What Kind Of Spaces Could Today's Students Create for Tomorrow?
It is so important to foster conversations about what we can do today to make tomorrow a more promising place for all learners. A Blueprint for Learning grant allowed one school district to find out exactly how to do this with the Reimagine America’s Schools initiative.
This is a sponsored post written by me in partnership with Tomorrow, powered by Remake Learning. All opinions are 100% mine.
One aspect that I truly love about home educating my children is the freedom to allow my children to learn in spaces that are not constricting. When I was creating a space in my house for my children to have a dedicated classroom, I wanted to make an area conducive to learning. I didn’t want our area to be distracting but an actual productive area to foster understanding and learning.
My children and I all sat together and planned out our new schoolroom. I asked for their input because I really wanted them to feel part of the process. I also wanted their input and feedback so they would have some ownership in our homeschool classroom that would be their learning area. What we didn’t know at the time was that this much-loved area would educate them for over a decade.
I purchased new large desks for everyone, chairs, and rolling carts systems for everyone. I bought printers, laminators and every color of paper available. I bought markers, crayons, colored pencils, art supplies, pencils, and pens in all the colors of the rainbow. I purchased various maps and learning charts and hung them all over our classroom. I bought containers full of excellent math manipulatives. I purchased microscopes and enrolled in a monthly science experiment club where experiments were sent to our home each month. I bought special chair pads and floor pads, and blankets. I also purchased more books than our bookshelves could hold.
We all decorated our classroom together, and it was the coziest place in our home. My children adored sitting in there even when we weren’t ‘in school’. I was so happy with the space that we created, and my children grew academically — more than I had ever envisioned that they would.
Can you imagine the space that kids would create if they were always allowed to have this much input into their learning spaces and areas? Well, this is precisely what happened to a teacher in Pennslyvania recently.
Michael MacConnel, a new teacher in the Riverview School District, encouraged his high school students involved in the school’s Key Club to pursue a grant that would enable them to design a space entirely their own. The Key Club’s central focus is on service-oriented projects is dedicated to building children of integrity through service in their school and community. Children are enriched through a diverse range of activities, community service projects, and much more.
The students were able to attend a workshop co-hosted by Remake Learning and Reimagine America’s Schools Initiative to help them develop an inclusive plan to execute their ideas and apply for the grant. These students were able to meet with leading STEM innovators to brainstorm ideas and bring their vision of a new STEM learning space to fulfillment for their school of choice.
The Blueprint for Learning grant was an opportunity for schools in the Pittsburgh area to reimagine, redesign, and remake their learning spaces.
These fantastic students and their school were awarded a $50,000 grant and were able to oversee the building of a new vibrant STEM space at an elementary school in their district. These high school students took input from the young elementary students who would be utilizing the new STEM area and listened to their voices and used their ideas to design a space that would be fun, colorful, beneficial, and valuable.
“it remains uncommon for a learning space to be designed with really meaningful input from those who will use it -- especially if they’re children”
After a year of remote education for most students in our nation, the return to classrooms this year is filled with joy and renewed energy for learning. Verner Elementary is leaping into the future with its new STEM classroom. By encouraging young boys and girls to become more interested in STEM, Verner Elementary School can stand out as an institution that defies the nationwide statistics concerning the lack of students in STEM.
In a technology-based world, innovation is constantly changing. Technology is utilized in nearly every aspect of our lives today. As more schools, universities and workplaces change with updated areas and programs, and spaces become more progressive, STEM and dedicated STEM spaces are crucial to today's young students. Keeping up with innovation is necessary, and sometimes schools simply don't have the funds to accommodate growth. STEM helps develop our future engineers, doctors, and teachers.
STEM education creates our future critical thinkers, it increases science literacy, and it enables the next generation of our innovators. Innovation leads to new products and processes that sustain our nation’s economy. This innovation and science literacy depends on a solid knowledge base in the STEM areas. I’m excited to see what the Riverview students accomplish!
The Verner Elementary School will now be a place where both teachers and children are excited to go. A STEM space was created through the grant where children and adults can be deeply engaged and passionate about their learning. MacConnel and his high school students designed and fostered a community with a collaborative culture. The students were all hands on deck in their approach to meet the needs of the school community.
Programs Key Club integrates classes to see how concepts relate to life to spark a passion for a future career in a STEM field. By exposing students to STEM and giving them opportunities to explore STEM-related ideas, they will develop a passion for it and hopefully pursue a job in a STEM field. A program such as Riverview's Key Club is STEM-based and will apply real-life situations to help the students learn. STEM activities provide hands-on lessons for the student.
