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Colstrip teachers describe STEAM, Native American curriculum lessons after conference
Summary
Teachers told the Colstrip Public Schools board they brought back hands-on STEAM strategies, indigenous science knowledge and new curriculum materials after attending a statewide conference; staff said grants and ready-made lesson kits will support classroom rollout.
Teachers and instructional staff told the Colstrip Public Schools Board of Trustees that a recent professional conference renewed their emphasis on student-driven STEAM learning and introduced classroom resources tied to Native American perspectives.
"We wanted to come here tonight and share some stuff that we've learned," a presenter said, describing two years of conference attendance and how the group has integrated lessons back into Colstrip classrooms. Presenters highlighted hands-on tools such as a LEGO Sphero robot, robotics-driven lessons, and inquiry-based projects that can be adapted across grades.
Board members were told the presenters toured the Native American Center on the Montana State University campus, visited a seed bank that supports intertribal collaboration (referred to in discussion as 'Buffalo Nations'), and developed a cross-curricular Native American architecture unit for Native American Week. "We turned it into a cross curricular Native American architecture project," a presenter said, noting students worked on different aspects of the project in STEAM, science and history classes.
Staff described curricula and programs they plan to use districtwide, including a place-based disease-ecology program called 'My Home, My Health,' which three Colstrip teachers will implement as part of a 25-teacher Montana cohort. Presenters said the program supplies microscopes, lesson kits and long-term materials for cross-curricular units on health and air quality.
Presenters also said the conference provided practical guidance on grants (Oklahoma Office of Public Instruction-style and DonorsChoose were mentioned) and that several teachers received full funding for classroom materials. "We've gotten grants from OPI, the DonorsChoose ones," a presenter said, listing books, printers and other supplies the district has received.
The presenters offered to show materials and curriculum to board members and distributed a conference report from 2023 for trustees who wanted further detail. The board did not take action on curriculum items at the meeting and asked staff to continue sharing implementation updates at future meetings.
The board moved from presentations into consent agenda business after the staff report concluded.
