Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1487796
A R E C E N T A S S I G N M E N T in Mariana Garcia Serrato's classroom was to "rescue" famous scientists from the evil Time Cruncher. On students' individual computer screens, the scientists appeared as prisoners behind bars. But with every correct answer to a set of STEM questions, the scientists moved closer to freedom. Instead of taking a test, Garcia Serrato's students were winning a video game — assuming their answers were right. "It sounds silly, but games instead of tests create an environment where students have fun instead of getting nervous and anxious," says Garcia Serrato, who uses Google Sheets to create video games with superheroes and science themes. Students gleefully run to her class on test day — or as students call it "Boss Battle Day." Those scoring 100 percent get bragging rights and receive online trading cards. Students with lower scores may retake the test after reviewing the material, and are incentivized by the thought of winning. Garcia Serrato teaches science and STEM to students in grades 5-8 in the AdVENTURE STEM program, which is a school within a school for 240 students at Herman Intermediate School in San Jose. She was one of the program's founders 13 years ago, and today is the lead teacher. In 2019, AdVENTURE was named a California Distinguished School for making exceptional gains in implementing academic content and performance standards. The Oak Grove Education Association member is a fully certified PBS Media Literacy Educator, a Google Certified Educator, a KQED " In my classroom students are not constrained by adult thinking, so they do think outside the box. Instead of asking 'why can't we do this?' they just go and do." Garcia Serrato operates a fully gamified, project-based learning classroom. MARIANA GARCIA SERRATO Oak Grove Education Association Media Literacy Innovator and winner of numer- ous awards. She enjoys sharing ideas on her blog, Teaching Above the Test, and connecting with other educators using the Twitter handle @Mari- anaGSerrato. To make STEM relevant for all students, Garcia Serrato operates a fully gamified, project-based learning classroom, where students are given freedom to come up with ideas on how to make the world a better place. Her students devel- oped a series of videos to convince people to limit their food waste. They cre- ated a cookbook for leftovers. They published tips on how to save and reuse water. They research worthy charities and fundraise for them. Like their teacher, they have created online games and board games on topics such as photosynthesis and genetics. "My favorite was a genetics game where students created a 'super hero' or 'super villain' using dominant and recessive traits based on characteristics they would like to see in imaginary characters." Students are always bouncing ideas off each other 22 cta.org The Innovation Issue Making STEM relevant — and fun