STEM classes growing in popularity for girls
RUTHERFORD – During the last few years, the STEM courses offered at Rutherford High School have seen an uptick in enrollment, particularly among female students. The district is planning a STEM Day for girls on Feb. 16, with nearly 65 eighth grade girls signed up to attend.
Standing for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, is the merging of science and technology coursework learned in a laboratory setting.
There are currently 30 students enrolled in the required, year-long introductory course, Foundations of Technology. Next year, it will be offered as half-year class to allow more students to enroll.More advanced courses include Technological Design, Advanced Design Applications, Engineering Design and Honors Physics.
Principal Frank Morano, said the district made a commitment to STEM about two years ago, spending $500,000 to convert the former wood shop into a lab.
“We did a lot of research to determine the type of curriculum we were going to use, and how to turn the wood shop room into a state-of-the-art STEM lab. After tons of research, we selected Engineering by Design, and have turned it into a program that has really taken off,” said Morano.
Registration was modest at first, but once students gained an understanding of STEM, enrollment grew.
“It was one of our school goals for a few years, to increase our enrollment of female students taking STEM courses,” Morano said. “The addition of Ms. [Hera] Kalu has been a major asset to get to our goal. Students love her and she had a true passion for engineering and physics. Female students are excited to take it because they see a woman teaching the class.”
Teacher Timothy Ajala explained that STEM differs from more traditional science classes.
“It’s different in the sense that STEM is more about application, because we apply what we learn and involves problem-solving activities,” Ajala said.
Freshman Chloe Webster-Kim, together with her team members, has created wind-powered turbines, hydraulic arms, a bridge and is designing and constructing a to-scale model house.
An example of a problem posed to students was to get an item to a destination.
“What do they have to do for the project to arrive safety and on time? So in this case, they have to create the packaging system. We give them a potato chip, and they have to create a vehicle and actually mount the packaging onto the vehicle, speeding at about 30 miles per hour. The potato chip has to arrive safety without falling off the vehicle and without breaking,” Ajala said.
Other topics tackled by the STEM students –rocket launches with a raw egg cargo, designing a universal cell phone case, separating oil and water, inventing a sorting machine and building a Rube Goldberg device demonstrating the nine core technologies.