WOONSOCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Since Rhode Island became the first state to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 2013, K-12 districts and schools have sought out curricula that focus on a deeper understanding — and the application — of STEM content. On June 14, Woonsocket Education Department (WED) will celebrate teachers’ success in engaging students in inquiry-based, hands-on STEM learning at “STEM Day in Woonsocket.”
“The complexities of today’s world require all people to be equipped with a new set of core knowledge and skills to solve difficult problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and make sense of information they receive from varied print and, increasingly, digital media,” said Chan-Remka. “Woonsocket Education Department believes the learning and doing of STEM helps develop these skills and prepare students for a workforce where success results not just from what one knows, but what one is able to do with that knowledge.”
To create a strong STEM program, WED began implementing an online, comprehensive, hands-on science curriculum called STEMscopes NGSS in 2016-17. Developed by Accelerate Learning in conjunction with Rice University, STEMscopes NGSS provides digital resources, supplemental print materials, and hands-on exploration kits that build student engagement and excitement for learning. STEMscopes NGSS is helping Woonsocket students master the NGSS through meaningful hands-on investigations, engineering challenges, content connection videos, claim-evidence-reasoning assessments, and more.
“The inquiry-based activities in STEMscopes NGSS require students to employ critical thinking and to actively engage with a problem in order to explore and solve it,” said Chan-Remka. “This helps achieve the goal of STEM, which is to spur students’ natural interest in science and math, and provide them with a practical foundation in these fields, leading toward creativity, innovation, and invention.”
