Pinecrest Academy South Charter School
AdvancED STEM Certification
Indicator 1.2
Self-Assessment Rating: 3
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For five consecutive years, we have incorporated Project Lead The Way Launch (PLTW) into our curriculum. PLTW is a special area class which motivates our students to explore activities and adopt an engineering mindset. With the understanding that children are naturally curious, PLTW modules allow this inquisitiveness to be explored so that our learners can tackle the challenges presented in order to meet the demands in future STEM-related careers. Students in all grade levels have access to iPads and utilize a variety of apps to organize ideas and sort them visually.
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Learners at Pinecrest Academy South work both independently and collaboratively utilizing the Engineering Design Process within their classrooms. First and foremost, STEM Lessons are created utilizing the Mathematics Florida Standards as well as the Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards with an emphasis on embedding the Florida Standards. Both subject areas’ standards are embedded and include the usage of technology and engineering. Students are assigned real-world problems in which they independently create ways to solve and identify possible materials that will help problem-solve. At first, students are to brainstorm independently but they then are given the task to work collaboratively with a group of students in order to share ideas. Teachers, assistants, and, at times, parents ensure that all learners are engaged and are active participants throughout the process. Respecting others’ ideas and learning to form a consensus is taught through role play within the classroom. At times, when a consensus for a solution cannot be achieved, groups have a chance to explore multiple solutions to solve problems.
One insightful resource our teachers utilize is the State of Florida’s official source for standards called CPALMS…found at www.cpalms.org. Teachers are able to access resources to effectively implement teaching standards pertaining to their grade level and subject area. STEM-embedded lessons are conducted through Model Eliciting Activities known as MEAs. Through these activities, students solve realistic problems and are able to share their findings through letters. Students are exposed to real-world problems through data analysis and apply context vocabulary through their proposals. Not only do students gain knowledge in mathematics and science but literacy is a huge component as students read to learn about the problem and communicate their supported feedback.
Labs are a huge component of our STEM foundation. Through Gizmos, students are given the opportunity to explore, predict and prove themselves as scientists and mathematicians. Found through www.explorelearning.com, Gizmos has over 400 simulations in which students virtually use tools to measure, discover the effects of motion on a cart, and visit each planet without leaving their classroom.
Students working in groups to research types of bridges.
Kindergarten students engineering a structure to support five pumpkins.
Model Eliciting Activity from CPALMS creating a cost effective design to cover a playground.
Squid dissection lesson through Frost Science Museum.
Students using VEX IQ Kit engineering in action.
STEM embeddedness within departmentalized grade levels has presented some challenges. One of our goals is to ensure that a unit is able to be included across the curriculum. This year, we were able to conduct an Oil Spill Challenge for a STEM lesson in which the Reading/Language Arts teachers were a part of. They supported the reading and researching component of the lesson and created a career assignment related to the Oil Spill. Our future goal is to purposefully set aside professional development days to plan for cross-curricular STEM lessons. Although we often plan and create STEM lessons that are real-world problems with authentic challenges, it would be ideal to allow more free choice for the students. The lessons do allow for opportunities for free choices but often have constraints in which students must follow.
Students calculating the density of an unknown mineral through Gizmos.
Student presenting her Recycling Project PowerPoint on a bird feeder.
The lesson plan below not only demonstrates the rigor in our curriculum but a planned STEM lesson.
The Kindergarten Lesson Plan shows how STEM is broken into its components for the engineering of a structure to support five pumpkins.
