School Location:
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Fellows:
Lynne Kizpolski
Nancy Paley
Brian Shields
Jennifer Taylor
School Website:
http://barton.chclc.org/
School Team of the Month - November 2016
What are you focusing your STEM Impact Plan work on for the coming year?
The focus of our Impact Plan is to expose the Barton community to STEM and STEM-related careers, with the goal of more students becoming interested in potential STEM careers. The four components of our plan are staff professional development, Family STEMNight, monthly speakers with related activities, and STEM-related field trips.
We have begun staff PD, which was very well received. We are currently planning our Family STEM Night for January or February. In addition, we have been in contact with former Barton students to invite them to speak at our school. We are also looking into related field trips.
What exciting STEM experiences do you have planned for the fall?
Since STEM is brand new to Barton school, our team was excited to kick off the year with some PD, a great opportunity to share some of what we learned with our colleagues. After surveying our staff, students, and parents, we shared our STEMImpact Plan, helped deepen their understanding of STEM, and had them engage in an introductory STEM activity. Their response was extremely positive!
Brian came into each of our homeroom classes and co-led a STEM Integration project. For the project, students rescued a stranded container ship by engineering a structure that would carry the ship’s cargo back to the port. The students were given a budget and planned a design with their groups. After the initial test, the students were presented with a challenge to redesign their structure to solve a new problem. Students were extremely engaged in this project, and it sparked excitement in students as they continually ask about the next project.
In what ways have you been able to engage other members of your school, local community, or other STEM Teaching Fellows?
We initially surveyed staff, students, and parents about their knowledge of STEM and STEM related careers. We broadened STEM exposure about our Notre Dame TrusteyFellowship and STEM Impact Plan by sharing information at Back-to-School Night and at a recent PTA meeting. We also led two sessions of staff professional development. Finally, we have begun to incorporate STEM Integration activities into our classroom lessons.