MCS students reap benefits, especially in STEM, from community partners

MADISON – Students in Madison City Schools are receiving academic benefits from the district’s efforts to align with MCS Community Partnerships, or local businesses with proven success in various fields, especially technology.

All STEM teachers in the Madison district collaborated to design a tailored unit focused on technology. The unit for fifth-graders explored the subject of manufacturing on comprehensive force and motion. The unit aligns with Alabama’s Course of Study standards for fifth grade (standards 5 and 6).

The unit began with foundational lessons on the principles of force and motion, allowing students to explore Newton’s laws and the role of gravity in real-world applications, specifically, the physics behind roller coasters.

“The unit began with foundational lessons on the principles of force and motion, allowing students to explore Newton’s laws and the role of gravity in real-world applications, specifically, the physics behind roller coasters,” Megan Hockey said. Hockey is the STEM teacher at Rainbow Elementary School.

“Working in collaborative teams, students applied their knowledge by designing and constructing paper roller coasters and testing them with marbles to observe the effects of force, motion and energy transfer,” Hockey said. “With a solid understanding of these concepts, they transitioned to a hands-on engineering challenge focused on vehicle and passenger safety.”

In partnership with Mazda- ToyotaManufacturing,STEM teachers in MCS developed lessons that guided students in designing safety features to protect a passenger in a simulated headon collision. For this student experiment, the ‘passenger’ was a hard-boiled egg.

“Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing engineers refined our school’s engineering process, integrating elements of their Kaizen method for continuous improvement (and gradually increase efficiency in a work environment),” Hockey said. “To deepen student understanding, the engineers gave a presentation on the evolution of automotive safety design, highlighting the rigorous processes behind modern safety innovations.”

Afterward, the engineers worked directly with students during the planning phase, provided feedback, asked thought-provoking questions and challenged teams to refine their designs. Students then built and tested their safety features before a final round of testing with Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing engineers.

Eric Allen and Sydney Carr with the local manufacturing facility visited Horizon to lec- ture and evaluate the fifth-graders’ work in a mentoring session. “The engineers engaged each team in discussions about their designs and offered insights on improvements and real-world applications,” Hockey said.

“Through this experience, students gained a firsthand understanding of the design process used in engineering and manufacturing, reinforcing STEM concepts in a meaningful, real-world situation,” Hockey said.

For more information, visit mcsinstruction. com.