EDUC1231

STEM Rationale

Cassidy Nickell | 32011009

02/11/2020

University of Notre Dame

I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and their elders the
Noongar people,
on which I study at the University of Notre Dame Fremantle.
 STEM Rationale

The following rationale is for the Major STEM Project, “We’ve Got 99 Problems and Zero Hunger is

One!”. The program is based off the integration of the seventeen United Nations Sustainability Goals

into a classroom environment over an eight-week period. The chosen goal within this program is Zero

Hunger, as it has a high level of accessibility within the classroom. The purpose of this program is to

highlight how to use the cross disciplinary subject of STEM within lessons that are easy to follow,

evoke critical thinking, and inspire creativity. It is of the highest importance to include STEM lessons

within a modern-day classroom, as many twenty-first century jobs are centred around science,

engineering, technologies, and math. However important STEM lessons are, they become redundant if

they do not act as a catalyst for critical and creative thinking, which is a general capability within the

Schools and Curriculum Standards Authority or SCSA. Critical and creative thinking is of the utmost

importance as it allows for students to become independent in their learning and decision making. To

link the three main categories of the United Nations Sustainability Goals, the STEM strategy and the

general capability of critical and creative thinking allows for students to create solutions for a real-

world problem within a safe and inspiring environment. The program “We’ve Got 99 Problems and

Zero Hunger is One!” is created to reduce Zero Hunger through a school garden to canteen program.

The program is multifaceted, with five components working to create an all-encompassing program.

The five projects are as follows: the aquaculture garden, chicken coop and compost area, fruit trees and

vegetable garden, school garden to canteen and an Australian Indigenous Garden with beehive. The

five projects are connected and purposefully chosen to develop a reciprocal relationship between the

school community and the program. From the compost and fish manure that is created to feed the plants

and garden that then grows to feed to students and school community the program is well rounded and

engaging. Another major benefit within the program is the combination of the cross-curriculum

priorities of sustainability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture. The

introduction of the sustainability priority is through the reduction of Zero Hunger and the recycling of

food which works in a reciprocal cycle within the program. The second priority of the Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander histories and culture is met with the Australian Indigenous Garden with a beehive.
The Garden will be created by the students with an Australian First Nations Gardener from Kings Park.

The lifecycle within this individual garden works between the native bees and flora, this allows a

completely Indigenous environment. Overall, the program works to cater to the three main categories

of the United Nations Sustainability Goals, the STEM strategy and the general capability of critical

and creative thinking while also creating a fun, engaging and educational program.