Fourth-Grade Innovators
Fourth grade students in Glen Rock, New Jersey’s four elementary schools recently studied adhesive bandages from a product-design point of view — how they were created to meet a need. The students were then challenged to design a technology that would improve their teachers’ lives, reports NorthJersey.com. One group came up with a scale-model classroom with sliding dividers so teachers could use different parts of the room. “We were really impressed with their innovative ideas,” say teacher Mary Morrow. She and Jennifer Burke (pictured above) are the district’s two new Gifted and Talented/Enrichment teachers who together created a pre-engineering program for the grade schools. Grades 1-5 now spend 15 hours a year on pre-engineering basics, divided into three, interrelated units. Meanwhile, the schools’ kindergarten teachers are implementing — with assistance from Morrow and Burke — design and problem-solving concepts into their science and math lessons. Two years ago, Glen Rock schools revamped its middle- and high-school science curriculum to include more pre-engineering techniques, including inquiry- and research-based lessons, the website says. That proved successful, so it decided expand that type of teaching into its elementary schools, as well. District officials say they’re not necessarily trying to encourage kids to consider engineering careers, but to help them better organize their thinking and become problem-solvers.
Photo courtesy of the Glen Rock School District
Filed under: K-12 Education News
