About Our STEM Program
Exploring STEM in Florence 1 Schools
With so many exciting branches of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to explore, you never know what you’ll find students learning in classrooms throughout Florence 1 Schools. From using virtual reality goggles to visit other planets to building BMXbikes from the ground up, students across the district participate in a wide variety of active learning lessons that keep them engaged. The district has four schools with a heavy concentration of STEM across their entire curriculum: West Florence High School, Sneed Middle School, Carver Elementary School and John W. Moore Middle School; Carver and Moore include the Arts to make their focus STEAM.
Dr. Haley Taylor, 2023-2024 district Teacher of the Year, teaches STEM at Moore. She said that the wide range of courses available at Moore and across the district enhances student interest and also helps them prepare for their future.
“At Moore, we provide a rigorous STEAM program including classes such as Broadcast Journalism, Pottery, Sculpting, Guitar, Piano, Design and Modeling, Robotics, and Drones,” Taylor said. “The program and STEAM itself are important because it not only prepares our students to be college and career-ready but it also allows them opportunities to learn new skills and concepts about the world around them.”
The STEM program at West Florence High School is an honors magnet program that accelerates and enriches learning experiences for students who are academically gifted and have an interest in STEM-related majors and careers. The program creates learning experiences that enable students to pursue AP courses, research, or internships in their field of interest.
In STEM classes students learn wide-ranging skills, including problem-solving and teamwork, that easily translate to other courses as well as future careers. For example, in Biomedical Science, students explore concepts that they have learned in biology combined with real-world issues as they take on the roles of medical professionals trying to solve a case. Students must rely on their own observations and problem-solving skills and collaborate with their peers to be successful. Using an anatomage table, a virtual life-sized dissection table, high school students can learn anatomy and physiology with scans of real human bodies.
Elementary students explore STEM in their school labs where they are introduced to the concepts of computer coding, robotics, the science of flight, and more through Project Lead The Way (PLTW) curriculum. Secondary schools also use PLTW courses, teaching students about robotics, aeronautics, engineering, and the medical field. The hands-on PLTW units match up with state science standards and support and expand upon what students are learning throughout the year. PLTW also builds upon itself so that students get a foundational knowledge in elementary schools and are able to choose electives in areas they already have an interest in when they get to middle school.
During visits on the STEM bus, students explore augmented reality with zSpace computers where they can virtually dissect a frog and see the inner workings of a heart. Engineering is introduced through littleBits kits where students can safely create electricity using circuits, learning the difference between a single pole and a double pole switch. They can also delve into computer coding, learning the importance of being precise when giving commands so that their drone can fly where and how it needs to.
“The STEM Bus activities have allowed our teachers and students to see the world of STEM as they never have before,” said Chris Rogers, Florence 1 Director of STEM. “The numbers in our STEM classes have grown in our secondary schools and we had more students in our high school STEM courses earn dual credit than ever had before. We just graduated our first class of STEM graduates from our high school STEM Magnet program and this year's freshman class is the largest one we’ve ever had. This growth begins with students experiencing STEM in elementary school and grows even beyond high school. I am excited about the direction of our STEM programs and I look forward to seeing the course selections and number of students continue to grow.”
Drones are used at all grade levels in Florence 1, from understanding the basics of how to make a drone take off, to more complicated lessons like learning to use the drone’s cameras to fly when the drone is out of sight of the operator. High school students can earn an unmanned aircraft license, from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), that allows them to fly drones in a variety of careers, including the military, real estate photography, medical transport and even law enforcement.
Inside the new Starlab mobile planetarium, students can take captivating, virtual trips to places they would never be able to visit, like the Milky Way Galaxy. If they are learning about the phases of the moon in science class, they can watch the lunar phases taking place right in front of them while they traverse space in the dome-shaped Starlab, without ever leaving their school.
Virtual trips are for high school students too! Aviation classes at Advantage Academy put students in the pilot seat of an immersive flight simulator where students learn all of the skills they need in the classroom before getting in the cockpit of a real plane to log their flight hours and earn their private pilot license.
Virtual reality technology has crossed over disciplines in Florence 1 and is being used for far more than just science classes. Elementary school students can now use virtual reality goggles for interplanetary travels while high school students use them in English class. Have you ever wondered what the world was like during the time period of To Kill A Mockingbird or what the famous balcony looked like in Romeo and Juliet? Using virtual reality goggles students can immerse themselves in the story, connecting the written text with visual learning.
One of the newest STEM items to be introduced in Florence 1 is the Abii Robot. This adorable robotic friend takes the Math and Reading skills students have learned in class and helps students master them through one-on-one practice time. Abii is able to take students step by step through difficult problems while also helping to build confidence in the new skills as it celebrates student achievement through songs, dances and high-fives.
Over the last five years, Florence 1 Schools has been introducing students to exciting areas of study and career paths they didn’t know existed. Our dedicated educators have watched students become more invested in their education and excited about what their futures hold. Currently, six of our schools are STEM Certified by COGNIA. Several more are working on achieving that certification. We are looking forward to seeing our programs continue to grow district-wide because there is so much more to come as we explore STEM in Florence 1 Schools.
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Contact Us!
Chris Rogers
Director of STEM Education
843-673-1157 Chris.Rogers@fsd1.org
Beth McFayden
STEM Assistant
bmcfadyen@fsd1.org