LEAP Gets the Lowdown on STEM
One-to-one computing was one of the many STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)-enhancing
activities discussed at the December 11th meeting of the Loudoun Education Alliance of Parents (LEAP).
Eagle Ridge Middle School is running a Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) pilot through which 150
sixth-graders and their teachers were given laptops to work with in class and at home. “We want to find
out if you’re ready for all those new technologies that you’ve heard of,” Loudoun County Public Schools
(LCPS) Assistant Superintendent for Technology Services Dr. Rich Contartesi told the LEAP delegates.
If Eagle Ridge’s students, parents and teachers are to be believed, they are.
Sixth-graders Alexandra Broughton, Ian Devenish and Benjamin Greenbaum said the laptops are better
than standard paper classroom materials on several counts. Students can move at their own pace and
use web resources (all of which are monitored by LCPS) to collaborate on solving problems. They can
seek answers independently and enlist the help of the teacher only when they’re truly baffled by a
problem. Through the Vision program all their classroom notes, videos and web resources are in one
place, which helps keep them organized. They can perform peer review of their writing online, which
leads to an improved final product.
Parents Margaret Strange and Mary Reilly also found many improvements to their students’ performance
through the use of technology.
They said students found typing easier than writing; specifically because they didn’t have to fear erasing
mistakes. This made the pace of completing homework much quicker. (Laptops were picked over other
mobile devices for this pilot because they have a keyboard. Typing is included in the Virginia Standards of
Learning.)
Parents also have an easier time finding their students class materials on-line. The parents stressed this
doesn’t mean they micro-manage their students’ work; only that they can find resources should their
child run into an academic problem.
The parents also thought the laptops allowed for an easy transition between doing work in school and at
home and that the technology pilot also helped students develop time-management skills.
English teacher Michelle Haseltine said the laptops help teach 21stcentury learning skills: communication,
collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.
“It gives the students the chance to collaborate. They work together to share and demonstrate their
knowledge in science labs and on math websites. If there’s a glitch with a computer or a website, the
students work together to solve those problems before coming to a teacher. Additionally, they collaborate
on projects and homework using chats and a cloud program. We’ve seen students work longer and
harder on projects than ever before because they can work at home and collaborate with classmates so
easily.”
Haseltine stressed that her classroom is not her sitting at a desk in front of her computer while the
students all engage in nothing but screen time. She moves around the room constantly, seeing which
students are grasping a lesson and which are not. She might work one-on-one or in small groups with
students who are struggling while others work through a lesson at their own pace. “It allows those
students who already know the material to move on without wasting precious time waiting for others.
Students truly have more ownership of their learning…
“As teachers, we continually look for ways to improve our practice and become better for the students
sitting in front of us. Working with the TRA program has done that for each teacher who’s a part of it.”
Eagle Ridge Principal Scott Phillips has a son who is part of the pilot (students were chosen at random).
He sees the benefit of TRA as both an administrator and parent.
“He loves to write. He loves to share. His learning tools make it that way.”
Phillips notes that virtually every adult turns on a computer or mobile information device each day and
that the TRA pilot is a reflection of reality. “It’s part of the way we live. It’s part of the way our kids have
learned to live.”
LCPS Science Supervisor Odette Scovel and Shirley Bazdar, director of career and technical and adult
education, spoke about how STEM is being integrated into several curriculum areas with four key goals in
mind:
· Capitalizing on student interest;
· Building on what students already know;
· Engaging students in the practices of STEM;
· Engaging students with inquiry learning.
The LCPS curriculum is developed, in part, through the use of summer enrichment and out-of-classroom
experiences such as summer STEM camps, the Go Girls Institute, the George Washington University
Genomics Institute, Teachers in Industry, STEM Day and the Regional Science and Engineering Fair.
“They allow us to try out curriculum and train teachers on how to provide integrated STEM (education),”
said Scovell.
Bazdar said the LCPS middle school technology education programs expose students to inquiry,
innovation and exploration. Students are provided an opportunity to solve real-world problems with
hands-on, project-based learning. “It’s not the Betty Home Ecy (model) anymore.”
In high school, Monroe Technology Center and the Loudoun Governor’s Career and Technical Academy is
a competitive-enrollment program that allows students to develop career pathways and gain industry
certifications. Career pathways students may pursue includeagriculture, food and natural resources;
health science; diagnostic services; therapeutic services; engineering and technology; transportation,
distribution and logistics; and facility and mobile equipment maintenance.
Phillips and J. Michael Lunsford Middle School Principal Neil Slevin spoke about the recent STEM days
held at their schools. Slevin said STEM days are essentially a “field day for science.” Community members
and business partners come into the school to provide seminars and hands-on experiences that show
students the practical applications STEM has beyond school. In addition, staff members staged STEM
activities, with many moving outside their traditional subject matter. “Any department that wanted to be
a part of STEM Day was allowed to jump in,” said Slevin. One unique STEM activity occurred in the
Lunsford Music Department, where the program “Garage Band” was used to allow students to create
their own songs.
The next LEAP program – on Wednesday, January 8th– will be one of the most important of the year.
LCPS Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III and Assistant Superintendent for Business and Financial
Services Leigh Burden will present the Proposed Fiscal Year 2015 Budget.