Pinecrest Academy South Charter School
AdvancED STEM Certification
Indicator 1.3
Self-Assessment Rating: 3
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During PLTW (Project Lead the Way), a project based curriculum, PAC students work in small groups on various projects where they have to find solutions to problems, plan, create, modify and build again. This is all accomplished working in small collaborative groups. Students have the freedom to create and plan their own design with the kind of material they would like to use. Critical thinking and problem solving are scored through the usage of rubrics (please see attached PLTW rubric.)
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An area for growth and our main goal is to provide our students with more opportunities to personalize their instruction. This, at times, is difficult to achieve because we follow the standards and pacing for STEM. One way we can achieve this would be to create two STEM projects for a particular standard and give students the opportunity to select one of them. Another goal is the creation of our STEM/Maker Space cart with hands-on activities for choice making. This will encourage a choice making mind-set for our learners to support their self-directed learning.
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Attached please find student work products. Lucia’s PowerPoint showcases her year in STEM. This was an individual student PowerPoint. The Hamicay Bay Bridge PowerPoint was a cooperative group project.
The STEM learning experiences at PAC are enriched through Model Eliciting Activities (MEAs) found through www.cpalms.org. These activities pose a problem in which students have to read cooperatively and decide through creative ways on issues posed. All MEAs are realistic problem-solving activities that relate in two or more subject areas. One example of an MEA in second grade was the creation of a natural disaster kit. Students were given a budget of $100 to spend and each item on the list had a cost of $5. In order to not surpass the amount of “money” allotted, students had to prioritize the items they were going to use to build their “shutters” by ranking each item based on importance through cooperative dialogue. Students then built the hurricane shutter kits for three different families.
The students at Pinecrest Academy South engage in STEM lessons throughout the school year. Through STEM lessons, our students are given the opportunity of choice making for their prototypes. Students can research options that will include different kinds of materials or designs for their solution. Teachers facilitate this process through guidance and constant monitoring. Students are given freedom but with constraints. For example, students might be creating a bridge that supports the most weight. They can research and discuss types of bridges together with their group. However, a constraint might be the length of the bridge. At times, they are given choices to communicate their project. The rubric below demonstrates how students were given a choice of a Microsoft Office document to create in order to explain their STEM Recycling Project. They were able to choose from PowerPoint, Word, or even Publisher.
Our VEX-IQ Robotics program presents students with a problem that needs to be solved using the design process. The students maintain an engineering notebook that reflects their plan, design, revisions in the design, and drawings of the robot. Students have to drive to achieve the game goal and modify the robot as needed for the best performance. Therefore, presenting many opportunities for the students to make choices during the process. Students use Modkit to program and modify the program for their robots as needed for the autonomous portion of the Vex IQ competition.
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Computer assisted learning is a huge component of our curriculum. Our students have school and home access to the following websites: IXL, GoMath, Reading Plus, iReady, and Gizmos. Parents and students are encouraged at open house to utilize Khan Academy and teachers showcase specific videos correlated to a lesson in the classroom.
The display of recycling projects and choice making.
Students do have choice for their Science Fair Projects. This picture shows the display of science fair projects and waiting for the announcement of the winners.
Robotics demonstration at Science Fair.
Below are several rubric examples used to guide students when working cooperatively on their STEM projects. These rubrics encourage our students toward their metacognition and self-management of their learning.
