Campus On/Or About
A NEW GENERATION OF PROBLEM SOLVERS I
t starts in kindergarten. Students in the Montessori kindergarten class create their own working farm. Math, engineering and art are utilized as the potential profit of various farm animals is discussed and the farm model is designed and built. By the time they are sixth-graders they will be making room models to scale with furniture, windows and doors properly proportioned. Then they will apply their knowledge of circuits, volts, currents and resistors to add electricity to the model rooms. All of this comes under the heading of STEAM, which applies skills and knowledge to critical thinking problems by incorporating science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics into lesson design. So when young engineers build a robot, they do so with aesthetics and functionality in mind, while using modern science and technology to bring it to life. The Lower School strives to be at the vanguard of the STEAM movement by working with actual scientists and engineers, bringing in experts, immersing itself in science and technology and staying up on best practices by attending conferences. Gilmour is committed to STEAM to cultivate a passion for math and science in the early grades and to engage students in the use of science and technology to meet 21st century challenges. Sustaining America’s leadership in science, technology, mathematics and engineering is critical to economic growth and national security and to securing a productive future for generations to come. Gilmour has been applying STEAM principles to teaching for more than a
STEAM Club members from the Class of 2018 Aegeas Wiertel, Sean Breen and Andrew Denk practice their suturing technique with plastic surgeon Dr. Greg Fedele.
decade. A STEAM consultant visiting campus to give an in-service training said that the Lower School is 10 years ahead of other schools with STEAM, according to Desia Joseph, math and science instructor and K-2 discipline leader. Joseph, who coordinates the STEAM program, attributes this to the Lower School’s structure. “Teachers specialize in their academic subjects starting from first grade,” Joseph explains. “Our first-grade through fourth-grade staff is primarily responsible for teaching math and science. This focus facilitates the intentional integration of math and science, a core STEAM principle, and facilitates in-depth knowledge and skill at the elementary level.” The STEAM teaching philosophy inspires students to innovate, invent, question and solve problems from every perspective setting the path for future Renaissance men and women as they prepare to become leaders in the global community.
Christopher DiLillo ’19 building his wind turbine 24