Kids study science the hands-on way The fifth-graders in Rebecca Logan's science class faced a tough task: build a bird feeder - squirrel proof, no less - from an assortment of plastic jugs, tape, string and coat hangers.

But it wasn't just a free-for-all as the kids gathered in groups of four or five to start construction earlier this month. It was one of the last steps in an engineering process that Logan now incorporates into every unit of study.

Elkhorn Elementary School Principal David Scholl says it's the first elementary school classroom in Kentucky dedicated to science, technology, math and engineering - STEM as educators commonly call it.

This year is the pilot, using a curriculum Logan designed with Franklin County Career and Technical pre-engineering teacher Mark Harrell.

"It's hard not to tell the students that something's not going to work, or maybe they should try it a different way, because as a teacher it's our nature to steer them in the right direction," said Logan who has 15 years of traditional teaching experience under her belt.

"But with this, the design is completely up to them - as long as it follows the criteria, they pretty much have freedom to do what they want."

A group made up of 10-year-olds Dina Nurkovic, Tashiana Clayton, Catherine Nesselrode and Dalyss Downey and 11-year-old Scottie Burns sat circled around a cluster of desks staring at a plan sketched on notebook paper.

But the team didn't just pick Tashiana's design willy-nilly. It sent 10 plans through a rigorous "design matrix" - a list of questions that lead to an overall score - and hers came out on top.

Is the bird feeder squirrel proof? Does it keep the bird safe? Can the bird reach the seeds inside? Does it look good? Are the materials needed easy to access? Are the seeds protected from the elements?

These are the criteria that guarantee a good bird feeder, the kids say.

"They've used this for each design process we use in class," Logan said. "Instead of just picking their friends, or who they might think has a good design, they go by the metrics, and sometimes it's surprising."

Surprising because it sometimes leads her to find budding engineers in unlikely places.

It isn't necessarily Logan's strongest academic students who excel at hands-on engineering projects, but when she spots that talent, she can steer them toward Elkhorn Middle School's STEM program.

"I watched a little girl catch on with 3-D sketches so fast that it was shocking to me because I hadn't really heard her talk all year, but once she found that success with sketching, I think it really sent her to another level," she said.

The kids worked to cut small holes in the sides of an empty milk jug - big enough for a bird, but not a squirrel - and attached unsharpened pencils as perches. They cut the cone-shaped top off a 2-liter soda bottle to act as a tiny umbrella, protecting the seeds from rain.

They referred to their design as they pondered questions like whether or not to cut the handle off the milk jug, how high to place the feeding holes and how large to make them.

Logan circled the room with a box cutter, slicing bottles and cutting holes for the kids, but she otherwise let them figure it out on their own. That's a big change from how she was teaching before, with lectures and textbooks.

"It was mostly me directing them," she said. "I think this program gives them more ownership of their work, and I think that's the biggest thing because they are the ones who are really controlling how they are learning."

This year the kids will construct bridges out of gumdrops and toothpicks, boats from aluminum foil, tables from newspapers and cardboard, and in all of those cases, learning to employ the strongest, sturdiest shapes.

They will tinker on Mars rover robots that collect multi-colored ping-pong balls, plant seeds in their school garden, and design and build their own microscopes, solar-powered ovens and coin sorters.

"It is exhausting - my lesson planning has changed, my prep work has changed," Logan said. "Instead of making copies, I'm cutting things out of cardboard or collecting duct tape and wire cutters.

"It's definitely more hands-on for me as well, but I also think it's 10 times more rewarding for me," she said. "I feel like it's changed the way I look at them (the students)."

Logan and Harrell spent the summer creating the curriculum based on the state's learning standards and new requirements in reading and math, incorporating an engineering activity and technology into each learning unit.

They hope to solidify their work after this pilot year, in hopes that other elementary schools will use it.

"I think our vision really is for other schools to incorporate that curriculum, and it's easy to do," she said.

"I thought this was going to be so hard to do, but then I found out how easy it was to find activities."

Students are graded on how well their work meets Logan's requirements, and they reflect on each project through a writing activity. The hands-on work leads to higher-level thinking, teaches problem solving and unleashes their creativity, Logan says.

"This shows a lot of real-life skills for them," she said. "When they got to class this year, they thought an engineer was a person who worked with trains or a person who fixed things, but now they see it differently.

 

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- Posted on December 14, 2011