SHS STEAM Teachers Win International 1st Prize for Curriculum and Teaching

Current educational systems often motivate students to search for the “right answer” instead of asking questions about the world around them. Scarsdale High School’s STEAM program focuses on fostering creative students who challenge themselves in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. “We’re teaching students to get through something that’s tough, like a question that does not have a right answer,” said SHS STEAM Coordinator Lisa Yokana.

In a world where technology is prevalent in everybody’s daily lives, it is important to pass problem solving skills onto future generations. The North American Youth Technology Educational Association (NAYTEA) was created to inspire educators all around the world to teach STEAM in the most modern and effective way possible. NAYTEA recently hosted the 2019 International STEAM Curriculum Developer Competition, in which Yokana and fellow SHS STEAM educator Brian McDonald won first place together.

Scarsdale’s unique curriculum is not structured around  piles of worksheets like some traditional STEAM programs. Instead, it involves a mixture of contributions from students, trial and error, and techniques employed by businesses and colleges alike. Students are given access to the best technology out there so that they can create things that make a difference in the world. “At the end of the day, we’re teaching mindsets so that our students will know how to solve problems and navigate the world in a better way,” concluded McDonald.