Steam @ East Hill: Term 1 Is A Wrap!

Big things are happening within STEAM (Science Technology Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Education at East Hill Elementary School!  Having successfully completed the first of a three year pilot project, East Hill has formally adopted the STEAM pedagogical approach.  This method favours a collaborative, interdisciplinary, hands-on, process driven, and problem solving oriented approach. 

Now in Year 2, East Hill teachers have developed significant additions to its already impressive roster of STEAM focused Learning and Evaluation Situations (LES). The idea is that these LESs, and indeed this STEAM model, can be “embedded” into East Hill’s pedagogical modus operandi, and eventually its very identity.

In addition to the 14 new LESs created and implemented in Year 1, staff at East Hill have made several exciting additions:

• Problem (K4): The cake fell on the floor!  What are we to do? (physical and motor development, social development, language development).
  
• Problem (K5): The apples are out of reach!  What can we do?  (physical and motor development, social development, language development, cognitive development).
  
• Challenge (Cycle 1): Create the tallest tower from the material provided. (Mathematics, French as a Second Language).
  
• Challenge (Cycle 1): Build a vessel that can float from the materials provided. (English Language Arts, French as a Second Language, Science & Technology).
  
• Problem (Cycle 2): The Iroquoians must find food. Create a trap to catch their prey. (Social Studies, Science & Technology).
  
• Challenge (Cycle 2): Build a chair that will support the weight of a stuffed animal. (English Language Arts, Mathematics).
  
• Challenge (Cycle 3): How to capture a dinosaur! (French as a Second Language, Science & Technology).
  
• Challenge (Cycle 3): Create a paper plane that must fly above an obstacle. (English Language Arts, Math).

By the end of year three, we forecast that there will be in place a complete program of STEAM-oriented LESs for teachers of East Hill to choose from as they prepare for their upcoming school year. Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting East Hill initiative. Jason Bixby and Valerie Honig from the Educational Services Department are behind this initiative.