Jump Start STEM Program

 

The BSEA Science Department launched their 1st  summer Jump Start STEM program. Mrs. Jennings participation in the FIRST Lego League Robotics workshop, the Learn to Grow Plant Projects workshop as well as  three weeks at the Middle School Modeling & Leadership STEM program at Columbia University’s Teachers College, these professional development trainings supported the design for the STEM summer program.

Our Jump Start STEM program invited selected incoming 6th graders to participate in our Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math program. This program was a weeklong initiative to help students learn about the literacy, vocabulary and careers in STEM. Students engaged in engineering challenges, logical reasoning games, and science experiments.

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The week began with a logical reasoning assessment that helped teachers to better understand how their students process written information, utilize prior learning and explain their thinking. The week ended with students’ white boarding and presenting their learning.

Unlike other Brooklyn STEM programs focusing on top scored students in order to admit them to their STEM programs, this program focused more on students’ interest, engagement and provided academic support to students’ who scored a level 1 on their Math & ELA 5th grade exams. Mrs. Jennings believes that all students can learn regardless of their academic scores, as long as teachers make learning fun, students are encouraged to think, explore and believe in their ability to learn.

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To learn more about the vocabulary, engineering challenges, science experiments, data collection, data analysis, student presentations and the fun our students had, please continue reading our post. If you are a student take the engineering challenges and see how you do, we guarantee you will enjoy them.