ST1.2
Students work independently and collaborative in an inquiry-based environment that encourages finding creative solutions to authentic and complex problems.
STEM students thrive on personalized learning opportunities and are empowered by working collaboratively on complex, open-ended tasks. Through an inquiry-based approach for building knowledge and blended-learning experiences, instructors develop a more inclusive, interactive and creative approach to teaching. As a result, students develop self-confidence, independence, and pride in their accomplishments as they use newly-acquired content knowledge to explore, design, test, modify, and solve problems which exist in the real world.
Almost all interdisciplinary and long-term projects begin with extensive interdisciplinary team-work, wherein teachers work with various stakeholders to plan and organize Problem Based Learning (PBL) experiences that present open-ended, locally-relevant, and multifaceted challenges in which students are able to direct their own learning. Each realistic scenario focuses on relevant and current issues in need of a solution (eliminating water pollution, using water to create energy, making affordable prosthetic devices for children, etc.). This approach allows students to employ creative liberty within their learning processes.
Our STEM program’s purpose is to ignite a dramatic shift in each student’s overall cognitive perception and ability to construct new knowledge. Once they have mastered this objective, the doors which had been previously closed by confusion may be opened with a newfound enlightenment.
Because of district and state mandated assessments, some instructors feel restricted in their ability to fully utilize inquiry-based learning processes. It is easy, when under significant pressure, to revert to traditional methods of instruction (i.e. lecture) to ensure that students receive all of the information necessary to be successful on impending objective assessments. We are working to overcome these barriers with increased professional development, and interdisciplinary team-work to find innovative solutions for the delivery of content.
Almost all interdisciplinary and long-term projects begin with extensive interdisciplinary team-work, wherein teachers work with various stakeholders to plan and organize Problem Based Learning (PBL) experiences that present open-ended, locally-relevant, and multifaceted challenges in which students are able to direct their own learning. Each realistic scenario focuses on relevant and current issues in need of a solution (eliminating water pollution, using water to create energy, making affordable prosthetic devices for children, etc.). This approach allows students to employ creative liberty within their learning processes.
Our STEM program’s purpose is to ignite a dramatic shift in each student’s overall cognitive perception and ability to construct new knowledge. Once they have mastered this objective, the doors which had been previously closed by confusion may be opened with a newfound enlightenment.
Because of district and state mandated assessments, some instructors feel restricted in their ability to fully utilize inquiry-based learning processes. It is easy, when under significant pressure, to revert to traditional methods of instruction (i.e. lecture) to ensure that students receive all of the information necessary to be successful on impending objective assessments. We are working to overcome these barriers with increased professional development, and interdisciplinary team-work to find innovative solutions for the delivery of content.
Representative Open-Ended Problems: Students are confronted with open-ended problems numerous times throughout the program within their years in the STEM Academy. Below are examples of problem-based learning or case studies found within various subject areas.
Instructions to Students for Approaching Problem-Solving: This is a poster our STEM Academy teachers created outlining the problem-solving process. This serves as a reminder of the process whenever they may encounter a more challenging topic.
Student Explanation of Collaborative Work: Students have the opportunity to collaborate and explain results from experiments and inquiries. Explanations of this work can be expressed through essays, PowerPoint, Prezi, videos, etc. Below are videos of some students explaining their work on cross-curricular projects.