Beyond the videos, Dr. Bain also liked the built-in performance tasks, created from the UBD (Understanding By Design) framework, which present real-world problems within the context of a career or industry. Performance tasks represent cross-curricular topics and assess students’ reading, writing, and analysis skills.
Support for teachers and one-to-one teaching
District 117’s two high schools began using Defined STEM lessons in core science classes during the 2014-15 school year. “Our science teachers have embraced Defined STEM,” shared Dr. Bain. “Our district uses the UBD framework so there was instantly a comfort level among teachers with the lessons and a willingness to give the program a chance. The UBD framework makes it really easy for them to supplement their lessons with Defined STEM.”
Another aspect of Defined STEM that has caused teachers to adopt the program so readily is the editable rubrics. Teachers can easily download any lesson’s rubric and edit it to their specifications. “We place an undue burden on teachers to develop amazing curriculum and then deliver it in innovative ways. That’s too much for even the most exceptional teachers,” said Dr. Bain. “Defined STEM gives our teachers a leg up. They’ve got great curriculum to work with that they can customize and modify. It saves them time so they can focus on working with and teaching their students.”
Defined STEM has also provided much-needed curriculum for District 117’s new one-to-one technology program. “In addition to my search for the types of performance tasks I felt our students needed, I was looking for high-quality digital content,” stated Dr. Bain. “Most of what I saw before Defined STEM was traditional textbooks that were available electronically. Defined STEM is digital-first, and it shows.”
Teaching and assessing skills
As District 117 completes testing season, Dr. Bain is feeling confident that students will do well with NGSS. “Using Defined STEM, students have gotten a lot of practice applying scientific knowledge, problem solving, collaborating, persevering, and communicating,” he said. “Defined STEM’s assessments measure all of these soft skills, so teachers are really aware where their students may need extra help.”
Dr. Bain and District 117 plan to expand the use of Defined STEM into more science courses in the coming school year. He’d also like to explore the use of the program in social studies and math as a resource for writing with informational text, writing arguments, and using primary source documents.
The curriculum “provides exactly what our teachers need to support our students in their scientific learning,” he said. “I think lots of our future scientists will look back and thank their high school science teachers for giving them such a rich, real experience.”
Emily Garner is a writer and principal of Underscore Creative, a writing and marketing firm.
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