STEAM at School 29: Engaging Teachers and Students

Teachers at School 29 recently engaged in STEAM professional development in which Art PIR Myra Winter presented a lesson on creating “foldables”.  “Foldables” are three-dimensional interactive graphic organizers that enhance student engagement and learning. 

One popular “foldable” was a student “First Aid Kit”, in which students select what significant concepts or facts are most critical, and organize them into a “kit”.  After Ms. Winters’ introduction, teachers had the opportunity to try their hands at the task.



  The room was soon buzzing with math teachers identifying ways they could utilize this tool to help students better understand key concepts, including geometry principles and vocabulary.  Language arts teachers realized that “foldables” could serve as a means for students to tells stories and share creative writing ideas. 

STEAM is also taking place in classrooms!  When second grade teacher Ms. Taliercio began to teach her students the water cycle, she realized that they could benefit from a hands-on art-related project.  She reached out to Art PIR Myra Winter, who suggested a simple collage approach. Providing the teacher with the materials as well as guidance, Ms. Winter visited the classroom and reinforced the content while modeling how the students could create their own visual representations of the water cycle.  Students were actively engaged and proud to show their creations.