Welcome to STEM

About Mrs.Tomlinson

Hello Engineers! I am Mrs. Nicole Tomlinson, the 6th Grade STEM Teacher at Haines and the Project Lead the Way Teacher at Memorial. I am so excited to teach you about the Engineering Design Process in an engaging and collaborative way. We will learn what it means to be an engineer and how to be creative problem solvers. We will have the opportunity to design and build solutions to problems. After creating solutions, we will test out our designs and make improvements to them so they are more effective. This process helps build critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity skills which are also known as the 4Cs of 21st Century Learning. I guarantee this class will be fun, challenging and engaging just like engineering!

A little about me... I left my career in the Pharmaceutical Industry to purse my dream of being a teacher! I have been the STEM teacher at Haines for the last 5 years! I love what I do here. It is an amazing place to work and learn! When I am not in the classroom, I am enjoying family time with my husband and our four children. Our boys are very busy in sports - particularly ice hockey and soccer and our daughter is studying Chemical Engineering at Rowan University.

Graduate: Holy Family University, MA in Education, Middle School Math

Certificate: University of Maryland Baltimore County - Project Lead the Way - Engineering 

Undergraduate: Strayer University, BA in Business Administration

About 6th Grade STEM

STEM is an exploratory course at Haines 6th Grade Center. The acronym is short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. This field of study combines integrated skill sets that build on each of the subject areas. Many future careers will require some specialized training in this field. As technology advances, the need for highly skilled workers will continue to rise. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, STEM professions are expected to grow more than 13% over the next 5 years. These careers pay on average 28% more at an entry-level than non-STEM careers. This course will help students to have a greater awareness of STEM occupations. STEM education can be interesting, challenging and rewarding just like the careers within these fields.

About Project Lead the Way

If you love engineering and what we do in STEM class, there are many elective course offerings at Memorial in which you can continue your STEM Education. One course, which I teach at Memorial, is Project Lead the Way. PLTW is a robust engineering program which teaches students to use the engineering design process to solve complex problems. In addition, you will be exposed to various aspects of engineering including technical drawings, 3D design and modeling and 3D Printing. This course is a great way to explore the field in more depth.