STEM activities solidify knowledge

Bishop Flaget School is an ODE-designated STEM school, and teacher Carrie Hill has made great use of the activities she learned about in the Ohio Oil and Gas-sponsored STEM workshop!

Hill completed these activities with her fourth graders, connecting them with the Electricity, heat, and matter objectives:

Hill said her fourth graders have been exploring source as well as electricity and energy conservation and use this quarter. They were able to restate how fossil fuels are created. When Hill asked if the class could “make their own oil” in the big jug (Biotic materials), nearly half raised their hands—their big ‘a-ha’ moment came when other students corrected them. Without the heat, pressure and time. . .there would be no oil! The hands-on activity and peer leadership was vital for nearly half of the class.

Another ‘a-ha’ moment was in the Baking rocks lesson. Once shale gained a great deal of weight due to water absorption, students understood what the words "permeability" and "porosity" meant for both fossils and fossil fuels. It also helped with teaching economics in social studies and why Ohio is becoming a big oil state.

Hill used Pipeline pigging with the fifth grade STEM class as a challenge activity. This also fit in well as a reinforcement activity on energy, as she reviewed petroleum from her lessons with the group as fourth graders last year.

"My fifth grade worked hard to make their 'pigs' squeal through the pipe—one industrious team actually did! However, the other students made sure to point out that the squealing pig was not abrasive enough to actually clean the pipe. (This highly competitive, all male class just loved this project!) The students were amazed to realize just how crucial and complex technology is to the oil industry and how much this is impacting Ohio.

Thanks to the workshop, Hill was able to use "challenging, meaningful and fun" hands-on activities centered around teaching topics. She said, "Using these lessons also showed me just how prevalent knowledge without understanding can be. Students may repeat the words, pass the test, read a great deal. . .without really understanding the principles behind the lessons. Hands-on learning is crucial to true understanding and application of our curriculum standards."