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Check out what we are learning about STEM Education in Washington throughout our week at the STEM Laser Institute in Tukwila, Washington.
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Institute Day 4
Posted by Andrea Tee on 6/27/2013 8:00:00 PMThursday started off strong! We learned about different STEM models throughout our state - from the STEM high school to fully-implemented STEM school districts. The focus was on strong Science education and ensuring the inclusion of all students.Each of our team members went to a seminar on the role of various subject areas within STEM to reinforce our learnings about the integration of core subject areas into our STEM instruction.Thursday evening was productive as we worked to truly understand the role of our logo in advocacy for our STEM vision and finalized our action plan - what we will do to put our STEM Laser learnings to work when we return to West Hills! We have a ton of great ideas and visions for ways to make our STEM program the best that it can be! We recognized all the wonderful businesses that have partnered with us to make STEM a success - and brainstormed new partners that we can continue to cultivate the support of STEM in our community! -
Institute Day 3
Posted by Kinsey Underbrink on 6/26/2013 9:00:00 PMToday was an exciting day! In the morning, we learned a lot about implementation and sustainability of STEM innovations. The idea that stuck with me the most was the idea that innovations aren't necessarily new to the world. Instead, innovations are ideas and practices that are new to you. In a lot of ways, it takes the pressure of having to create brand new ideas away because you can find ideas that others have already come up with and tailor them to your own purposes.Before and after lunch, we divided our team so that we could all learn about effective STEM education practices about either the elementary or secondary level. Since we're both at West Hills, I am sure that all of our learning through that will benefit everyone. Finally, we were allowed team planning time. We are working really hard on our STEM Action Plan to bring back to West Hills. Each piece of learning from our "in-class" sessions has worked its way into our plan. I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result! -
Institute Day 2
Posted by Hannah Meucci on 6/25/2013 10:00:00 PMToday we got to visit Boeing! We had the opportunity to tour the factory floor where we found out that it takes only 11 days for a plane to be produced once the tube arrives. They are backlogged till 2017! It was amazing to see the productivity that occurs there and hear about how their process has been streamlined. Along with visiting the factory and getting the opportunity to view something only reserved for VIPs we had dinner with a Boeing engineer. She was a system's engineer who shared with us the importance of team work. After dinner we listened to a panel of engineers at Boeing and experts in STEM express the importance of soft skills in STEM. They stressed how important it is for students to be able to work with other people and collaborate. This was great to hear because it validated our implementation of the Habits of Mind. Our team left very excited about the importance of soft skills and feeling like we are on the right track. It was a great day!! -
Institute Day 1
Posted by Amy Archuleta on 6/24/2013 6:00:00 PMWe arrived in Tukwila ready to actively learn more about STEM Education. Our first job was to review our school's vision for STEM. What a wonderful opportunity to affirm our mission for West Hills and our students. We were then able to experience a room full of individuals who are engaged in STEM careers. There were people from a wide variety of careers including art and research and architecture. Each of them shared with us their mission in terms of STEM and their pathway to their current positions. We were even able to make some connections with possible partners for our school! We ended our day with a work session where we began our STEM Action Plan for West Hills. This plan will guide our continuing work over the next few years.
