Model: Program culture consistently honors, encourages and incentivizes innovation in STEM among students
4.4 - Culture of Innovation
Our STEM Lab is set up to encourage innovation in our students. Every month, we introduce a new engineering theme with students. The month begins with a short video clip introducing the engineering theme on PTV News. Once the theme has been introduced, we use do weekly trivia questions and career videos that connect to the theme. We then set up the STEM lab with materials that connect to the engineering theme. For example, September's theme was structural engineering. In the lab, we set up legos, planks, K'Nex, and Blocks. Students were able to explore with the materials and use the engineering design process to create something new. We call this Tinker Time at Patriots...a time to explore, make mistakes, and make connections to materials that relate to our engineering theme.
Along with the monthly theme, we also introduce a Design Squad Challenge. This is a purely optional engineering challenge that requires our kids to think outside the box and create something new that fits our challenge. For example, our September structural engineering challenge was to design a book holder for the library that would display their favorite book. All kids who participate in the Design Squad Challenge are awarded with a certificate that the principal and STEM Coach deliver to their classroom.
Patriots TV news also supports our quest for innovation by featuring a "Right Now" segment each week. During this segment, kids are featured that have created, invented, or accomplished an outstanding achievement at a young age. Our hope is that by sharing what kids of the world are doing, we can inspire our kids to think outside the box and be innovative "Right Now!"
Each month we share career videos on the news, create activities in the STEM lab, have trivia questions, and present a design squad challenge to students. All of these activities center around the monthly engineering theme. One of the ways we encourage innovation is with our Design Squad. Each month, students who chose to participate in the Design Squad challenge have their work displayed throughout the school, as well as on our website. We also make an effort to have our principal and STEM coach visit Design Squad members in their classrooms to award them with certificates in front of their peers in order to provide incentives for participation.
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Along with our monthly engineering theme, we also have a Maker Space or Tinker Time set up in the STEM lab for classes. Teachers sign up to bring their students to the Lab to explore materials that relate to the engineering theme. Kids explore and create in order to learn about the engineering design process and materials used by specific types of engineers.
Below are the certificates we use to celebrate STEM innovation during the Science Fair. We line up all 400 projects in our hallways and our administrators and instructional coaches use the awards to encourage design principles and innovative thinking.
Patriots TV news, features a "Right Now" segment each week. During this segment, kids are featured that have created, invented, or accomplished an outstanding achievement at a young age. Our hope is that by sharing what kids of the world are doing, we can inspire our kids to think outside the box and be innovative "Right Now!"