Being a STEM School is more than just teaching science, technology, engineering, and math.
As a part of the Place Schools program here at LEADPrep we believe that STEM is a way of thinking. We don’t just teach STEM we support students to be STEM thinkers.
Science is a verb.
Science is not just about test tubes and experiments – it’s about planting flowers and watching them grow, and knowing WHY they grow. Knowing why plants need to be repotted – what their roots need and how we know that.
Science is not always about sitting in a seat – it’s about getting out and getting your hands dirty! Science is about movement!
Technology is a tool.
What if bees become extinct? How would some plants reproduce? To design a technology that would replace what bees do takes a lot of research and creativity. What exactly do bees do? How do they do it? How would you make something that could do the same thing?
Students learn to think of technology as more than just phones and tablets – technology is something created to serve a purpose – to be a tool – and they can create it themselves!
Engineering is a design process.
Want a new sign? How deep should the hole be? How big is the sign allowed to be? Will it block traffic? What type of sign should it be? What should it say? Students ask questions, they go through a process to design what is necessary and get what is needed to create the end result they want.
Asking the right questions, knowing how to find answers, and putting those answers to use for the community helps students learn to use what they know.
Math is a language
Is this water good for salmon? How can we find out? Testing and getting the answers through calculations of oxygen in the water. What is the pH? How much phosphate is good for fish? Math takes numbers and equations and answers questions about how fish live, what they need, and what we need to do to help them.
Math is about numbers and calculations – but the answers they provide give us a language that tells us how things work, and what creates problems and makes things stop working.
LEADPrep is a STEM school and our students become STEM thinkers.
