Middle School STEM Arcade by Mr. Contini
A commonly held intuitive mantra in project-based learning is that learning best happens when we are teaching others. With that in mind, I try to create experiences for students that allow them to teach a wider audience about what they are learning in class. The Middle School STEM Arcade Exhibition provided students with a chance to take the STEM topics they learned about during the trimester and transform them into interactive games accessible by the entire Whittle community and beyond. Given the remote teaching environment at the time, creating an exhibit that was accessible to anyone regardless of their proximity to the school was essential. Students knew that their finished work would be viewed not just by their teacher but also by their peers, parents, and possibly a broader audience.
To create their own games and worlds for the STEM Arcade Exhibition, students utilized CoSpaces, a virtual reality creation platform designed for education. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are a passion of mine and are quickly becoming a mainstream media platform. I find it is a fun and creative way to combine our students' love of gaming environments like Minecraft, with a more immersive virtual reality experience. CoSpaces allows students of all ability levels to create virtual spaces and includes the option of adding programming through Block Code and Javascript. I also find this platform allows for students to push themselves with coding challenges and hone their skills if they are already adept at coding.
The finished projects reflect the topics students were learning by grade. 6th Grade learned about the brain - specifically the lobes of the brain, basic functions, and associated senses. They also learned about the impact of sleep, screentime, food, and exercise on the brain and overall health. Our 7th Grade students learned about the sun and solar system as well as what causes moon phases and eclipses. They tackled the scale of the solar system - both in terms of the size of different objects and the distance between objects. 8th Grade focused on the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources. They learned about initiatives to convert to 100% renewable energy and how energy use relates to the consumption of resources that have a direct effect on our environment.
I am always amazed at the ingenuity of my students when they are given an open-ended project. I set some basic parameters and provided some criteria that I wanted them to incorporate, and then the rest of the experience they design was completely up to them! Mazes, puzzles, parkour courses, cinematic scenes, musical accompaniments, and fantastical scenery pop-up may surprise you.
View examples of student work below:
6th Grade:
Brain and Memory
Project by Ethan S.
7th Grade:
Solar System
Project by Kingston F. and Isis M.
8th Grade:
Renewable Energy
Project by Chiara S.
About the Author
Scott Kley Contini is a Middle School Creative Arts & Design and STEM Instructor at our Washington, DC Campus. He is also a member of our Residential Life Faculty.