Serendipity Day at Eura Brown Elem.

JSU Volunteers for STEM Challenge with Dr. Johns

Last weekend I had the privilege to visit Eura Brown Elementary in Rainbow City, Alabama, to participate in what they have called their "Serendipity Day". Held every spring, Serendipity Day is a day spent challenging students to think beyond a typical school day. Guests from all over the area are brought in to enrich the children in music, performing and visual arts, social sciences, and science. The students take part in demonstrations, simulations, challenges, and performances. It is a constructionist educator's dream day.
I, along with several of my peers from JSU, was invited by two of the most passionate professors I have ever had, Dr. Jennifer Troncale and Dr. Kyoko Johns, to assist in a STEM challenge. STEM is the collaboration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into meaningful and realistic challenges for students. Because these areas are so closely intertwined, teaching them together creates a much more worthwhile experience for students. A major aspect of STEM teaching is also exposing students to the engineering design process as a way of solving problems or investigating the world. STEM curriculum can be broken down into seven skill sets:
  1. Learn and apply content
  2. Integrate content
  3. Interpret and communicate information
  4. Engage in inquiry
  5. Engage in logical reasoning
  6. Collaborate as a team
  7. Apply technology appropriately
STEM has become a buzz word in the educational world over recent years and many of the schools in my area have dove in head first with their students. Every class I have worked with so far has at least heard of STEM and done some challenges, even in pre-kindergarten. With all the excitement surrounding this topic, I was very eager to participate in Serendipity Day. 
Serendipity Day with Dr. Troncale
After finding the school and locating our "challenge area" aka the library/media center, those of us volunteering were given the materials to give to our second and fifth grade students: bendy-straws, washi tape, an iPad for documentation, and the challenge to build the tallest structure that could stand independently. We were armed with yardsticks to document the height of our teams towers and the book How a House is Built by Gail Gibbons. We were also given these very specific instructions, " Do NOT help the students think of their design. They have to plan and construct using only their team's input, not a teacher's." This doesn't sound like a difficult task... unless you are a hyper-competitive soul that has an unquenchable passion for all things STEM. 
According to the schedule, we were there for two hours. It felt like five minutes. The entire time was a whirl wind of students planning their towers, testing their designs and redesigning when necessary, and creating the most creative structures I have ever seen. I watched second graders discover how important weight distribution is for a structure. Fifth graders were teaching me how to use the washi tape to make support wires just like on a suspension bridge. When the timer went off and it was time for our students to step away from their structures, these second and fifth graders were ale to present to their peers better than some professional speakers. Not only were the students familiar with the technology the media specialist provided for the presentations (and its occasional glitches because, hey, that's technology) but they were able to use basic presentation skills like projecting their voices, facing their audience, and giving detailed explanations for their design choices. I was blown away by their presentations and the intentionality of the designs. We declared four champions, one team from each thirty minute session, and second and third place winners as well. All of our first place teams created structures that were at least three feet tall and many of them didn't use all of their materials. The best part of the day was the energy of the event. Serendipity Day is a day of true learning and exploration for Eura Brown Elementary's students and it is clear the students relish every minute. It was a remarkable day and one that I am so glad to have been a part of. 

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