Implementing a Whole-School STEM program: Successes, surprises, and lessons learned

This paper describes results from a two-year-old Whole-School STEM Initiative at Laing Middle School of Science and Technology in Mount Pleasant, SC. This Initiative uses engineering design and technological tools to address mandated curriculum standards in all subjects, including Fine Arts. The program´s goal is to teach students to solve a wide variety of problems using appropriate tools from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Over a three-year period, the program expects to address all Standards for Technological Literacy benchmarks, and to provide hands-on experience with ten core technologies. Preliminary results from formal assessments, as well as subjective perspectives of students, parents, and educators are described.