Refining Understanding of what STEM is

Refining our understanding of what STEM is With the last term of 2018 upon us I thought it would be timely to reflect upon the latest thoughts on what STEM is. There have been some great posts recently which summarise it nicely. Dr Jane Hunter in her blog High Possibility Classrooms recently wrote a piece titled Success in STEM in primary schools. In it she quotes from a book by Anne Jolly titled STEM by Design. She starts by by explaining what STEM should mean to the school leadership "Leaders must understand that STEM is intended to ratchet up rigor in science and mathematics through engineering applications … it’s not intended as a general ‘catch all program’ for subjects" and then points out that "STEM is: Not a subject or a content area and it is not comprised of four separate subjects taught in isolation from one another " Dr Hunter summarises that "Teaching STEM is a way of teaching that helps prepare students for learning and working in the world – as a teacher it’s about engaging them in science, technology, engineering and mathematics as they exist in everyday life – interwoven and integrated – combining knowledge from four areas: S T E M to find and solve real-world, current problems." Then on the Education Week Teacher website I found an article titled Six Characteristics of a Great STEM Lesson. The six characteristics listed are: STEM lessons focus on real-world issues and problems STEM lessons are guided by the engineering design process STEM lessons immerse students in hands-on inquiry and open-ended exploration STEM lessons involve students in productive teamwork STEM lessons apply rigorous math and science content your students are learning STEM lessons allow for multiple right answers and reframe failure as a necessary part of learning It doesn't mean that every lesson is a project or that every lesson combines all four of the STEM areas. However, these ideas should guide the thinking of lesson design and where possible and appropriate STEM based pedagogy should be used. So how is your school doing? Are you seeing your kids engaged in this sort of learning?

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Stuff in the News Why It's Crucial We're Teaching Kids About STEM From An Early Age - We owe it our young people to provide as many opportunities as possible to develop their STEM skills. An article from the Huffington Post UK 30 July 2018 Here's what needs to be done to boost STEM in Australian schools - The answer is in having a comprehensive education plan that includes the right resources, makes sure teachers are properly paid and ensures our public schools have the right facilities and equipment. An article from Business Insider7 August 2018 Learning The Lessons Of STEM Subjects For Girls - Teaching methods and the curriculum have been developed over time in a way more suited to boys because it was boys who were expected to take [STEM] subjects, so the lack of girls in science continues to be a self-perpetuating truth.. An article from the Huffington Post UK 6 August 2018

Stuff to buy Check out one of Australasia's largest selection of STEM products! - Can I have one of each?! *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education Maths: six ways to help your child love it - Don't they love it already? An article from The Conversation 17 August 2018 Salman Khan explains what Mastery Learning is all about - A video from the CBS This Morning TV show.  Make Your Daughter Practice Math. She’ll Thank You Later. - The way we teach math hurts all students, but it may be hurting girls the most.An article from the NY Times 7 August 2018

Stuff to do Australia Wide Wonder Workshop Robotics Competition - Launches October 11 CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - Fizzics Education - Mobile workshops & shows by dedicated science educators NSW, VIC & QLD & ACT Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane RoboGals Brisbane Robotics Days - Robogals has various workshops programmed throughout the year. - - - Street Science - Street Science provides captivating and curriculum aligned school Incursions and community entertainment, to excite and engage Australia's youth! STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.

How to Implement STEM in Schools STEM continues to be a hot topic in education. Last week was the Conference of the Australian Science Teachers Association which had Australia's Chief Scientist deliver an address. In it he said "The time to ask and expect bold things from students is not at the end of the school education process – but from primary school." So the focus remains on primary schools to start doing their part in addressing this national issue. Of course the question for just about all schools is what should they do and how should they go about it. I recently discovered Western Australia has put up four videos on YouTube which go through four different schools journey and each is slightly different so this is a great start for schools to get some ideas. The schools are Esperance Primary School, Parkwood Primary School, Margaret River Primary School and Pannawonica Primary School. Also I have just listened to an excellent podcast entitled "Implementing the Digitech Curriculum" which details how some schools have gone about gearing up to deliver the Digital Technologies subject - I highly recommend listening to this. One theme that I heard in some of the videos and the podcast is that schools used the new Digital Technologies subject to leverage off to build their STEM offering. Essentially the schools found that once the teachers started becoming confident with the coding aspect of the curriculum they could start to integrate this across other subjects and then with continued professional development become confident with the Design and Technologies subject which covers various engineering related areas. Once the teachers are building their T for technology and E for engineering knowledge and skills I believe schools should then embark upon a program to upskill the teacher's knowledge and confidence in Maths and Science. Simultaneously, start to move towards more project based learning and you will find you have a school embracing STEM. This would likely be a two to three year process and will cost money for teacher training and resources. However, it is a necessary investment to deliver the current curriculum well let alone meet the requirements that the STEM acronym stands for.

