STEM for Kids
Club Description: STEM For Kids strives to create a collaborative environment where high school students openly explore their interests in STEM and, in turn, teach elementary-age students STEM concepts to enrich their learned-based experiences. This club serves as a place for any high school student to learn about STEM subjects they may not have the chance to study in their typical coursework, while also practicing the protégé effect (teaching material to others helps one personally learn the material). During club meetings, high school students decide what STEM concept they want to focus on, take the help of research and media sources to learn about it, and then collaborate to decide upon the best approach for teaching the concept to elementary students. Each “unit” (multiple meetings and one teaching day) is on a different STEM topic of the high school students’ choosing.
Meeting Schedule:
High school meetings: first and third Thursdays of each month (3:15pm).
Where? Dr. Price’s room, Room 306.
Teaching days: last Thursday of each month, during the high school lunch hour (location
determined in preceding high school meetings).
*This information is subject to change, particularly meeting/teaching day dates, but
Thursday is the day we try to stick to.*
Who can participate? Any interested student grades 9-12 can join.
Who will we teach? Elementary students, grades 4 and below (focus on grades 3-4).
Club Sponsor: Dr. Rayne Price
Mrs. Havert is also a wonderful advisor/mentor/collaborator.
STEM For Kids Canvas course link (meeting dates, learning materials, announcements, etc.):
https://usbucs.instructure.com/enroll/YRJ8W7
STEM For Kids 2022-2023 school year positions:
President: Kaylee DeGennaro
Vice President: Lily Mefford
Director of Curriculum: Jordan Havert
Directors of Research: Ella Barnett and Helaina Bernedo
President/Vice President Contact Information:
Kaylee DeGennaro: degennarokaylee@univschool.etsu.edu
Lily Mefford: meffordlily@univschool.etsu.edu
Sponsor: Dr. Rayne Price
Our first teaching day:
With the help of our teacher sponsors, Dr. Barnett, and of the club members, STEM For Kids hosted its first teaching day on September 22, 2022! Here’s a look at what that was like:
A teaching day is when the high school students in STEM For Kids go to an elementary classroom to teach the elementary students about a topic the high school students researched in preceding meetings. High school students work to make teaching days fully interactive, answering questions
elementary students may have and ensuring every child leaves the teaching day excited about learning.
Our first teaching day’s topic was herpetology, the branch of zoology concerned with reptiles and amphibians. We taught Dr. Barnett’s third graders. We led four separate stations: a sorting station, a pictionary station, a visual station, and a texture station. Two to three highschoolers were at each station, and elementary students switched stations after a short period of time.
Our main takeaways: the elementary students were passionate learners! They asked many, many questions, and even if the high school students did not know the answer, it was a wonderful experience to see pure curiosity being exercised! The high school students also enjoyed the out-of-the ordinary experience of being in the teacher’s shoes. After the teaching day, many elementary students recognized the high schoolers that taught them; this was one of the goals for the club: to foster relationships between students in our K-12 school! It was wonderful seeing that carried out so naturally.
