Students at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology in Fresno take extracts from herbs to test for antibacterial properties.
Making STEM Real
By infusing core academics with rigorous real-world work,
Linked Learning pathways prepare students for both college and career.
Gary Hoachlander and Dave Yanofsky
As the test began, the concerned expressions on the students’ faces betrayed their anxiety. But he students weren’t filling in multiple-choice bubbles. They were standing in front of the stress analyzer machine in Jose Valazquez’s
engineering classroom at Harmony Magnet Academy. The
three 10th graders were watching as their truss bridge was
put to the test. “Ten pounds, 20, 40, 80, 120!” Valazquez
called out. As the balsa-wood bridge started to crack and
then snapped, Valazquez exclaimed, “One hundred and sixty
pounds of pressure! That’s a new record!” The students’ faces
turned triumphant as they gave one another high fives, an
appropriate reward after weeks of hard work.
