Beyond the classroom: Extra-curricular experiences support STEM education

John Jay senior Austin Omin has worked towards implementing a Meatless Monday in the school’s cafeteria. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Part 1 of 2-Part REPORT

Nomie Whelan and Packer Martin, both juniors at John Jay High School, stand behind their Earth Rise table at the John Jay Sustainability Fair. PAUL WIEMAN PHOTO

By PAUL WIEMAN 

Carolyn Bean teaches a gardening class at the Harvey School, and supporting this course there is a 5,000-square-foot garden which serves as a co-curricular activity maintained by the students. 

“What I want to do is show students that they can make a difference in the school and the environment, and have a sense of satisfaction accomplishing this,” says Bean, reflecting on the goals of the class and what she hopes for her students.

When we think of learning science or math, or applying technology and engineering in an academic setting, we tend to think of classrooms and labs and teachers standing in the front of the room. This type of learning is punctuated with tests and end of semester exams. 

But a vibrant form of science learning can also take place out of the classroom, in extra-curricular and co-curricular settings, and a quick survey of our area schools emphasizes this very real form of learning as well. A healthy and broad array of STEM-oriented clubs serve the needs and interests of local students, and in joining these organizations, students learn the lessons and practices of science, technology, engineering and math without the pressure of a test or exam. 

Some are preparing for competitions, some are brainstorming new ideas, some are simply wanting to be with other students energized by the same ideas they find fascinating, and others are working alone on ideas that they have thought up on their own and are trying to develop further.

Austin Omin is a senior at John Jay High School who had a vision of Meatless Mondays in the school cafeteria. 

“I had heard about this happening in New York City schools, and I thought it might be a good idea to bring it here,” he said. But, he learned, Meatless Mondays don’t just happen by talking about it. “Initially, I prepared a proposal for the administration. I learned about the carbon footprint of various meats, I determined how we would be changing our impact if we had a day without meat on the menu, and then I presented this to the people in charge.” 

But that was not the only data collection. 

“Next, I surveyed the student body, and I had to learn how to construct effective surveys that produced measurable data. I learned that more than 50 percent of the student body supported this idea,” he said. “With this information, the food services got on board.” 

Omin designed a month-long pilot program, and what he rapidly learned was that what students said in a survey is not necessarily what they did when in the cafeteria line.  

“Essentially, the food service made 20 percent less sales on Meatless Mondays, and their support of this idea waned, so now I had to approach the problem differently.”

Given his information from surveys, talking to the adults involved, and his pilot program, Omin is redirecting his energies to offering more popular alternatives to meat dishes, thereby reducing the amount of meat sold in the cafeteria and reaching the goal differently than he first imagined. Omin collected data, used it to promote a plan, presented this to the people in power, and then analyzed the results in a manner that forced him to shift into a different plan. 

“I learned that change is hard, that surveys need to be well-constructed to get usable data, and that what people say and what people do are not always the same,” Omin noted. 

That’s an interesting array of life lessons from one idea outside of the classroom.

A garden grows

Co-curricular learning is another form of active learning practiced at our area schools. The Harvey School has built gardening into its curriculum, but several students volunteer in the garden through a club, and other gardening projects flow out of the class taught by Bean. 

“We have two goals with our garden. First, we are trying to build a garden that supports the various life cycles in this region, helping sustain what is naturally here …  a garden that helps all types of wildlife,” she said. “Secondly, we aim to produce food that we can contribute to the school’s food services in a meaningful way.” 

Last year was its second year, and Bean noticed the return of dragonflies. “That shows us that our garden has attracted enough insects that predator insects (dragonflies) are now present, and that is a healthy sign for the environment, one that benefits birds and other forms of natural life.” 

Multi-year collection project

The garden sits alongside a course that features students designing their own gardens, learning about a “plant of the day,” discussing best strategies for the garden, and more. “This year,” Bean added, “we are focusing on production and trying to harvest enough to make a difference in our school.”

The Earth Rise Sustainability Club at John Jay High School is embarking on a multi-year data collection project that is ambitious in its scope and design. Tapping into the work of Green Schools Alliance which has established START: Sustainability Tracking, Analytics & Roadmap Tool, students are gathering data on 53 different areas throughout the entire district, all designed to determine where Katonah-Lewisboro School District stands on a number of sustainable measures. 

“It’s exciting,” said Nomie Whelan, a junior. “We are starting on this multi-year project, and it’s something we get to hand down to another group of students behind us, and all this data gathering is important and will be meaningful.” 

This article is the first of two stories  about learning outside the classroom and part of a continuing series exploring how local schools are addressing the teaching of science and its related fields technology, engineering, and mathematics — collectively referred to as STEM. This independently-reported series in The Recorder is made possible by a grant from Regeneron.