LOWER SCHOOL: BUILDING STEM FOUNDATIONS

Building STEM

Foundations

SEEING STUDENTS MAKE REAL-LIFE CONNECTIONS

to learning is one of the most BY BEV BIRMINGHAM, exciting things ASSISTANT HEAD OF in education.

LOWER SCHOOL

At TCA, we have the opportunity to provide a wide variety of experiences to help foster these connections. One area in particular that we have worked to develop is our STEM program. We began to implement STEM classes in our rotation of specials classes about four years ago in the Lower School. With an ongoing commitment to provide hands-on, inquiry-based learning through these classes, our students have grown in their higher-level thinking skills in fun, innovative ways. Our STEM classes have truly become one of the favorites among our kids. Our vision for STEM has continued to grow over the years to help students see a bigger picture of using their learning in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math for others’ good. We want to see our students use their knowledge in these areas for the glory of God to help contribute to their community. This program, with the help of our teacher, Mrs. Heidi Aiken, consistently raises the bar for our students in grades preK–4.

Through work in the STEM lab, students develop crucial skills necessary in an increasingly science-and-technology-driven world. Students work together to imagine, plan, create and test their ideas together through a variety of hands-on activities. To help foster communication, students work in groups where they learn to express ideas, agree or disagree as well as collaborate with their peers. Students also use their limitless creativity to bring their ideas to life. For example, our preschoolers and kindergarteners are constantly building, exploring and experiencing new science concepts. In first and second grade, we can code directions for our robots and then build a maze for the robots to navigate. Students can take it further by turning the maze into a community with city streets and working

Second-graders complete the “tallest tower challenge,” building multiple towers using varying numbers of planks for the foundation and seeing how high their towers can go using 40 planks. Students have to solve problems related to the strength of the foundation and balancing the weight to provide the stability needed for a solid structure.

lights. In third and fourth grade, students build a LEGO frog and then code it to jump or make noise.

One of the most powerful STEM lessons was inspired from the book I Dream of Water, which depicts the story of a young girl who is responsible for collecting water for her family in Africa. In the story the character walks two miles—8,000 steps—to the well and two miles back multiple times a day just so her family can survive one more day. We calculated how many steps we take at TCA to get to the nearest water source in order to compare data. She carries a jerrycan of water that holds five gallons, so the students took a short walk carrying four gallons of water just to understand how challenging this would be for anyone. From there, we investigated the process of building wells in areas prone to drought. The students were able to see how life completely changes in a community where there is a well nearby. Children can attend school instead of fetching water for their family. This lesson also addressed implications of not having clean water. Students then built models of wells to begin to understand how water is pulled from the earth, all while learning about the engineering processes in other countries.

STEM develops important critical thinking skills by challenging students to create plans and construct models, then evaluate and potentially even redesign. And, even more importantly, we have an absolute blast! The student’s enthusiasm for STEM is so exciting! What these kids do every day is quite amazing.

As we continue to develop 21st-century learners in the Lower School, this program will be vital to our students. We are thrilled to have such a program at TCA, and we look forward to what our students will be able to give to the world because of the learning that comes from STEM.