Integrated Computing and AI in STEM Learning

SchoolWide Labs supports districts in embedding Computer Science and AI in high-quality STEM learning opportunities for students.

We prepare educators to use and adapt our high-quality, free curricular units for grades 3-8. Our units are specifically designed to help students and teachers gain more comfort with cutting edge technology. All units are anchored in engineering design, to develop proficiency with science, computer science and engineering core ideas and practices. We offer:

Sensor Immersion Workshops for launching SchoolWide Labs curricular modules where students learn how to program sensors to gather data from the environment.

SchoolWide Labs Curriculum Workshops for customizing, adapting, and using specific SchoolWide Labs units to meet a school’s or district’s needs.

Co-design Workshops in school districts to build new problem-based STEM units of study using programmable sensors.

Strategic Support for school, district, and state leaders to build local capacity for designing and using SchoolWide Labs as a core strategy to promote equitable STEM education.

Why We Focus on Computing and AI in STEM

Computing and AI are key competencies for the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…and beyond. Teachers need support to implement the teaching of computing and AI. That’s why we offer professional learning and strategic support linked to instructional materials for teachers, schools, and districts:

  1. High-quality instructional materials provide a foundation for students to develop an understanding of computational thinking.

  2. Implementing computing and AI requires new content knowledge and pedagogical approaches to support students’ integrated use of science, mathematics, and technology ideas with engineering practice.

  3. Districts need coherent STEM programs that integrate ongoing professional learning programs with high-quality instructional materials.

  4. Teachers and students need beginner-friendly materials that allow them to gain comfort and confidence with cutting-edge technologies.

Our CSTA-aligned materials allow teachers to teach computing and AI in powerful and effective ways.

The inquiryHub Approach to Professional Learning in STEM

  • We prepare educators and partners to adapt SchoolWide Lab units with integrity to their local context and students. We offer both introductory and unit specific workshops that prepare educators with the knowledge, pedagogical strategies, and technical know-how to implement units. 

  • We give educators opportunities to learn how to use multi-sensor platforms and programming tools that are part of units.

  • We engage educators in activities to help them think like a student and develop an appreciation for the student experience in SchoolWide Labs units.

  • We build in explicit support for creating an inclusive culture of belonging where students take risks in sharing and developing their ideas with others.

  • We support leaders in developing place-based adaptations of units to support student investigation of local community priorities and environmental concerns.

How We Partner with Schools & Districts

We can provide learning experiences using the free professional learning materials for SchoolWide Labs, and we can also customize professional learning in partnership with school, district, and state partners to fit their needs. We use an evidence-based approach to professional learning that we refine through continuous improvement research on our offerings.

Benefits of Our Approach

By partnering with inquiryHub on SchoolWide Labs:

Schools and districts can develop a coherent, impactful approach to STEM and work toward Computer Science for all goals.

Teachers will gain experience with facilitating problem-based units for helping students develop critical thinking skills. They will also become skilled in teaching computer science concepts, computer programming, and debugging strategies needed for using sensors.

Students will learn science and experience ways in which simple, inexpensive tech (e.g. sensors) can be used to investigate their environment. They also learn persistence through gaining practice with debugging programmable sensors.

Free Resources

While slide decks and resources from the curriculum and professional learning materials are free and available for anyone to use, they are most effective when used with a trained facilitator.

Work With Us

  • Meet With Us
    Request a quote and learn more about implementing SchoolWide Labs in your classroom, school, or district 

  • Join Us
    Find an upcoming professional learning workshop or event

Testimonials

  • “When you teach a SchoolWide Labs unit there is this sense for the students, of I am doing science. I feel like a scientist. I feel like I'm an engineer. I'm contributing something important.”

  • “As soon as the students started working with the sensors they were hooked. SchoolWide Labs really got my students excited about STEM learning and coding.”

  • “SchoolWide Labs has been really successful at helping teachers not be scared of technology that might be unfamiliar. The professional learning and units allowed our teachers to learn alongside students.”

  • “One of the things I’ve noticed about the SchoolWide Labs units is that once I got comfortable using the strategies like the driving question board and the modeling, I started adding them to all the units I teach.”

  • “My students are immediately hooked by the anchoring phenomenon and they see it and they just naturally start to wonder things. This is really a strength of all the SchoolWide Labs units.”