Middle School
While the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) STEM Pathways are designed for students in 9th-12th grade, LSU recognizes the need to create a pipeline for success beginning elementary and middle school. There are several opportunities for middle school students to get involved with the LSU STEM Pathways before 9th grade: middle school courses for high school credit, middle school courses for middle school credit, and middle school STEM modules. Each of the middle school offerings seeks to empower teachers with the tools and training they need to effectively engage all students in STEM-driven, project-based learning while also meeting their curricular needs.
Who Does Middle School LSU STEM Pathways for High School Credit in 2023-24?
High school credit course information.
Introduction to STEM Pathways and Careers was developed for the Louisiana Department of Education through a partnership between Louisiana State University and the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, with partial funding from the National Science Foundation. This course is a high school credit basic career readiness course that counts on all STEM Pathways as well as towards traditional Jumpstart diplomas. While the course is designed to be taken in high school, it is available to students as early as seventh grade.
This year long project-based course explores four main pathways of STEM education and possible careers in the fields of 1) Computing and Computer Science, 2) Pre-Engineering, 3) Digital Design and Emergent Media, and 4) Biomedical Sciences. This course is meant to expose students to these overarching concepts:
- To expand awareness of various careers and occupational pathways related to STEM
- To stimulate the understanding of higher order thinking processes such as the engineering design process, the scientific method, and computational thinking
- To develop foundational knowledge and skills in the JumpStart pathways and careers as related to STEM, and utilize the knowledge and skills in their current educational setting.
- To increase interest in the four core areas of STEM related to this class through project-based activities that are also standards based.
Course Objectives:
- Identify career opportunities in various STEM fields.
- Use computing technology for creative expression.
- Explain the Software Development Process through projects and activities where students design and code.
- Explain the Engineering Design Process and utilize the process in various engineering projects.
- Describe the role of visual communication and its cultural implications in society.
- Use various forms of digital and emergent media to design their own products.
- Explore and analyze medical scenarios in the areas of forensics, comparative anatomy, ecology studies, biochemistry, microbiology, and bioinformatics.
Intro to STEM Pathways course materials list
Complete list of LDOE Jump Start universal courses
This course is part of the high school Computing Pathway and can be taken for high school credit beginning in 8th grade.
The course follows the framework of Seven Big Ideas adopted in the AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) course but focuses more on fun and engaging exploration and experimentation and less on problem-solving and formal analysis than the AP CSP course. To prepare students for the rigors of other courses in the Pathway, this course models ways to adopt a productive disposition that fosters creativity and perseverance. In addition, career exploration lessons are threaded throughout the course, with a focus on developing students' interest in computing and identification with the computing professions.
- Demonstrate how to use technology to create computing artifacts.
- Explain the Big Ideas in Computing.
- Describe how computers work, and how to use them effectively.
- Analyze how the Big Ideas in Computing are relevant in daily life.
- Describe careers related to computing and the requisites for each.
- Communicate computing ideas using appropriate terminology
- Collaborate with other students to develop computing artifacts, algorithms or protocols.
Survey of Computing course materials list
Who Does LSU STEM Pathways for Middle School Credit in 2023-24?
Middle school credit course information.
The Middle School STEM Pathways Program is pleased to announce that we now offer three middle school electives to serve as a pipeline to prepare students for the High School STEM Pathways– Aquaponics, Step into STEM, and Intro to Computing. These courses provide middle school students with the opportunity to access quality STEM courses through project-based learning experiences without the pressure of high school credit. Aquaponics Step into STEM Step into Computer Science
Who Does LSU STEM Pathways Middle School Training Modules in 2023-24?
Training modules information.
COMMENTS
The Louisiana Department of Education, the Louisiana Board of Regents, the LaSTEM Advisory Council and the Governor’s office have teamed up to ensure Louisiana’s students have exposure to STEM courses and credentials starting in elementary school and continuing through college.
“Scientific Thinking” by the Louisiana Department of Education. Understanding Science: How Science Really Works: “Modern Science: What’s changing?” by the University of California Museum of Paleontology. “Is Pluto a Planet?” by Smithsonian Magazine. “Galileo Galilei: Biography, Inventions & Other Facts” by Nola Taylor Redd from SPACE.com.
The Louisiana Department of Education today announced a timeline and set of resources and trainings to support the implementation of the Louisiana Student Standards for Science PDF.
The standards include: Performance Expectations – define what students should be able to do by the end of the year. Science and Engineering Practices – the practices that scientists and engineers use when investigating real -world phenomena and designing solutions to problems.
AT A GLANCE: Louisiana has made adopting high-quality (or Tier 1) curricula a primary focus of the state’s improvement plan for K-12 schools. This shift requires making high-quality instructional materials more broadly accessible and supporting teachers in understanding and using them.
While the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) STEM Pathways are designed for students in 9th-12th grade, LSU recognizes the need to create a pipeline for success beginning elementary and middle school.
The Louisiana Student Standards for Science represent the knowledge and skills needed for students to successfully transition to postsecondary educations and the workplace. The standards call for students to:
To define and set goals for high-quality K–12 student work, Louisiana has turned to federally required and state-mandated K–12 standards and assessments in key content areas, such as English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
Researchers examined Louisiana Department of Education strategies that might be contributing to these results, including a coherent academic strategy, transparent and regular communication with stakeholders, and support for local decisionmaking.
The lesson helps students develop and use multiple grade-appropriate elements of the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs), which are deliberately selected to aid student sense-making of phenomena or designing of solutions.