Infusing STEM With Reading In a Middle School Setting

Allen Shirley, Principal of South Sumter Middle School; Florida Association of School Administrators (FASA) Central Region Director

What does S.T.E.M. mean to you?  What does that look like in your school?  This is a pertinent question because it truly does look different, and have a different meaning, based on your setting.  As principal of a middle school in a rural farming community with 73 to 75 percent free or reduced lunch, introducing a STEM elective was a pretty big deal, and the “talk of the town.”  This implementation would not look the same as a technology magnet program in an urban area, but would carry every bit as much importance.  For many of our students, this could be their first experience with any significant technology other than a television at home, and classroom computers at school.  The course could not be exclusive to a particular “type” of student, but rather inclusive of all students.  As the principal of South Sumter Middle School it has been my goal to create a culture of college and career readiness with our students, teachers, parents, and community.  We are an AVID school with hopes of achieving National Demonstration status by the spring of 2018, and that mission and vision has driven our decisions as a school.  With that focus in mind, we began formulating a model for a STEM classroom on our campus.

The Beginning:

During the 2015-16 school year, Lake and Sumter counties partnered to participate in one of the largest MSP (Math/Science Partnership) grants in the state of Florida.  SSMS had 8 teams of 3 cross-curricular teachers (24 total) each participating in the joint effort.  Each team created technology-infused lesson plans that spanned multiple subject areas.  Lesson plans were then vetted at multiple levels before being accepted by DOE, TechKnows Associates, and submitted to CPalms. 

The Conversation:

Since our teachers spent countless hours creating these well-designed lesson plans to infuse technology and integrate subject matter, I began brainstorming with the teams as to how we might utilize the lessons on our campus.  The primary hurdle became…give you one guess…TIME!!!  You see, while most of the lessons were phenomenal, they required way too much time to implement in a standard classroom setting.  I’m sure this may come as a surprise to anyone reading this, but time is of the essence in a teacher’s classroom who is being pressured from every direction to prepare for FSA, EOC’s, and the like. 

Even though our ideals say that we should teach to mastery of the standards, basic math will tell you that 50 percent mastery of 100 percent of the content is only matched by 100 percent mastery of 50 percent of the content (or some other numerical variation thereof). So, how do we strike a balance?

The Idea:

What would happen if we took our existing technology resources, the accumulation of the MSP grant lesson plans, and created an elective built around those concepts?  What if we matched the lesson standards to the specific grade level science standards and created a bridge for students to their respective science classrooms?  What if two tech savvy science leaders on the campus were able to work together and create the course from the ground up?  Would this help our Science scores?

The Opportunity:

Student projections and staffing have given every principal heartburn at some point in time.  If it hasn’t, then I need some pointers!  However, this time, projections were favorable and with a growing school came a growth in units.  Specifically, the addition of an elective course was warranted.  In an environment where STEM and STEAM were being talked about at every conference known to the world of education, how could we not jump at this opportunity!  I began having the conversations necessary to gain support at the district level, and was relieved to hear that they were open to the idea of adding a STEM initiative at the middle school level.  Not only were they open to the idea, but we were going to be rolling out the next phase of a 1:1 initiative at both the elementary and middle school levels, starting with one grade level at each.  Sometimes the stars just line up…

The Hurdles:

With a district nod of approval, I began to do more than just surmise a plan.  It was now time to kick into seriously high gear since it was May, and we needed to be ready to roll in August.  Here are some things that had to be addressed: 

-Funding for new STEM teachers to design 3-grade level courses from the ground up (what exactly would the course consist of?)

-Course codes that would actually meet the description of what we were wanting to do (who knew there was no “STEM” course code in the middle school directory???)

