Students Create Video Game for STEM Challenge

All eighth grade students at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart will participate in the PBS KIDS Stream of the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge, developing video games for children ages 4-8 that focus on early math skills.

Stuart will document and follow the project's progress through photos and a Stuart teacher’s blog. 

The National STEM Video Game Challenge is an annual competition to motivate kids' interest in science, technology, engineering and math learning by tapping into students’ natural passion for playing and making video games. At the end of the competition, the winning games for the PBS KIDS Stream will be featured on the PBS KIDS Lab and PBS LearningMedia websites.

“Video game programming is a field typically associated with males, but we want our girls to know that with persistence, they can do it too - and it can be fun," said Stuart's Head of School Dr. Patty L. Fagin. “We know that seeing the relevance of work in STEM fields helps to keep girls interested. By designing a math video game that helps younger children develop math skills, these girls will learn hands-on how computer science can be used to make a difference.” 

Stuart recently announced a new to help conquer the so-called “Girl Gap” in STEM fields. According to a recent New York Times article, women earn approximately 17 to 18 percent of the bachelor’s degrees in computer science.

Stuart computer science teacher Alicia Testa said she is excited to participate in the challenge, encouraging her students to excel in STEM subjects.

“My students will be working in groups of two or more, so in addition to computer programming, they will need to use many important 21st-century skills as they work towards a common goal, such as collaboration and communication,” she said. “Technically, they will be required to do sequential planning and develop computational thinking skills. Stepping out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves in this way will help them to build confidence in dealing with very complex tasks.”