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Elolf STEAM students travel to LEGOLAND
On December 1, students from Elolf STEAM Academy, led by Ms. Carol Harris, attend LEGOLAND Discovery Center at the Shops of Rivercenter. The purpose of the trip was not only to have a bit of fun but teach students about science and engineering by utilizing Legos.
As students entered LEGOLAND, they walked through a model of Downtown San Antonio. Students were in awe of how Legos were used to build replicas of iconic San Antonio buildings, including the Tower of the Americas, the Marriott Rivercenter, the Alamodome, and even the Riverwalk. Afterward, they were split into two classrooms where LEGO Master Builders used a Lego kit to build and teach students how gears work.
Over the past two years, Elolf has transitioned over to a STEAM focus academy. Harris spent the past summer figuring out how to incorporate science, technology, engineering, art, and math into the curriculum.
“They come into my [specials rotation] and I teach them the design process,” Harris said. “We start by imagining, planning, testing, creating, building, and then [do it all over again with a different project]. One of my biggest focuses is to teach them how to have critical thinking skills, and how to push through and figure out how to get from the imaging process to the build process with their group.”
A unique process Harris incorporates is weaving literacy into her lessons and projects.
“We do a read-aloud and then do a STEAM challenge that goes along with a book,” Harris said. “For example, we read ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ together. Then, I gave them a bag of materials that they had to build a flying machine that they had to fly across the room.”
Then, she started to incorporate Legos into projects.
“After school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I offer Lego Club to 2nd and 3rd graders. I also offer the Coding Club and we (the school) offer the Robotics Club,” Harris said. “I use these opportunities to make connections that they (students) may not understand is a connection. We did race cars with coding - they had so much fun.”
For Harris, it is about building a STEAM Pathway - for younger students, they start with Legos (design and building). As they get older and continue with a STEAM focus, they move on to hard concepts like coding and robotics.
“I collected about 100 applications who wanted to be a part of the STEAM clubs,” Harris said. “They want it here (at this campus)!”
She has already seen a change in how her students critically think.
“There are a lot of tears,” Harris said. “They want you to do it for them or they just immediately give up. That’s the biggest thing we battle - teaching them stamina and teaching them that failure does lead to success.”
Harris was trying to find a way to celebrate the club at the end of the semester. Then, she thought - why not go to LEGOLAND, have STEAM-specific Lego activities, and learn about designing and engineering?
So, she raised the money to make it happen. For many of her students, it was the first time getting on a bus, traveling outside their neighborhood, or even traveling to downtown San Antonio.
Their faces illuminated at the sight of… Legos.
“I want to create a culture of thinking, a culture of solving problems, a culture of collaboration, a culture of accountability,” Harris said. “I hope and pray that this takes on a positive spin - these kids need to believe in themselves, a sense of self-pride and self-efficacy that they can do hard things.”
With hard work and dedication, and using Legos, Harris hopes that a small idea that turned into a trip to LEGOLAND will turn into a STEAM Pathway where all students at Elolf find value in designing, building, and engineering.
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