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Stuff in the News STEM plan: Why our kids need maths and science to thrive - Simon Birmingham, the Federal Education Minister, may not be a movie star or an astrophysicist but he has set a big goal for himself and the Government — lifting the standard of science and maths teaching across the nation’s schools and, by extension, the intelligence of our kids. An article from the West Australian 16 July 2018 SPEECH: Raising 21st Century Citizens - Australia's Chief Scientist spoke at the Conference for Australian Science Teachers and in his speech he said "The time to ask and expect bold things from students is not at the end of the school education process – but from primary school." Julie Bishop on women’s empowerment, role models and the future for Australian Girls - Julie Bishop spoke at the Vogue Codes event and said in part "There is a lack of science teaching in primary schools, which leads to less focus on science and maths in secondary and tertiary education." An article from Vogue 22 June 2018

Stuff to buy Robotics Engineer Barbie - Aims To Inspire Girls To Pursue STEM Careers. *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education STEM - What is it for? - A great video from the SA Education Department explaining their view of what STEM in the classroom looks like Implementing the Digitech Curriculum - How can teachers implement the digital technologies curriculum and apply it to the context of their school? Leading Change: The Technology in Schools podcast 12 July 2018 Teacher Q&A: Early years STEM project - Some positive results from the Early Learning STEM Australia project! An article from Teacher Magazine dated 27 June 2018

Stuff to do Australia Wide 2018 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge - The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is completely free to enter. This year’s competition will run from Tuesday 20 Feb – Friday 3 August 2018 CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - Fizzics Education - Mobile workshops & shows by dedicated science educators NSW, VIC & QLD & ACT Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane RoboGals Brisbane Robotics Days - Robogals has various workshops programmed throughout the year. - - - Street Science - Street Science provides captivating and curriculum aligned school Incursions and community entertainment, to excite and engage Australia's youth! STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates Red Cat Science | Kids get to do what they can't at school It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.

Gonski 2.0 The recent release of David Gonski's second report into education notes that Australian student's performance in reading, science and maths has been declining for years. Many of the recommendations were particularly interesting from a STEM perspective as they called for many things that STEM proponents have been saying for some time. For example one recommendation is to strengthen the development of the "General Capabilities" which is directly related to the STEM proponent's call to improve student's ability to use the 4Cs of 21st Century Learning of Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity. Two other standout recommendations were for more individualised learning and use of technology to help children achieve their full potential. Flipped Learningand Project Based Learning are two approaches that could help meet these objectives.  The report noted that there were too many "cruising schools" which weren't being innovative in their teaching practices nor in the way they delivered the curriculum. School's have to be nimble in what they teach children about technology as this is a rapidly changing field. This is one of the Gonski report's priorities "Equip every child to be a creative, connected and engaged learner in a rapidly changing world". Clearly a pre-requisite for this is comprehensive and ongoing teacher training and this was called for when the "Innovation committee recommends teachers get schooled on STEM".. Articles such as "STEM needs all the help it can get" and "STEM education in primary schools will fall flat unless serious issues are addressed" have previously highlighted issues with the education system that hopefully will get some attention as a result of this landmark report, Sir Ken Robinson in the followup to his fabled 2006 talk called for us to Bring on the Learning Revolution! We simply must move away from the way we have always done things and get creative. Make learning real world and integrate the subjects instead of teaching in a siloed manner. All of these ideas were covered in this video from 2014 "STEM Education Overview" This isn't new stuff yet traction is anaemic. David Gonski said in an interview "There is never time to waste and I think it would be wonderful if we could get cracking with it straight away." I think so too.

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Stuff in the News Science-nonfiction: Robotics author says AI will affect all children - It is important for young children to be familiar about big changes that may occur during their lives. An article from the Brisbane Times 14 May 2018 Re-envisioning NAPLAN: use technology to make the tests more authentic and relevant -  Experts look at options for removing, replacing, rethinking or resuming NAPLAN. An article from The Conversation 14 May 2018

Stuff to buy STEM Story Books - Queensland University Professor and father Michael Milford has been producing a number of story books for children with different STEM themes. Great for presents! *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education Gonski review attacks Australian schooling quality and urges individualised teaching approach - The Gonski review into the quality of Australian schooling has highlighted declining academic performance and recommended school education be radically reformed to tailor teaching and assessment to individual students. An article from The Conversation 30 April 2018 How Victorian principals responded to the Gonski 2.0 report - Critical thinking and STEM skills are vital for survival in the future workforce and can not simply be tacked onto the existing education system. An article from the Sydney Morning Herald 30 April 2018 Two articles from the Sydney Morning Herald highlighting schools which are embracing STEM: Belle Vue Park Primary Merrylands East Primary

Stuff to do Australia Wide 2018 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge - The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is completely free to enter. This year’s competition will run from Tuesday 20 Feb – Friday 3 August 2018 CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - Fizzics Education - Mobile workshops & shows by dedicated science educators NSW, VIC & QLD & ACT Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane RoboGals Brisbane Robotics Days - Robogals has various workshops programmed throughout the year. QLD Premier's Coding Competition - Students need to create a digital solution that meets the theme of ‘stand up to cyberbullies’ using Anti-Bully Girl - one of the Cyber Heroes. Closes 19 June 2018 - - - Street Science - Street Science provides captivating and curriculum aligned school Incursions and community entertainment, to excite and engage Australia's youth! STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates Red Cat Science | Kids get to do what they can't at school It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.