Mr. Arnold teaches Technology Education/ STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects at all four Laurel Highlands Elementary Schools. He teaches the first half of a school year at Hatfield and Hutchinson schools, then switches to R.W. Clark and Gen. George C. Marshall Elementary Schools for the second semester.

 

The 2014-15 school year is Mr. Arnold’s 7th year teaching technology subjects at the elementary level. He taught at Laurel Highlands Senior High for 11 years prior, teaching CAD Drafting, Visual Communications and Pre-Engineering.

 

Every year, Mr. Arnold changes his technology thematic units of instruction for students in grades kindergarten through 5th grades. In the first year 2008-09 the thematic unit was Aviation and the Principles of Flight. Activities included experimenting with airplane wings, learning about the Wright Brothers, and building simple kites and glider projects. The second year 2009-10 focused on How Sound is Made, How it Travels, and How We Hear Sounds. Activities for this unit included sound making devices, how waves travel, cup walkie-talkies, sound tubes, radio kits and Audacity sound software. The third year 2010-11 was about Space Science and Space Technologies. Students learned about the differences of space environments, planets, stars, satellites, and space travel. Students made their own satellite models using plastic bottles. Mr. Arnold, along with other Laurel Highlands teachers, is a member who participates in statewide Math and Science Partnership Grant that is affiliated with the NASA  Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Students were able to observe the GeoDome mobile planetarium, a star lab, and other NASA hands-on activities. For the 2011-12 year, the thematic unit was about Power and Energy. Students learned about fossil fuels, electricity, how electricity is made in our community and did experiments with battery operated circuits and wind and solar power generating kits.

 

And currently for the 2012-13 school year students are learning about the Forces and Energies needed to make Motion and Objects Move. Students learned about kinetic and potential energies, gravity and friction, distance and speed, and Newton’s Laws of Motion. Experiments included describing how objects move through various devices, ramp testing moving objects, analysis of distance vs. speed, building and testing K’Nex car kits, and parts of an internal combustion engine. Also for the 2012-13 school year, Mr. Arnold was successful in obtaining a Great Ideas Grant for the Consortium for Public Education in McKeesport, PA for 12 Lego Robot Kits which were used to help 5th grade students understand basic programming and gain basic geometry knowledge. Coincidentally, NASA was successful in landing a Robotic Rover named Curiosity on Mars in August of 2012. The Curiosity rover provided a “real world” example of how robots can be programmed to accomplish tasks in remote locations and environments.

Next year’s thematic unit will be An Introduction to Structures, from homes to skyscrapers bridges and tunnels, to tools and objects. Students will be able to identify the structure of objects and decide if the structure provides strength to its function. Experiments will include building with shapes, assessing and assembling materials, K’Nex building kits, and individual engineered projects.