SAE Foundation Annual Report 2014 - 5

that sometimes consists of nothing more
than pointing, shrugging and nodding,
the team decides which pieces of each
creation they want to add to the overall
design. The process requires them to
figure out how to "say this or describe
that". Additionally, the students learn
about the strengths and weaknesses of
each team member and how to capitalize
on those. "These students are learning to
A World In Motion is More Than STEM Education respect each other and the importance
of working with different kinds of people,
which is especially important for these kids," said Rowan. When asked what biggest
change AWIM has brought about in his students, Rowan responds, "My students have
an almost immediate attitude change about their ability to tackle challenging work and
that positive change stays with them, they know that they can undertake challenging
work. I remind them about how hard it was to figure things out during the JetToy
Challenge and they immediately have the confidence to tackle the new problem at
hand." Rowan went on to give examples of this confidence lasting for years to come as
some students who had struggled to the point of tears with math in his class are now
reporting success in math in 6th, 7th, 8th grade and beyond.
As a long-standing program with success in building more than academic knowledge,
AWIM lays claim to a unique spot in the busy landscape of STEM education programs
and initiatives. AWIM evokes long-term attitude and behavior changes that create selfconfident independent learners who can collaboratively solve problems by recognizing
and appreciating the strengths of different individuals irrespective of cultural, ethnic,
language and socio-economic differences. In fact, a 2008 study on refugees from Sierre
Leone by A.Z. Davies indicated that collaborative learning environments based on trust,
tolerance and respect foster the best results for immigrant and marginalized students.

SAE Foundation Annual Report 2014

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