STEM at Forest Oak Middle School

Forest Oak Middle School has recently implemented a new way of teaching at their school. A few years ago Forest Oak began offering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses, such as ICT - Information, Communication and Technology, CAAD - R, and Introduction to engineering and design (a high school credit class) in order to give more students opportunities to gain a further understanding of the STEM fields. Students are also given the opportunity to learn more about film technology when they take the class Lights, Camera, Literacy. By the end of the course, students are should be able to create a short film based around a certain theme.

      These rigorous courses are not only designed to give students a more in-depth instruction in math, science, etc. but they are also changing the way that students are learning and developing. “True STEM is taking understanding and learning from all content areas and allowing our students to engage in problem solving activities and critical thinking,” said Science, Technology and Engineering Resource teacher Anita O’Neill. “That’s really what we’re trying to establish here at Forest Oak.”

     The traditional way of teaching has been turned on its head with this new approach. “Our curriculum is designed to teach in problem based manner so that we start our instruction with a central problem and everything that the students learn within a unit are connected to that problem,” said O’Neill.    

     For example, seventh grade students were given the task of building carriers for a set of crutches with only a certain set of materials. They were required to work together in a specific time frame in order to find a solution to a real-life problem. “Collaboration, problem analysis, working with authentic problems and coming up with solutions that are going to help other people,” said Principal Dr. Arthur Williams, “are what the jobs of the future are going to require.”

     This new focus has brought about great opportunities for students to see how professionals work in their different fields. Last year, students took a field trip to the US Naval Warfare Center in Bethesda, MD. They got to test their ‘sea perches’-an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) that they had built in class and also had the chance to interact with naval engineers to talk about the devices those engineers had worked on. “Actually seeing a real-life component of it, that may spark a real interest in a future engineer or designer,” said Dr. Williams.

     Giving students the chance to learn more about the world of STEM outside of school has become an important goal for Forest Oak, and that is why they give their students the chance to attend Jets Day, which is a collaboration between the bio-med schools in the district, which includes Johns Hopkins University. Students are able to participate in hands-on activities during this event, and are also able to hear people from the industry discuss their careers. “[Students] see that we’re not just doing something in a seventh grade classroom, but it’s… wide-reaching and [STEM] connects to things outside of school,” said O’Neill.

     Forest Oak Middle School is working with many community partners to bring more STEM activities to its students.

     “I think the Stem focus is a great idea for all students,” said technology and engineering teacher Randall Grove, “it’s a way for students to be able to figure out solutions to real world problems.”

      Forest Oak hopes that this new focus will greatly impact the academic lives of their students and give them a pathway to lead them into future careers.