integrates STEAM components through music , drawing and visual media . And the California State PTA lists a host of STEAM programs in Sacramento County including the Powerhouse Science Center , Crocker Art Museum , Food Literacy Center , Soil Born Farms , Sacramento Splash , and Explorit Science Center in Davis .
STEAM in action
The California International School , which will finish its first year of instruction this spring , designed its STEAM program from the ground up . Art is not a component to be integrated but one that is an essential part of all subject matter .
Beyond students ’ studio art that adorns the walls , an inviting library of literature , and curricula that engages students in artistic building and creating , students participate in the humanities of learning in a STEAM environment . “ Our students really do get to express and represent a range of emotions , thoughts , ideas . … ( They ’ re ) developing their emotional
and social intelligence ,” Reynolds says . “ They have to work together , accept new ideas and give out new ideas … even when it ’ s hard — and ( they have to ) work together as a team .” And that leads to authentic learning , she says .
For example , fourth and fifth grade students identified the problem of litter control in Rocklin and collaboratively created a solution . Students subjected their ideas to a series of redesigns before they presented them to members of Rocklin ’ s City Council who provided feedback .
“ Project-based STEAM education is 100 percent focused on the learning , not the final outcome ,” Reynolds says . Her school integrates the engineering and design process , which uses the following steps to solve problems : ask , research , imagine , plan , create , test and improve . Learning through those steps is considered as valuable as the final product .
“ I think that ’ s different than your traditional school and … it ’ s important because solving big issues … like climate change or
living through a pandemic requires people who are comfortable with change or with complicated problems with more than one solution ,” Reynolds says . “ That ’ s what can be polarizing ... when you think there ’ s only one way .”
With an infusion of more than $ 3.5 million from the Ma family that owns CIS , the school is equipped with a robust makerspace where students engage in handson science , engineering , coding and technology . Students find solutions ( rather than being given the answers ) through the learning experience , Reynolds says . They know there are many solutions and how they choose to solve problems is up to them , and that ’ s guided by the engineering and design process .
“ The goal is that they ’ re thinkers . … They have something inside of them already that needs to be developed and nurtured . And so we give them all kinds of tools but the learning is really on them . It really is their classroom ,” Reynolds says . At CIS , students are seen as people first with
Rex Moore Electrical is proud to celebrate 100 years of success in the construction industry . We would like to thank all the vendors , general contractors , architects , developers and owners that have supported us over the years and allowed us to be an integral part of the industry . We are proud of the thousands of projects we ’ ve been a part of and our contribution to the changing Sacramento skyline .
1900
1920
1922 : Benjamin “ Rex ” Moore starts Rex Moore Electric in his Sacramento home basement
1929 : B . “ Rex ” Moore is founding member of the Sacramento Electragists ( renamed NECA in 1937 ).
1940
1948 : V . “ Rex ” Moore earns engineering degree and begins doing Design / Build .
1960
1969 : Company enters the large commercial market with the award of the new Woodland High School .
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February 2022 | comstocksmag . com 57