STEM and skating: unique lessons for Port Jeff students
Middle school students had a unique educational experience in which they
learned how the concepts of science, technology, engineering and math
connect to many parts of everyday life.
Sixth-graders took a STEM field trip to the United Skates of America in
Seaford and attended a lesson and hands-on activities that directly
related to what they are learning in their classroom. Following the
lesson, they roller skated and continued to grasp laws of motion and
other aspects of physics. The students also measured and calculated
speeds of themselves running and skating and also used mean, median and
mode to compare their roller skate sizes.
“I was really impressed with the students’ knowledge of the different
STEM ‘superstars,’” said math teacher Megan Ryan, referring to historic
and contemporary dignitaries in the STEM field such as Albert Einstein,
Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and Steve Jobs. “The lessons we participated
in were great ways to connect math to real life; and [of the roller
skating] it was fun to watch so many students do something they had
never done before!”