CIEDI’s I-STEM approach
Our students create solutions to real issues through an engineering design cycle as an experiencial process in Pre-school, Primary and Secondary school.
What is I-STEM education?
It is an abbreviation which stands for the integrated or inter-disciplinary education of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Our approach ‘Integrated STEM education’ establishes links between these disciplines in study units that seek to resolve a real-life problem. I-STEM is holistic, since it addresses problems from different perspectives and utilizes knowledge of different fields to find solutions, this way it promotes creativity, team work, critical thinking and communication skills through the use of design in engineering, where the creation and testing of prototypes outstand for problem solving towards benefiting a person or population.
Cognia STEM Certification
We are the first IB school in Colombia and Latin America to receive the STEM certification from Cognia, which represents a significant recognition of our Integrated STEM project and demonstrates the strength of our school in implementing innovative practices that directly benefit our students.
How does it come to life at CIEDI?
In our learning community, we live the I-STEM culture through:
- Trans-disciplinary Units of research from pre-school to eleventh grade.
- Authentic curriculum, product of investigation and more than 5 years of experience in the STEM approach.
- Un equipo docente con alto nivel de capacitación en el enfoque STEM
- Investigation groups.
- Inter-institutional strategic alliances.
- Participation in national and international inter-collegiate events.
- Teachers participation in academic events specialized in STEM education.
In the Sharing the Planet inquiry unit for kindergarten, the children built prototypes of shelters to better protect their endangered animals.
The interdisciplinary unit for eighth grade, Soundproofing Spaces, aims to solve a real-world problem. It integrates the subjects of mathematics, science, and technology.
In the ninth-grade I-STEM Wind Up unit, students developed prototypes of wind turbines, testing their ingenuity and creativity.
Strategic Partnerships
With the aim of expanding the interdisciplinary community of practice, initially composed of CIEDI teachers, partnerships have been established with renowned universities: the Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería Julio Garavito and the Universidad del Rosario. University professors and engineering students join CIEDI’s planning and curriculum design teams to identify potential engineering contexts that can be simulated in their specialized laboratories.
Participation in STEM Events
CIEDI supports student participation in STEM competitions and inter-school events, encouraging more children and young people to apply their creative skills and critical thinking to solve real-world problems and explore new solutions.
Participation in the STEM Olympics of the Secretariat of Education of Bogotá
Our Eco Champions team participated in the STEM Olympics organized by the Bogotá Department of Education. The students created a prototype of a modular car filter that absorbs pollutants from the La Conejera area.
Hackathon “Girls with Energy” by Siemens Energy and the Epic Queen Foundation.
For two consecutive years we have been the only teams from Colombia to make it to the semi-finals. In the last event we qualified for two finals and took third place with the fifth grade team “Be the Change”.
The implementation of this learning approach at CIEDI is driven by a team of educators trained and prepared to bring pedagogical innovations into the classroom. Through research groups and continuous training, they form a professional learning community focused on the study of I-STEM Education. At CONASTEM, the National STEM Congress 2022, we received the award for Best Presentation.
Education with a purpose for the world!
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