Inside The LP’s Science Program – Today and Tomorrow

Ascending the four flights of brownstone stairs at The Learning Project, I can often hear the buzz of activity emanating from the science classroom above. Stepping into that classroom, the activity is electric. Students are measuring, testing, debating, and problem solving—a sure sign that science at The Learning Project is not just a subject to learn about, but an experience to enjoy. 

Central to this experience is The Learning Project’s science teacher, Suzanne Garcia, whose dedication and creativity over 19 years has shaped the program. “I love being a science teacher at The LP because I can get to know all of the students, and see them grow from five-year-olds to twelve-year-olds,” she says. “I love the excitement of the younger graders, the sense of ownership of knowledge that comes with the middle grades, and the readiness to understand science in the context of society that the upper grades show.”

Suzanne’s passion for teaching extends beyond the day’s lesson plans. The freedom to design, update, and expand the curriculum while relying on the backbone of the national Next Generation Science Standards allows her to bring curiosity to life. “It makes the job very creative and always interesting and fun,” she explains. “I love when I’ve added a new activity or topic and the lesson succeeds—it’s very satisfying. I like working with materials, building things, making things, and helping students understand concepts through models, media, and their everyday life.”

Always humble as she is, Ms. Garcia is quick to note, however, that success in the science classroom comes from The LP community around her, especially the children and her fellow teachers. “The students are amazing—they’re so skilled and so thoughtful because everyone in the building is helping them reach for their best selves all the time. I can do what I do because other teachers work amazingly to prepare students for anything.”

That spirit of collaboration extends into the lessons themselves. A core value at The Learning Project is ‘cooperation,’ and Science is a natural setting to build these social and collective problem solving skills. Through project-based activities, lessons and units, students learn that science is not a solitary pursuit but a collective one. “They get to practice testing their ideas, being creative, and collaborating,” Suzanne says. “It helps them understand that science doesn’t exist in a vacuum—knowledge is shared, and progress happens because people work together.” For LP students, that often means experimenting with materials, building models and testing them, tracking data, and using their powers of deduction and critical thinking to draw conclusions and share ideas.

Rather than a more traditional instructional model where knowledge is transmitted to children from teacher to student, The LP relies on a more hands-on, inquiry and discovery-based model. Every lesson starts with something to spark interest; this is the attention-grabber — a question, a visual, or a brief video that ignites curiosity. Then, Ms. Garcia guides students with ‘big’ questions, often introduces a general concept, and lets them work independently or in small groups to explore it. Through this framework, third graders learn about water delivery systems, building working aqueducts to see how elevation can send water flowing to cities and towns east of the reservoirs; fifth graders investigate human body systems, learning about the skeleton and breaking celery stalks to understand various kinds of fractures; kindergarteners collaborate on making habitats for an animal of their choice that includes everything that the animal would need to thrive, from shelter to food. In this way, students experience the science for themselves and demonstrate their learning in various ways.

As such, students learn to value and appreciate the scientific method and the process of learning itself. Mystery Science and other digital tools also help to bring concepts to life, and students can often be found manipulating digital models through our 1-to-1 iPad program, drafting their findings to share with peers, or researching topics online. Additionally, every two years, the entire school travels to Boston’s Museum of Science together to experience a day-long program tailored to their units of study at The LP that includes loads of new opportunities to explore and discover in groups. 

Whether first graders are learning about light and energy or sixth graders are debating the effects of climate change, the structure remains the same: engagement, exploration, learning and reflection. When asked to describe the science program in one word, Suzanne Garcia doesn’t hesitate to say, “Dynamic.”

Our Vision for a Full STEM Lab

Currently, The Learning Project’s science classroom is small but mighty—a traditional lab space where big ideas take shape in limited square footage. As we continue to envision a future with new opportunities for our students through our Building for Tomorrow campaign, one of the most exciting improvements on the horizon is the creation of a dedicated STEM lab—a space that will meet the needs of tomorrow’s learners and provide the resources to more seamlessly integrate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at The Learning Project.

Imagine a vibrant lab space where students can design and test prototypes with both analog and digital tools, explore robotics and coding within newly developed engineering units, or study plant growth in a small hydroponic system connected to their urban farming lessons. With more space and specialized equipment, the science program will expand its hands-on learning even further with more opportunities for coding and technology integration; design-thinking units linked to real-world problems; collaboration on group projects and presentations with larger workspaces; and opportunities to create and invent freely with a fully outfitted ‘maker space.’ A flexible STEM environment would give every student—from the kindergartner exploring natural materials to the sixth grader building robotic models—the chance to not only think like a scientist, engineer, and innovator, but to have the space and materials to effectively be the scientist, engineer, and innovator.

As Suzanne Garcia says, The Learning Project’s program is already “dynamic.” A dedicated STEM lab will take that defining characteristic and magnify it, turning existing excitement into new opportunity, and our students’ deep curiosity into boundless capability.

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Interested in supporting this next big step in The Learning Project’s journey? CLICK HERE to make a gift to the school’s Building for Tomorrow campaign.