STEM academies teach a hands-on approach
By Michael Martinez
mmartinez@rgj.com
The seventh-graders in Matt Oates’ science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, class at Dilworth Middle School were going full bore as teams measured wood and calculated dimensions to build medieval- style catapults as part of a hands-on exercise in math and architecture.
As Oates talked with visitors in his class, only one student interrupted to ask a question. The students worked amongst themselves to solve problems and complete their tasks.
Dilworth is one of seven schools that received federal School Improvement Grant money, one of five that have opened STEM academies and the only middle school with such a program.
In the first year of the academy, the goal has been to give students hands-on learning experience to connect with science, said Dilworth assistant principal and STEM coordinator Georgette Knecht.
“We’re giving them some experience on what project-based learning looks like, especially in our science classes and three of our elective classes that are honors science skills classes,” Knecht said.
Eighth-grader Zoey Jones is one the students in an advanced science course and is designing a presentation of the project being worked on in Oates class to share with parents and incoming students.
“We thought it was important to have a student design the presentation,” Knecht said.
Jones said the presentation will consist of photos and video of the projects that the students have worked on during the year in preparation for a Science Olympiad last Saturday at the U niversity of Nevada, Reno.
“It’s about challenging yourself,” Jones said of the STEM learning. “I’ve learned how to work in a team, communicate with people you may not know right away and get through problems.”
The catapults students were working on would be entered in the Science Olympiad as part of a “Storm the Castle” competition.
Oates, the STEM implementation specialist, said the hands-on learning was valuable in preparing the students for the Olympiad and called it an example of what they’d like to do more of.
“(It’s) not your typical ‘stand up and give a book report’ but how can we make this current and applicable to future jobs,” Oates said. “They’ve also designed bottle rockets and towers designed to hold weights.”
Dilworth staff recently held meetings to plan how the STEM curriculum will be implemented in its second year.
“The plan for next year’s curriculum at the school is for a ll teachers to have STEM
SEE STEM, 3B »
mmartinez@rgj.com
The seventh-graders in Matt Oates’ science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, class at Dilworth Middle School were going full bore as teams measured wood and calculated dimensions to build medieval- style catapults as part of a hands-on exercise in math and architecture.
As Oates talked with visitors in his class, only one student interrupted to ask a question. The students worked amongst themselves to solve problems and complete their tasks.
Dilworth is one of seven schools that received federal School Improvement Grant money, one of five that have opened STEM academies and the only middle school with such a program.
In the first year of the academy, the goal has been to give students hands-on learning experience to connect with science, said Dilworth assistant principal and STEM coordinator Georgette Knecht.
“We’re giving them some experience on what project-based learning looks like, especially in our science classes and three of our elective classes that are honors science skills classes,” Knecht said.
Eighth-grader Zoey Jones is one the students in an advanced science course and is designing a presentation of the project being worked on in Oates class to share with parents and incoming students.
“We thought it was important to have a student design the presentation,” Knecht said.
Jones said the presentation will consist of photos and video of the projects that the students have worked on during the year in preparation for a Science Olympiad last Saturday at the U niversity of Nevada, Reno.
“It’s about challenging yourself,” Jones said of the STEM learning. “I’ve learned how to work in a team, communicate with people you may not know right away and get through problems.”
The catapults students were working on would be entered in the Science Olympiad as part of a “Storm the Castle” competition.
Oates, the STEM implementation specialist, said the hands-on learning was valuable in preparing the students for the Olympiad and called it an example of what they’d like to do more of.
“(It’s) not your typical ‘stand up and give a book report’ but how can we make this current and applicable to future jobs,” Oates said. “They’ve also designed bottle rockets and towers designed to hold weights.”
Dilworth staff recently held meetings to plan how the STEM curriculum will be implemented in its second year.
“The plan for next year’s curriculum at the school is for a ll teachers to have STEM
SEE STEM, 3B »
Eighth-grader Mathew Fenlason works on a science experiment after school Thursday at Dilworth Middle School. Dilworth is one of four School Improvement Grant campuses.
Efren Johnson works on a science experiment after school on Thursday at Dilworth Middle School.
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