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One of the goals of the Beaufort County School District is to extend learning beyond boundaries for all our students. Two years ago, the district embarked upon a bold quest to improve student achievement in math and science. Two programs were developed: AMES and STEM.
The Advanced Math, Engineering and Science program was developed to draw students to Beaufort Elementary, which was half empty at that time. With 121 students now in AMES, Beaufort Elementary is nearly full.
Admission to the magnet program is by application and interview. The interdisciplinary STEM units developed at AMES are shared with other elementary schools in the district.
What is STEM?
The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math initiative was developed to strengthen intermediate level students on math and science skills. Students in grades 5 and 6 at Whale Branch MiddleSchool began the STEM initiative two years ago; Lady's Island Middle School, Whale Branch Elementary School and St. Helena Elementary School were added in 2009-10.
Teachers at these schools collaborated to develop units of study that would create a solid foundation in each major subject area and provide hands-on application in simulated and real-life settings.
STEM students are engaged in interdisciplinary-, science- and math-focused units that are as varied as the exploration of the local environment (including flora and fauna and aquaculture), to the design, building and programming of robots. The curriculum invites students to connect their own experiences and interests to their studies and to extend their thinking and creativity in the analysis and synthesis of the topics at hand.
This encourages the integration of science and mathematics and provides opportunities to use technology and engineering design in the process.
Exploration, investigation, research, inquiry, reporting, collaborating, testing and demonstrating student learning in creative ways is at the core of the STEM experience.
This is further enhanced by extending and integrating this type of learning beyond the traditional classroom walls to deepen understanding and put learning into context.
Actively exploring the resources within ourcommunity like the educational divisions of Penn Center and Hunting Island, as well as the banks of the Whale Branch River, provide experiences that enhance and deepen skill development. This type of real-life application allows students to deepen their conceptual understanding of the subject and encourages the connections to relevant situations and contexts.
Further, these experiences have been enhanced by activities and demonstrations from local scientists and agencies, such as the master naturalists from the Low Country Institute, scientists from the National Science Center, and representatives from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, Clemson Extension Center, the Nemours Wildlife Foundation and the Beaufort Conservation District Partnerships. These local scientists and agencies foster opportunities for our students to work alongside masters in the STEM professions.
These professionals help broaden our students' horizons and teach them how the STEM skills are used to solve everyday problems, thus emphasizing their importance and their place in the world of work.
In-school field trips and technology-based virtual field trips have furthered the development of STEM skills and their applications in the classroom, but our students have engaged in out-of-school trips, as well.
Visits to the Charleston Aquarium, the Coastal Discovery Science Museum, Riverbanks Zoo and weather centers have given teachers the opportunity to help students make connections between core content areas and their direct application.
The year culminated in several major field trips that included taking the older students to NASA Space Camp at Cape Canaveral, Fla., Challenger Space Center and Educational Environmental camp in the mountains and by the sea. Many of our students indicated that it was the "most memorable" experience of their young lives.
STEM students gain confidence that no other course of study can give them. As they begin to experience and view the world through the lens of their studies, they become more certain of the approaches and options that are available to them. Leaders in business and industry are looking for workers who are well rounded, are oral communicators, can work collaboratively and have a sense of social responsibility.
What better way to prepare our young people than by exposing them to settings where they can observe and internalize these skills by moving beyond their classroom, school and county?
As educators, it is our job to stretch our students beyond the boundaries of the islands of Beaufort, ensuring that they know the world is available to maximize their learning goals. Preparing students to compete in a global marketplace is an important component of our purpose and mission. Today's students must be equipped with the tools that are applicable to their lives now and in the future.
Determining which skills will be the most important to students in order to ensure success in a future job market is critical; especially in today's world, where many traditional professions are in constant flux or have not yet even been defined.
Equipping students for success, for positions of leadership and productivity, is a challenge. What we are certain of is that preparing students for the future requires exposure to opportunities that will open up the whole world to them while providing real-life learning activities that emphasize critical thinking, logic and problem solving.
Valerie Truesdale is superintendent of the Beaufort County School District
