LESSONS LEARNED
Fired Up About STEM By Drew Gieseke | Photos courtesty of MICDS
I
n summer 2019, a group of passionate 10th grade teachers at Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School developed a curriculum designed to maximize how the educators focused on science and engineering when teaching chemistry. The re-imagined approach – which is centered on a project involving student-made fire extinguishers – promotes student collaboration and discourse and advances the use of driving questions. The science department wrapped the unit at the end of 2021, concluding one of the most robust and innovative lessons in the school. “It is only through exposure to authentic disciplinary experiences with open-ended questions, problems and unresolved solutions that students develop a deeper, more connected level of knowledge,” says Paul Zahller, JK-12 science chair. MICDS students kicked off the multiexperiment unit by making “corkomodules“ and microrockets – fittingly made from cork – to lay the foundation for what eventually led to designing and building the fire extinguishers. Students first applied for jobs and then were assigned to working teams to design, fabricate, document and iterate their fire extinguisher product. Students also heard from guest speakers in the engineering and environmental health and safety fields to inspire and engage them. Participants with the most functional and creative designs – approximately 10 kids – then presented to a member of the Ladue Fire Department, MICDS’s
18 March 4, 2022
| LadueNews.com
chief of safety and science teachers, and peers. “This unit was very hands-on, which allowed for a deeper understanding of the material,” says Kenadi McDile, an MICDS student who participated in the project. “Every time one of our designs failed, a new lesson was learned and applied to the next design. This also allowed for not only a connection to the material but also a chance to have a different type of experience working with a classmate.” Zahller notes that the fire extinguishers the
students developed weren’t graded by faculty. This helped encourage kids to take risks and be creative with their designs. The staff found that, although the project challenged their students at first, kids exhibited growth and confidence in their collaboration, their comfort with materials, their use of advanced technology and their aptitude for digital fabrication. In other words, the unit was a resounding success – one the school hopes to duplicate for future students. “It is immediately clear to any outside observer that the students were the ones most involved in their own learning,” Zahller says. “Our hope is to create projects of this scope and impact in every STEM classroom at MICDS.” MICDS, 101 N. Warson Road, St. Louis, 314-993-5100, micds.org
