The Elementary STEM Program Curriculum Planning Team has been working hard at planning for and building a firm foundation for the expansion of the current Madison City Schools' Elementary STEM Program. Next school year, all students will engage in a weekly STEM class.
After much research and collaborative discussions, the team has developed The MCS Elementary STEM Program Overview. This document describes the STEM Program Goals as well as descriptions of what students will know and be able to do after participating in the weekly program.
The goal of the elementary (PreK-5) STEM program is to develop 21st century skills and a foundational knowledge base important to STEM fields and global citizenship. This program is also designed to prepare students for middle school STEM opportunities and create awareness of STEM career pathways.
A five year $2,000,000 DoDEA grant will be used to support this endeavor. Students will engage in problem-based learning using grade appropriate state of the art technology. Teachers will be provided professional development opportunities to learn best practices in STEM student learning.
Grade-level standards are being carefully selected to assure the program equips students with specific skills and strategies needed for working with STEM related concepts and that the program allows students to apply what they are learning in their regular classroom to solve complex questions and to investigate/develop solutions to real-world problems.
The newly created STEM Program Overview will guide all planning for opportunities for MCS students to grow in STEM literacy and STEM career awareness.
