My middle school STEM classroom is a pocket of student creativity, enthusiasm, frustration, perseverance, failures, successes and controlled chaotic fun. It is the hub for challenges that involve STEM education and the design process.
Our students come from a diverse range of backgrounds with a wide variety of socio-economic classes and ethnicities represented.
We have a strong ELL (English Language Learners) program and a large Special Education Population. Despite the hardships that some of our students face at home; they come to school with a desire to learn. Our school serves 6th-8th graders. The year before I began teaching here, our school lost its shop program leaving a niche vacant for our students to design and build. Our students have an innate desire to design and make things. I feel that it is my responsibility to continue to strive to provide opportunities for them to do so.
My Project
These materials will enable our students to make their CAD projects come to life. Our students go through the design process within the context of their class projects. Our STEM curriculum challenges them to define the problem they are trying to solve, establish the constraints associated with the challenge, create and collaborate on possible solutions and then create prototypes. When viable CAD designs are created, the 3D printer filament being requested transforms into creations that the students can hold in their hands via the use of our classroom 3D printer. It really is magical to see their faces as their creations materialize line by line. Unfortunately, not all of our students can afford fees associated with printing. Keeping up with classroom costs is a reality that all teachers are facing - having extra filament on hand will really help to provide these children with the means to enjoy this fun and important learning!
I am very passionate about implementing a workspace and systems for my students.
Other members in our school community are also working collaboratively with me and starting to get on board with the "Maker" movement as well, including our librarian and art teacher. Funding of this project will help lay the foundation for a culture of problem solving, the design process and the means for student creations to come to life.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Ewert and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.