Adrian Special Education Teacher Natasha Wetzel Co-Authors Study Showing Power of Hands-On STREAM Learning

Adrian Public Schools honors teacher for published STREAM research

Adrian Public Schools is recognizing special education teacher Natasha Wetzel for her role in research that demonstrates the value of hands-on, interdisciplinary STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Math) learning.

Wetzel co-authored a chapter in the IGI Global volume Cases on Informal Learning for Science and Mathematics Education, working with Adrian College colleagues Vanessa Morrison and Andrea Milner. The study examined an after-school engineering program for third graders in which students worked in small, collaborative teams to design and build artifacts through open-ended, teacher-created challenges.

Researchers found that these informal, inquiry-driven experiences outside the regular classroom strengthened students' understanding of science and engineering concepts and supported learning goals aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

This chapter is the team's second IGI Global publication. Their earlier study investigated STREAM integration in kindergarten and appears in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Mathematics and Science Education. Together, the projects highlight the researchers' sustained commitment to innovative, interdisciplinary instructional approaches.

"This research reinforces how powerful hands-on, inquiry-based learning can be," Wetzel wrote. "Students thrive when they have opportunities to create, collaborate and make real-world connections to what they're learning."

The announcement acknowledging Wetzel's contribution was shared by Adrian Public Schools. The story was produced by Janis Reeser with assistance from artificial intelligence; journalists participated at every stage of reporting, review and editing. The article originally appeared in The Daily Telegram.