-Space and technology for the actual classroom

The Solutions, Supports, and Surprises:

Solutions to the hurdles were pretty straightforward.  We were able to use curriculum development money to provide about three days for two teachers to design courses based on grade level science standards and the lesson plans already created through the MSP Partnership.  9100-course codes were used and developed in accordance with course descriptions, and a science lab was vacated and used to create the new “STEM Lab.”  While none of these were overly difficult, they had to be addressed in a timely fashion.

Support became a snowball, and quite frankly, we got really lucky!  The district decided to make our STEM program a flagship program due to it being the first STEM classroom in the district.  Through some investigating, presentations, and many conversations, our district supported a partnership with Promethean, and we were funded to purchase two Activtables, a 65” Activpanel, and a 135” ActivWall projector system.  Combined with the 1:1 initiative, we were able to provide a class set of laptops that can be mirrored to the Promethean panels at the teacher’s discretion.  As a byproduct of the MSP grant initiative 3D printers were purchased, and we moved these into the STEM classroom.  Lastly, through a coordinated effort of the district level science supervisor, and our STEM teacher, LEGO robotics kits were added to the classroom.

Surprises are not often a good thing in administration, but in this case, the biggest surprise came from the coordinated effort of the science/STEM teachers.  During the development of the 6-8 grade level courses, they thought about the reading/writing literacy focus campus-wide.  While many of the hands-on components had been expected in a STEM classroom, you don’t often hear about the fusion of reading literacy with STEM.  As a student in the STEM elective at South Sumter Middle School you will spend a portion of the course reading a short novel that coincides with your grade level content (our science curriculum is content specific, not integrated), and then using technology or hands-on experiments to test the feasibility of the situation in the book.  In 6^th grade students read “Escaping the Giant Wave,” 7^th grade read “Hatchet,” and 8^th grade read “Rocket Boys.”  This is a small part of the overall curriculum, but it allowed a seamless integration of reading in the STEM elective, and better still, it was 100% teacher initiated.

The Effects:

I would love to say that the addition of the STEM course created 20% jumps in science, reading, or math scores across the board, and maybe it will, but as a first-year implementation, I don’t yet have data to support any claims along those lines.  What I know to be true is this:  The ONLY elective course on my campus that has had 0 requests for a schedule change is STEM.  Students are engaged every day in learning activities that they are talking about.  Parents see me at the ballfields, or the store, and are requesting that their child takes “that technology class” next year.  We have hosted district level presentations in the STEM room, and I never fail to take a new teacher recruit through that classroom because it is hard not to be excited when you walk in. 

Through the STEM elective also came the creation of a middle school robotics team that advanced to the regional level of competition in the “First Lego League” robotics competition.  In fact, our team was just recognized at last week’s school board meeting for their accomplishments.  Robotics is an opportunity that was previously not even a thought at our middle school, and now they have an application process for making the team!  It has been a great experience for our kids and our community, and I’m excited to see it grow as we move forward.

Takeaways:

1.) First and foremost, you need to have the right teacher.  Knowledge of technology does not make someone fit for the job.  Techies can sometimes be like a few doctors I know; they are excellent practitioners but may be somewhat lacking in their “bedside manner.”  Any successful elective teacher knows that students have to “want” to be in your class.  It is, after all, an “elective.”  If they don’t elect, you don’t teach!

2.) Secondly, be creative.  Don’t be afraid to think outside the box for ideas in a curriculum.  There are innumerable free resources on the web, ready to be utilized.  Take advantage of them and give your teacher the flexibility and autonomy to be creative also.

3.) Lastly, make sure your district is on board.  STEM is an investment, and it is ongoing.  Startup costs are real, and while they can be minimized, it probably won’t be free.  As an administrator, be opportunistic.  When you have the chance to piggyback another initiative, do it!  The momentum from the MSP grant was our catalyst for systemic change, but it was ONLY the catalyst.  MSP triggered the reaction, but ALL other components were necessary to achieve the final product.  In the end, there is no doubt in my mind that the students and community of South Sumter Middle School will be receiving dividends of the STEM elective for years to come!