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STEM pattern

STEM pattern

Mansfeld STEM Magnet Middle School

Mansfeld 2

School Location:
Tucson, AZ

Fellows:
Leticia Lozano
Tricia Vogel

School Website: 
http://mansfeldms.tusd1.schooldesk.net

School Team of the Month - May 2017

This year, Mansfeld has focused on teacher recognition through STEM sightings. After witnessing STEM throughout the school, colleagues can nominate one another for a raffle at the end of the month. This focus on peer recognition has begun to increase STEM visibility at Mansfeld STEM Magnet Middle School.

Students, families, and friends all recently gathered at one of Mansfeld’s STEM nights to participate in a Food Engineering Unit. Nearly 30 Participants learned about the definition of technology and how one can use a process as a technology. They then designed the ideal rice krispie making process. Parents guided their students to follow their process exactly as written, even if that meant ending up with a pile of delicious mush instead of a neatly formed treat. All participants left with full bellies and excited about the possibilities of engineering.

On February 16th Mansfeld’s STEM night emphasized the “M”ath !  I presented Father Tang’s story, then guided all in attendance through a review of measurement, writing geometric expressions, and relating it to absolute value.  Prospective students, students and their parents, alike, struggled through precision and accuracy as they mastered their ruler in tenths of an inch.  Recalling formulas was also a bit of a challenge for some.  In the end, the theory that the area of the initial tangram square should equal the area of any irregular tangram figure seemed intuitive.

This year the 6th grade science department partnered with the University of Arizona’s SEEC (Supporting Environmental Education and Communities) Program. With this partnership students have participated in, designed and are currently implementing research projects.  This program exposed students to community gardens and the pollinators which help them thrive.  Students will present their research at the University of Arizona’s Environment and Natural Resource Building on April 21.