Grade 7 STEM Stretch Day: What happened in Room 156?

By William Mathews, Middle School German Teacher

 

 

Stretch Days at ISP are designed to provide experiential learning opportunities that allow students to engage in project-based learning, dig more deeply into a subject area, or get out into the community without compromising our regular schedule of lessons. These days are perfect opportunities for students to develop particular ATL (Approaches to Learning) skills within an engaging context that inspires creativity and deep thinking.

 

Tuesday, 7 October brought the second of six such Stretch Days that run through the Middle School year. The Grade 7 Team of Advisors worked together with our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Co-ordinator, Kate Allender, to design a day of activities linked to STEM, pushing learners to broaden their thinking skills by analysing complex information and identifying patterns and trends. 

The challenge? A fictional crime scene awaited our students: a classroom in disarray, a laptop gone missing, and the outline of a collapsed cleaner on the floor. With police tape and scattered clues thoughtfully arranged by staff, learners stepped into the role of forensic scientists. In teams, they had just five minutes to observe and document the scene, setting the stage for a day of analytical thinking and scientific discovery.

Across four rotating laboratory workshops, learners explored:

• Chromatography – Comparing ink samples from five suspects with a note left at the crime scene, developing an understanding of solutes, solvents, and investigative techniques.
   
• Chemical Analysis – In another lab, analysis of an unidentified white powder also found at the crime scene took place. Similar to the chromatography lab, traces of a suspicious-looking powder had been found on each of the five suspects, and the aim of this forensic experiment was to find a match. Students mixed their samples with acetic acid, distilled water, sodium bicarbonate, and Lugol’s solution, carefully noting down their observations in a data table, enabling them to identify similarities and differences.
   
• Soil pH Testing – Our scientists continued their investigations as they learnt about acids and bases by measuring the pH value of a soil sample located at the crime scene. This was compared with soil samples from our five suspects, helping students to refine their theories of what might have happened.
   
• Critical Reading – Witness statements were also critically pored over, as students worked together to try and piece together the puzzle. Interpreting statements and constructing theories, students collaborated to weigh evidence and draw reasoned conclusions.

One of the highlights of the investigative journey came through working with the Anatomage Table, a state-of-the-art 3D medical education platform that allows students to examine digitally stored human cadavers. Students explored high-resolution 3D images of the heart, skull, small intestine, and thyroid of a 59-year-old woman who had died of a heart attack, comparing her organs with those of a healthy body. Working with this remarkable technology provoked plenty of intrigue and wonder from our students.

The whole day was a tremendous success, with levels of student enthusiasm and engagement high throughout. By stepping into the role of forensic scientists, students not only applied complex STEM concepts but also actively developed their critical thinking and collaborative skills, perfectly capturing the spirit of ISP’s Stretch Day programme.

To see highlights of the day, watch this short video.