Andover School of Montessori Selected for Museum of Science Pilot Program for Kindergarten Engineering

October 2017 - Andover School of Montessori (ASM) is thrilled to announce its partnership with the award-winning Engineering is Elementary® (EiE®) team at Boston’s Museum of Science (MoS). ASM will pilot the new EiE® for Kindergarten curriculum, which is expected to launch in summer 2018.

ASM has used MoS’s EiE® curriculum units for more than three years as a result of implementing a strategic plan for STEM integration. In 2014, eight ASM faculty and administrative staff completed a year-long professional development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and MoS staff trained ASM faculty to teach the engineering design process using their EiE® curriculum. Since then, kindergarten teacher Susan Burns has been modifying the EiE® lessons for the kindergarten classroom. She is thrilled to be piloting this specialized kindergarten unit, which will introduce the engineering design process to younger learners.

The pilot unit, entitled “Raising the Roof: Designing Shelters,” will seamlessly integrate into the current ASM kindergarten curriculum where the process of learning has always been valued over the final product. Kindergartners will test roof materials and engineer shelter designs, giving them the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills, communicate ideas to their peers, and problem-solve collaboratively. ASM firmly believes that the time-honored Montessori philosophy and contemporary curricula will foster the creativity, flexibility, and persistence needed in order to be successful in today’s world. ASM’s kindergarten students will also continue to receive lessons in programming and robotics, further developing these valuable qualities.

Engineering is Elementary® (EiE®) is a project of the National Center for Technological Literacy® at the Museum of Science, Boston. For more information on the EiE® Kindergarten curriculum, please visit http://eie.org/eieforkindergarten.