I3 STEM Educator

Science Project Rubric

When I began working at Propel Homestead, the members of the administration were impressed with my previous experience as a Pearson Science Facilitator for my school in Florida, that they asked me to attend Asset trainings and help with science professional development in the school. I gladly accepted and began with the trainings.

During this time I attended numerous professional developments in Pittsburgh, attended the STEM conference, and held professional developments for my staff members.

Part of the experience allowed me to look deeper into the PA Science State Standards and to see how our current program was meeting the needs of our students and how we could make changes so that our students were getting the most out of their science education.

One of the many projects I did in my classroom to incorporate STEM and as a demonstration for other classroom teachers, was a project with our Soils unit.

The project: Building a Garden to Support Your Plants

Lesson: The students were told that they had moved to a new location and the soil at this location was different from the soil they were used to, but they wanted to plant the same plants they had before in their old location. Their job was to test the soil (a project they were learning about in Science) and determine what type of soil it was. They then had to research how their soil supported the types of plants they wanted to plant. At this time the students used IPADs to conduct their research. They then had to create a space to plant their garden using specific area; they were all given restrictions. Finally, the students had to determine how their plants could be watered if they were not around. They could not rely solely on the rain. The students had to write argumentative essays on their approach and counter-points for objections. In the end, the students had to present their projects and take questions from the audience of their peers.

The students, administrators, other teachers, and I thought the project was a success. The students were a little frustrated in the beginning because they felt it was a lot of work, but once they got started and realized that everything I was asking them to do was something they had already learned, but they just had to combine different areas of learning, they were much more accepting of the project. They also saw how it related to life experiences and wanted to create their own self-sustaining gardens.