2013 STEM RLE Awardees

Sioux Center Community School District redesigned its Learning Center and added on a technology lab (pictured above) that features collaborative configurations and various technology to facilitate and develop 21st century skills needed in the future workforce.

The four 2013 STEM RLE awardees began delivering on their promise in the fall of 2014 to re-imagine learning spaces for moving forward STEM and education as a whole. Partnering with the STEM Council and local communities, each room now has all of the ingredients in place—high-tech and leading-edge, physical spaces, well-prepared teachers and links to the outside world of STEM professionals.

Today, those STEM RLEs operate at full-capacity, changing the face and substance of student learning. Since each classrooms' renovations, the schools have served as models for dozens of other school districts interested in understanding how to successfully redesign learning environments. Learn more about each classroom below:

Davenport West High School, Davenport

This STEM RLE developed from the school district's desire for an interdisciplinary approach that combines a ninth-grade science and mathematics course into one unit. Last summer, two teachers aligned their core standards and created a cohesive, project-based curriculum that utilizes the technology and the collaborative design of the STEM RLE to teach both mathematics and science together.

Hoover High School, Des Moines

Leaders at Hoover High School used the STEM Council funds to create two RLEs, including a Project Lead the Way classroom and a STEM learning space available to all teachers of all subjects. In both spaces, the designers opened up each room to at least double its capacity and created collaborative, "maker's space" environments for students.

Mt. Pleasant Middle School, Mt. Pleasant

Two middle school teachers use two, identical STEM RLEs funded through this STEM Council program. Each room uses round tables and chairs with a screen at each pod, as well as new iPads and what is considered a "wall-sized iPad," called a Mondopad, to engage students more in new technology.

Sioux Center High School, Sioux Center

School district leaders found opportunity in the STEM Council funding to add on to an existing project of redesigning its Learning Center and built on a technology lab that is used by both high school and middle school teachers. The lab features four, distinct pods that allow students to work together, using various technologies. Teachers say students have the opportunity to learn as a group and share with the entire class at the press of a button.