Due to the need for continuous review, a district has plans underway to have middle schools update outdated technology by changing classrooms into STEM labs.
In Lawrence, Kansas, student projects will include circuit boards for designing software, model rockets, and robots.
All four of the middle schools will see a renovation of their technology classrooms. One lab at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School is completed, and the others will be added in the next few years. The lab and new curriculum were piloted at Liberty.
“(The old program) gave you a really quick overview of some different technologies; much of that technology currently is a little bit out of date,” said Patrick Kelly, director of career and technical education for the district.
The new technology curriculum is called Project Lead the Way, and is being phased in at the remaining schools. According to Kelly, student and teacher feedback is vital going forward.
“For us, it’s really important to actually work with students on the curriculum and see is it really addressing their needs,” he said.
The new STEM labs are on target to be in place by 2018.
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