotics and coding. With each grade level, there is a development of exposure to coding and robotics. The focus is tow-fold. First, the use of coding and robotics reinforces curriculum standards. Second, students learn skill sets that will enhance learning and prepare them for college and their careers. Children want to learn how to code and the lasting benefits building these skill sets include logical thinking, problem-solving, persistence, collaboration, and communication.

Students arrive at the middle school well versed in coding and ready to program Bee-Bots and Dash and Dots. Those students who have a desire to pursue coding can join the middle school robotics team, which competes in VEX Robotics Competitions. We give credit to this coding and robotic knowledge to the fact that coding begins in our Pre-K classes as they learn with "Code-N-Go Mouse." The progression flows from grade to grade at the elementary level as students learn to code using the Blockly language to program the Code-N-Go Mouse, Bee-Bots, and Dash-N-Dots.

Communication and collaboration are critical skills to prepare young people for the world outside the classroom doors. Robotics challenges offer students opportunities in all forms of socialization, including listening skills, and considering and evaluating alternative perspectives. Robotic challenges offer students exciting opportunities to build and express their imaginations. There is an authenticity of purpose inherent in bringing the seed of an idea to fruition: from the brainstorming phase to the construction of artifacts that have real-world value. The desire to create is nothing new. A combination of hearts, minds, and bodies has always contributed to the betterment of our world. Robotics values ingenuity and the limitless possibilities of creation.

Survey Data

Student, parent, and teacher surveys help Winfield City Schools make inclusive and equitable decisions.

2021 WMS Title I Parent Survey May 2020.pdf

Parent Surveys

Title I Surveys surveys are completed annually.

Teacher Surveys

Technology surveys, culture and climate surveys, and curriculum surveys are completed annually.

SurveysReportPrint3682338759136328275.pdf

SurveysReportPrint320831601481946338.pdf

Student Surveys

Students have the opportunity to complete surveys throughout the school year.

After School Academic Tutor Needs Survey.docx

Community Partnerships

We have a strong relationship with our community. It is through these partnerships and input from these stakeholders that our STE(A)M initiative has been successful.

Wallace State Greenhouse Partnership

3M Partnership

Wallace State Greenhouse Partnership

Encore

Rehabilitation, Inc.

3M Partnership