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STEAM Learning

About STEAM and Project Lead the Way

Builders. Explorers. Engineers. Creators. Problem Solvers. Artists.Those are the students in Brooklyn Center Community Schools. We help our students discover their passions and prepare for their next stage of life through hands-on and engaging learning experiences.
 

What is STEAM?

Every student in our district receives STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education through a magnet program model. We implemented Project Lead the Way curriculum beginning in the 2017-2018 school year that celebrates our students' natural curiosity of the world. Starting in kindergarten, students learn how to code. High school students have experiences in the biomedical field, including how to analyze a crime scene, build a medical device and learn how the human body works. STEAM education incorporates the “A” for the arts – recognizing that to be successful in technical fields, individuals must also be creative and use critical thinking skills which are best developed through exposure to the arts.

What STEM looks like at each grade level

GRADES PRE-K-5

 

Teaching is an art, as well as a science. Every elementary student participates in STEAM opportunities. STEAM education builds cognitive power, even in the youngest learners, by enhancing the development of the prefrontal lobe, the temporal lobe, and the occipital lobe of the brain. Students will exercise both the left and the right hemispheres of their brains by engaging in a hands-on, activity based curriculum called Project Lead The Way (PLTW).

Project Lead The Way uses science, technology, engineering, art, and math to develop critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real world problem solving, communication, and collaboration skills.

PLTW Launch taps into young children’s exploratory nature and encourages them to keep discovering. Here’s a look at what our students study in each grade:

Our digital native elementary students will also have classes focused on internet safety and coding.

What is coding?

Coding is the way we tell computers to do all the helpful things they do for us. From using an app or finding a contact in your phone so you can send a text message, to directing a rocket into space, computers follow a list of written instructions from a coder, or programmer. With technology changing every industry on the planet, computing knowledge has become part of a well-rounded skill set. But fewer than half of all schools teach computer science! Good news is, we’re on our way to changing this.

GRADES 6-8

 

Every middle school scholar will deepen their learning with semester courses focused on the STEAM pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. Students will be challenged to test their limits and connect what they learn in the classroom to making a real-world impact. PLTW Gateway illuminates the range of paths and possibilities students can look forward to in high school and beyond. Here’s a look at what our grade 6-8 scholars will be experiencing:

GRADES 9-12

 

 

 

 

Every high school scholar will participate in the Biomedical pathway. Working with the same tools used by professionals in hospitals and labs, students will step into the roles of medical investigators, surgeons, microbiologists, geneticists and biomedical engineers. They will explore realistic situations like investigating the death of a fictional person and analyzing prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease in full-year courses.

PLTW Biomedical Science inspires students to make an impact on the lives of those around them. Here’s a look at what our grade 9-12 scholars will be doing: