Students at the California International School in Rocklin wanted to improve the way their recess was structured . So they took the initiative to create an alternative and presented it to Head of School Michelle Reynolds .
The students are “ in an environment where they have a voice and where they can create . And when I said no to something , they revised and tried again ,” Reynolds says . “ And this happens every day .”
Today , the students enjoy a recess that reflects their vision — a rotating schedule of zones that allows older students some autonomy but remains flexible to include younger students . That creativity , innovation and problem-solving by 38 students at CIS serve in part as measures of the school ’ s success . The private school opened in August 2021 with a STEAM-focused , project-based program for students in kindergarten through fifth grade . The program will expand to eighth grade with a capacity for 160 students .
While STEM education incorporates science , technology , engineering and math , STEAM adds arts into the mix . Proponents of STEAM say it develops creativity that bridges the sciences with the development of personal expression , emotional intelligence and social awareness : the human factors that define how we relate to the world .
But not everyone supports the formal integration of the arts into STEM education . Some critics believe creativity is already a natural component of innovation within the sciences . Others say integrating art detracts from the fundamental goal of STEM education to catalyze a lagging pipeline of students into science-based careers , which will drive a competitive U . S . workforce in an increasingly high-tech global economy .
To address the trending lack of interest and proficiency in STEM education , the Next Generation Science Standards were launched by the states in collaboration with the National Resource Council and various organizations in 2013 . NGSS aims to fundamentally shift the way scientific subject matter is taught to students . Instead of rote memorization of facts and figures that lack context , it teaches integrated STEM subjects through real-world applications that require critical thinking and inquiry-based problem solving .
For example , take the concept of photosynthesis . “ Most of us have heard that word . … It conjures up , usually in adults , a chemical equation that they had to memorize … ( but ) they really don ’ t know what it means ,” says Cynthia Passmore , a professor of education at UC Davis and faculty director of Sacramento Area Science Project , a joint project between UC Davis School of Education and Sacramento State . SASP works with K-12 offices of education , school districts and teachers in 12 counties in and around the Capital Region “ to assist science teachers with science instructional strategies and content knowledge .”
Under NGSS , teaching photosynthesis begins by looking at a tree and using the power of wonder and observation to provoke questions such as where the matter came from to create a 3-ton redwood from a tiny seed . With labs and basic experiments , students begin to figure out that a tree takes in carbon dioxide and puts out oxygen , Passmore says .
“ And it turns out carbon dioxide is matter ,” Passmore says . “ It ’ s stuff , and that stuff , when it ’ s combined with water and the energy from the sunlight , transforms into actual materials that make up the tree . That ’ s mindboggling , right ? Now I have just figured out myself , ( no
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