Arizona STEM Network's immersion guide is a framework for integrating STEM education in K-12 schools. It is based on four representative tiers: Exploratory, Introductory, Partial Immersion, and Full Immersion, with each providing STEM-related opportunities and practical tools for improving student success in STEM. Initially, our team of ASU instructors and undergraduate students, together with the elementary school principal and teachers, collaborated to implement modified Introductory and Partial Immersion models of instruction for the fifth and sixth grade classes from a public Lake Havasu City elementary school. The instruction occurred during regular school hours on the ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City campus, with ASU instructors directing experimentation and ASU undergraduates working directly with the elementary students to facilitate the activities and gain experience as STEM educators. During Year 1 of the program, fifth graders explored STEM concepts through hands on lessons and experiments which included elements from both the Exploratory and Introductory models. The primary goals of the exploratory model were to inspire, engage, educate, and excite students about STEM. The fifth graders from Year 1, now sixth graders, advanced to a modified version of the Partial Immersion Model during Year 2, with a new batch of fifth graders participating as described above. The Partial Immersion Model seeks to provide students with non-traditional, inquiry based activities that coincide with the sixth grade science curriculum in an effort to reinforce the key learning objectives. Developing a comprehensive two-year program increases the likelihood of improving student success in K-12 STEM and it provides undergraduate students the opportunity for professional development through an atypical teaching experience. Described herein is the development of specific lectures, experiments and methods to evaluate program success and the logistics of implementing the Partial Immersion Model in the sixth grade class.

Enhacing elementary STEM education through a two-year partial immersion model

251st National Meeting (2016)

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