A group of science-loving seventh graders from Fenwick Academy, an International Baccalaureate Candidate school for the Middle Years Program, headed out to sea Thursday, May 19 on the Research Vessel (RV) Katy to experience science investigation in the real world.
Participants in the field trip were members of the Fenwick Academy Science Corps, an afterschool science club. The RV Katy is part of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. While on the two-hour tour into the Gulf of Mexico, students drew samples from differing depths in the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the quantity and forms of life found in each.
Motivated by their sheer love of science, about 25 Science Corps members have been meeting on Wednesdays after school for most of the year to extend their classroom learning. The group has investigated systems of the body by dissecting worms, frogs, and eyes, conducted observations of ecosystems (large and micro) all around them, and worked with robots. The trip to the Marine Science Institute and out on the Katy was the culmination of a year of growth, said Megan Brown, Fenwick science teacher and Science Corps sponsor.
“These experiences are crucial to building and embedding science knowledge, as well as encouraging a love of science. When the club started the students knew they were interested in science, but they were still very tentative about conducting their own investigations,” Brown said. “Some were scared to pick up the dissecting equipment. But as they added to their experiences, you could see the confidence building in them.”
Dr. Cassie McClung, Head of School at Fenwick Academy said the club has had a positive impact on the campus and fits well with the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework of learning that the campus has adopted.
“This club has been a powerful addition to our campus,” said Dr. McClung. In IB schools, learning occurs through the process of student directed inquiry, and is built through both collaborative and independent projects. The IB also focuses on ten attributes which students are encouraged to develop within themselves. These attributes, called the IB Learner Profile, include being principled, caring, reflective, balanced, knowledgeable, open-minded.
“This trip nurtured so many of these attributes in our students,” said Dr. McClung.
The club and trip were sponsored by the San Antonio chapter of the LULAC National Education Service Center’s (LNECS) Science Corps program.
“Science Corps is designed to encourage middle school students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by exposing them to real-world STEM applications and problems,” said Orlando Blancas, Director of the LNECS in San Antonio. “It specifically targets minority students in order to prepare them to pursue a course of study at leads to undergraduate degrees in science or engineering.”
Fenwick Academy is an authorized IB World School for the Primary Years Programme which serves children from pre-K to fifth grade. It is a Candidate School for the IB Middle Years Programme which serves students in sixth through tenth grades.