Update from STEM Coordinator Amanda Easterling
Over the summer, Mrs. Mlnarik, Mrs. Bridges, and I took a 16-hour training course through Project Lead The Way (PLTW), which is a hands-on project-based science curriculum. This school year, we are piloting the program both in their respective classrooms and in the STEM lab with 4th and 5th grade. Using a combination of PLTW modules, activities from the Sanford PROMISE lab, and other resources, I’m meeting with the 4th graders once a week and 5th graders twice a week to supplement their math and science education with hands-on, engaging practical applications of their classroom knowledge.
Fifth graders work with microscopes in the new STEM lab at Sioux Falls Lutheran School.
In the high school realm, I am teaching Biology II with the goal of having all students well-prepared for the AP test in May, if desired. I’m also teaching Physics, which provides a great upper-level science opportunity for those who may not be interested in the life sciences. I have been working with Kara McCormick and her team from the Sanford PROMISE lab to develop some exciting labs with advanced laboratory techniques, like PCR and DNA electrophoresis for Biology II. Mrs. McCormick and I are also exploring the possibility of having our Biology and Physics students visit Sanford’s research facility to see more in-depth research up close.
High school students in Life Skills class participate in mock interviews with visitors from Sanford Health.
Lastly, I’m leading a Life Skills class that will help juniors and seniors prepare for life after high school. So far this year we have had units on ACT prep, college applications and financial aid, resume writing and interviewing, and self-defense. Later this year we will cover woodworking, gardening, cooking/baking, basic car mechanics and repair, sewing, and more. We are bringing in members of our association churches to help lead some of these units and know we will be so blessed by their involvement! I am also collaborating with Anne Hutchinson, the Career Development Consultant at Sanford, to bring in professionals from a variety of areas at Sanford–from graphic designers to physicists in the oncology department–to teach students about what they do and how they got there.
It has been a joy to serve SFLS as the STEM coordinator for the past few months, and I look forward to what God has in store for our students this year and in the years to come. I know He will do big things!
Amanda Easterling, STEM Coordinator & High School Science Teacher