Fourth and fifth grade students at three elementary schools in Barrington School District 220 are participating in pilot programs to develop their technology-based learning skills.
The five-year goal is providing all 3,500 students in every elementary school with instruction in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), according to district teacher Becky McDowell, who oversees the program. This year, the pilot program is for students at Roslyn Road, Sunny Hill and Rose schools.
They will pilot programs using robotics to design and build LEGO machines and vehicles to perform classroom space missions, hazardous cleanups and other tasks, McDowell said.
“This is all I’m teaching, so every student will get 20 hours of instruction for five weeks,” she said. “The need is for all students to be scientifically literate by being able to develop critical thinking skills and be creative problem solvers.”
“The most important part here is that we want our students to develop an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Becky Gill, director of elementary education for District 220.
“And to develop a self-efficacy among students in that they believe they are scientists and think about investigative questions while conducting experiments and finding solutions and refining those solutions,” Gill added.
After the school year, McDowell said she and teachers will look at how the STEM program could be taught to all fourth and fifth graders.
She also explained the program might become part of the science curriculum or be implemented on rotation into art, music and library services.
Before hired to supervise STEM activities, McDowell was a product development manager for ETA hand2mind in Vernon Hills, an educational publishing and products company for students.
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