BCS Advantage Magazine Special Edition #9 | Page 10

STEM Labs Bring Science
to Students
Melissa Melberg works
with her second-grade
class in the STEM Lab
at Charles C. Bell
Elementary School.
By Tim Reaves, Communications Department
Buncombe County Schools’ new STEM labs are changing the way students learn!
By bringing the problem-solving methods used by engineers and scientists to our elementary schools, BCS
teachers are preparing students for jobs that don’t even exist yet.
“We don’t sit in rows anymore; we collaborate,” said Patty Long, a second-grade teacher at Charles C. Bell
Elementary School. “It gives them a chance to think differently. That’s what we want, creative thinkers.”
The labs feature worktables and supply bins with materials for fun and educational projects, along with
STEM coordinators who help teachers connect the projects to STEM lessons.
Melissa Melberg’s second-grade class built snowmen with paper balls in the C.C. Bell STEM Lab as part of
a STEM Challenge in December. Each team had to try to build the tallest snowman that could stand on its
own. The instructions were intentionally vague, providing only the goal and a few rules. The children had
to figure out what to do based on their classroom science and math lessons.
“This is the design process,” Melberg said. “It requires constructive, collaborative thinking. More hands-on
activities will transfer into the abstract thinking as they get older.”
Teamwork is the key to success, said C.C. Bell STEM Lab coordinator Michael Kerr.
“You put all the ideas in a bucket and then find out which one works best,” he said. “It might not be yours,
but that doesn’t mean that yours isn’t valuable. It’s neat to see the lights come on, to see kids think ‘if
we stop bickering and start working together, we’re going to get something done.’ There’s no wrong way
to find a solution as long as you get there. And when these kids get older, they’ll realize the importance of
collaboration, negotiation, and adaptability.”
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