Students at Brownsville Elementary work on Turing Tumbles, a logic puzzle that involves navigating a marble down a mechanical computer. The exercise follows a science-fiction storyline and students must use their reading skills to decipher what to do.
While it might not feel like it, students are learning about more than just coding or circuits. Every EiE lesson can be integrated with lessons from other subjects such as English Language Arts (ELA) and reading.
Jeff Friers, a K-8 STEM specialist for CK Schools, says that when students combine science with other subjects, they apply what they've learned in fun and exciting ways. This can help students better understand and remember what they've learned.
One such example is Turing Tumble, a marble-powered mechanical computer that requires students to solve logic puzzles as they follow the story of Alia, who crash lands on a planet. Celinda Elvik’s class at Brownsville Elementary spent time immersing themselves in this science fiction world, and solved logic puzzles that involve guiding a marble down a maze powered by a mechanical computer.
The exercise fine-tunes their problem-solving skills and integrates several subjects at one time.
“It seems like it’s math, science, and reading all in one,” said student Nia.
Turing Tumbles isn’t the only STEM lesson that covers multiple subjects.
For example, students at Brownsville Elementary made solar ovens while reading a story about a young girl in Botswana, who develops her own solar oven with green engineering.
Teachers have seen the positive impact in student engagement by this approach to learning.
For example, some students in Nicole King’s second grade class did not enjoy writing. At all.
But after King offered them a way to make their writing come to life with a program called Scratch Jr., a visual programming application designed to introduce elementary students to programming skills, they couldn’t stop writing.
They even worked on their stories with each other after class and into the summer, and the group said they could see themselves being authors, animators, and movie producers.
“It was incredible the engagement and buy-in that students had after this!” King said. “It was such a great moment as a teacher to see students find a way to take something they perceived as hard or boring, and then to find a meaningful purpose in their writing through STEM.”
This story is a part of a series on how EiE is aiding STEM education in Central Kitsap School District. To read the full series, click here.