Over 60 TK/K teachers began their summer at our 1st annual, week-long STEAM training in August. As part of our district-wide STEAM initiative, nearly 30 elementary, K-8 schools and Dual-language schools participated across SDUSD.
Our teachers experienced the Next Generation Science Standards through learning activities led by our district Core Leadership Teachers with support from our Regional Director, Jill Grace. They engaged in the type of hands-on, inquiry-based, experiential learning model that they will be engaging in with their students. They learned how to tie in literacy through science instruction, how to create science notebooks, and how to excite their students with projects using technology in the classroom.
With access to new Chromebooks in all K classrooms this year, our Instructional Technology team led teachers through using Flipgrid, Google Sites and Google Drawing, Adobe Spark and Book Creator. These technology tools have been integrated into our curriculum and our goal is to give students experience over the year to acquire new skills that will allow them to share out and document their learning.
All teachers received a day of Project Lead the Way (PLTW) training that covered the lessons they will explore with their students during our 3rd unit of STEAM. Using the engineering design process, our TK/K students will have the chance to delve into real world practices to learn design, using literature-based modules where they create, for instance, a house that the big bad wolf can’t blow down. Teachers also experienced more in depth workshops on design thinking which will be a through-line in our curriculum.
With the support of VAPA, teachers had a chance to express themselves artistically by using a painting reflection exercise to close out the week that made use of a paintbrush they designed as part of their PLTW training.
Our partners also helped to make this initial training a success. Our LEGO® Education partners, Leanna Prater and Jeff Coe spent a couple of days training the teachers on modeling with LEGO® and play-based education. Teachers who signed up also received a free Aquaponics kit from EcoLife so students can explore how to care for plants and animals right in their classroom!
Our TK/K Teachers have since launched STEAM in their classrooms with great success! Our amazing teachers not only started a new year with a totally new class of students, but they are also exploring a new STEAM curriculum. They are committed to teaching 4 days a week for an hour of science-based inquiry, modeling with LEGO® Education products, and doing hands-on projects with every unit. For their first unit, students are wondering about living and nonliving things and going out on nature walks to discover and learn about how they might they care for the living and nonliving things in their classroom. Using Book Creator, Adobe Spark or Google Drawing, students will share their learning with their community. More on that to come!
We couldn’t be happier to start STEAMing ahead with our youngest learners so they may grow up wondering and exploring the world around them, and using their hands, minds and hearts to solve real world problems.
