Dissecting Chicken Legs, Mini Golf: STEM Week, Framingham Schools

FRAMINGHAM, MA—In honor of STEM week in the public schools, a school committee member wanted to check out what the students were up to in the Framingham classrooms.

STEM week happens from Oct. 22-26 in Massachusetts schools, aimed at highlighting the areas and programs dedicated to science, technology, engineering and math. According to the Department of Education, during STEM Week, schools highlight specific week-long STEM curriculum (i.e., i2 Learning), special classes on particular days or showcase efforts already underway (i.e., Project Lead The Way courses). STEM Week activities involve all grades, but has a particular emphasis on middle and high school STEM courses.

Framingham school committee member Adam Freudberg visited both Framingham High School and Fuller Middle School, saying that "STEM Week in MA is an opportunity to bring additional inquiry and project based learning methods to light the spark of excitement in our students and teachers."

Popping in on classes, he witnessed students working on laser printing designs for mini golf courses, a class that was designing prototypes and building colonies "on the moon" and students growing bacteria and dissecting chicken legs.

"I was impressed with the collaborations and connections made between staff to deliver project based learning to the students," Freudberg told Patch. "For example, the high school class I visited matched a physics teacher with an art teacher to help kids design a mini golf course with decorations. And at Fuller Middle School, a history teacher was teamed with a science teacher, and a gym teacher was in a classroom discussing biology and how muscles and tendons work. I got the sense that this creative pairing energized teachers and created a new level of excitement engaging students more than an experience where they would be sitting at a desk."

Freudberg said that he wasn't surprised in the least to see this kind of learning at the Framingham schools, and impressed with the careful, strategic planning that went into the week.

"Our students were learning, creating memories, and enjoying themselves at the same time," he said in a post. "Did you know STEM jobs pay more money and have more job security? Yet only one in six high school seniors in the nation are interested in studying STEM in college. That’s why the Framingham Public Schools have focused on not only STEM Week, but a strategic and enduring PreK-12 STEM and Arts curriculum for all. Every day in all of our schools can be similar to the activities done this week."

Photo via Adam Freudberg, used with permission on Patch