Problem Solving For Middle School

EdVenture summer school inspires students in science and social studies

Cody Hoaglin and Rudy Cordon spent a chunk of their summer -- a time of limbo between middle and high school -- building robots.

Spencer Makuet, who has made his way from his native Sudan to Lincoln, did, too, but preferred delving into social studies -- and cannot wait to see the bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.  

The eighth-graders heading to high school are among nearly 1,500 Lincoln Public Schools students getting a 3-D version of social studies and science during four weeks in July and August -- a jump-right-in, hands-on taste of some of the subjects they studied -- or maybe didn't study -- during the school year.

Preschoolers to eighth-graders are getting out of their desks and into their subjects, digging up worms and making soap, building robots and becoming everyday heroes at a nursing home.

"When you touch it and experience it yourself, it is stored in your brain (in a different way)," said Deila Steiner, LPS director of federal programs. "It helps deepen your understanding of the concept you were actually taught."

That is the goal of EdVenture, an ambitious summer school program designed for students in the district's schools that receive Title I money, where poverty rates are highest.

The program is being paid for with about $1 million in federal stimulus money, the amount left from the $6.2 million that was funneled through Title I to LPS.

The bulk of the Title I stimulus money was spent on professional development for teachers, instructional coaches, hiring social workers and adding preschool and literacy programs.

The balance presented an intriguing question: What would you do to bolster education in the schools if you had $1 million you needed to use by Sept. 30?

Steiner posed the question to her colleagues. She had always wanted to create a strong summer school program, one tied to state standards and district curriculums that gave teachers an opportunity to learn, too.

A team of teachers wrote summer school curriculums for five different age groups from preschool through middle school, using technology to help students build research, inquiry and problem-solving skills -- tools to help students become critical thinkers.

The programs focused on science and social studies because district officials knew LPS students were getting the short shrift in the world of high-stakes testing laser-focused on reading and math skills, Steiner said.

STEM problem-solving: Summer middle school students show off ...

Proudly displaying their work on their “Aims City” creation recently are (left to right) Nathan Santos, David Fisher, Bailey Alewine, Steven Prince and Michael Perez. District middle school summer school students created 3-D mock-ups of the idealized cities they envisioned and one of the session’s final days saw almost 20 teams exhibit their work for judges’ assessments. (Photo by Jim Cullen)

Hays CISD Summer School Middle School showcased students’ Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) 3-D city projects as school wound down its final week. The STEM acronym is meant for projects that are driven by problem-solving, discovery, and exploratory learning – and which require students to actively engage in a problem or situation in order find its solution.

Students were asked to redesign and improve their city. In doing so, they increased their geospatial knowledge, gained an understanding of the inner workings of a city, and learned why and how certain things happen in a city. They were truly resourceful in this endeavor and engaged in countless hours on what things draw people into a city and what things push people out of certain areas of a city.

Students from all five of the district’s middle schools participated. It was evident in their finished products that students learned many things from each other including the art of negotiation, understanding, and commitment to a common goal.

Special thanks go to our judges who took time out of their busy schedules and came to our summer location, Simon Middle School, to evaluate the city projects. Their assessments gave the projects that much more meaning and ensured that the activity was a success. Our judges included HCISD School Board Trustee Marty Kanetzky, Simon Middle School Principal Michelle Chae, Dahlstrom Middle School Principal Dr. Sara Thurman, City of Kyle Assistant City Manager James Earp and Director of Communications Jerry Hendrix, and the entire summer school staff. Their commitment to education is greatly appreciated.

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