Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Successfully Furnishing iSTEAM3D Classrooms

  • 04/01/15
iSTEAM3D

Innovative furniture, provided by Smith System, helped propel the ambitious iSTEAM3D curriculum model to success at the Desoto Independent School District.

“JUST PULLING [in] any furniture wouldn’t work,” explains Dr. Jo Green-Rucker with DeSoto Independent School District in DeSoto, Texas. The suburban school district was about to take its STEM initiative a step further with the creation of iSTEAM3D. Its unique curriculum model would combine science, technology, engineering and math with innovative, the arts and 3D learning (discovering, designing and developing).

With the curriculum defined, the district set out to implement an “academy” in each of the district’s three middle schools. Each would have five teachers.

“We wanted the students to use every inch of the academy… in any way they want[ed].” The areas were designed with large open spaces for content, projects and collaboration, a dance room and a science lab. Next up was installing furniture that would allow maximize use of the spaces.

Smith System, a leader in designing furniture for 21st Century classrooms, stepped in to provide tables, lab tables, chairs and storage systems, within the district’s ambitious timeframe.

The versatility of the space and casters on the furniture allow easy transitions from large groups to small. A typical day in the academy, according to West Middle School reading teacher Yvonne Lowry, starts “in the morning [as] students rotate to each teacher to receive content and project instructions. In the afternoons, students have project time with their small groups. The teachers act more as facilitators.”

About one year into launching the academies, all signs point to success. The students are enjoying their new lab stools and tables, “because they are different from the traditional, which is facilitating a new learning process,” says Joey Hayward, East Middle School science teacher. He adds: “The students in iSTEAM are scoring higher than those not in it. We’ve seen tremendous growth in students.”

www.SmithSystem.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • El Paso District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, recently announced that construction has begun on a 119,000-square-foot elementary school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Pfluger Architects, Carl Daniel Architects, and LDCM Solutions on the new Davenport Elementary School, which has an expected completion date of 2027.

  • Texas State University Completes Stadium Renovations

    Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, recently announced that it has completed a series of additions and renovations to its football stadium, according to a news release. Formerly known as the Bobcat Stadium End Zone Complex, the Johnny and Nathali Weisman Football Performance Center is an 85,000-square-foot expansion featuring hospitality spaces, banquet spaces, exterior concourses, and upgrades to the field house.

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

Digital Edition