2016 Northridge STEM Expo

STEM School

On the eve of Spring Break at Northridge, the community flocked to the school to join teachers and staff to celebrate the amazing learning progress students have made this year.  Teachers and students worked together to create stations that showcased their amazing work.  Mr. Hillis' class created an iMovie to show how they use the Design Thinking Process as they solve math, science, reading, and even classroom challenges.  Fourth graders created "operation" like games that demonstrated their understanding of circuits.  Fifth grade showcased their newfound understanding of CU Boulder with slideshows of their own creation. There was even a table for the Coding Club (new to Northridge this year), where students introduced their parents to designing and writing their own iPad apps!

The Expo was not just about showing amazing projects, but it was purposefully designed to show the learning process students went through in order to create their designs.  Third grade students took their parents to their projects and were able to explain why their design of a particular building would be resistant to a specific kind of erosion.  Second graders explained why their habitats would help their animals, and how their solutions were based on their understanding of the animals' needs.  

As parents and students left for the evening, many commented on how much they enjoyed seeing what students learned instead of just what they did.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate the hard work of teachers and students as we all headed into a much needed break.