Schools Host STEM Days for Parents

Schools Host STEM Days for Parents
Posted on 05/31/2023

Miramonte and Baker schools in the Mountain View School District (MVSD) recently hosted a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Day for parents.  Led by three of MVSD’s Teachers On Special Assignment (TOSA), Mary Aguayo, Tizoc Tirado and Rod Cano, the workshops enabled parents to get a first-hand look at the STEM learning their children will take part in during the District’s summer program.

At Miramonte’s full-day workshop, the 5E instructional model was presented where parents learned to Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. The 5E model provides a structure for learners to connect science ideas with their experiences and apply their learning to new contexts.

According to Aguayo, the parents built a balloon car using the design process of planning, brainstorming, designing, testing, evaluation and redesigning. At the end of the all-day event, they raced their balloon cars.

“It was truly a site to see! Our parents were very engaged in the learning and we wanted to give them a taste of what the students will be doing this summer during our Super Summer Program,” said Aguayo. “It was great day of engagement and fun for our parents.”

“Our parents had a great time learning about STEM and building their inventions,” said Maria Diaz, Miramonte School’s Community Liaison. “We had scheduled breaks throughout the day but no one wanted to stop working and playing with their inventions.”

Parents participating in Baker School’s STEM Day practiced being consumer product researchers using the scientific method to find out different products’ claims from advertisements.  They formulated questions and created procedures to test the claims.    

Thanks to generous donations from Gonzalez/Northgate and Starbucks, workshop participants enjoyed pan dulce, coffee and raffle prizes.

 

The three TOSA’s will be leading additional Parent STEM Days over the next few weeks at other MVSD schools.

  • Mountain View Preschool Programs
  • Magnolia Learning Center