Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
Issue link: https://wellesleywestonmagazine.epubxp.com/i/256387
effect on the future of Wellesley's STEM cur- riculum. "It's almost like one stop shopping for teachers, students, families, and commu- nity members to come together and see where STEM careers can take us," she says. "And then as we look for more and more ways to build real world learning into all our classes, but in science and math and engineering classes in particular, this will give us a real concrete place to collectively remember what we saw." But since we're talking science, we should distinguish between the Expo's macro effects on strategic goals and long-term curriculum planning, and the micro effects that will be felt by students immediately. The Expo organizing team worked with Wellesley Public School teachers and administrators to review student performance on tests like the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). They then developed hands- on exhibits to address identified weaknesses, many of which are simply due to the timing of Wellesley's curriculum being out of sync with state testing standards. For example, the group noticed that Wellesley elementary school students tend to miss MCAS ques- tions on magnets. So they developed a special magnet exhibit to help students get a visual and physical understanding of the concept. On the flip side, students of all ages will also have the chance to educate. Each elemen- tary school will display a parent-run science experiment. Middle and high school students have been working closely with their teachers 109 s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 | W e l l e s l e y W e s t o n M a g a z i n e 104-110_WWMa14_science-tech fair_v2_WellesleyWeston Magazine 2/2/14 12:06 PM Page 109