Designing for STEM

August 2016
http://stemreasoning.weebly.com/

How do we best
prepare
students to operate
in an economy that
has moved from a
Knowledge
Economy to a
Thinking Economy?
http://www.chiefscientist.
gov.au/2016/07/speech-roystanhope-oration-conasta-2
016/

www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/OCS-Datasheet-secondary-schools_WEB-VER

How do we best
prepare
students to operate
in an economy that
has moved from a
Knowledge Economy
to a Thinking
Economy?
http://www.chiefscientist.g
ov.au/2016/07/speech-roy-st
anhope-oration-conasta-2016
/

www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/OCS-Datasheet-secondary-schools_WEB-VER

What are we learning from existing STEM

practice?

After school clubs for interested

students.
STEM days within term time for
whole cohorts.
Timetabled periods for STEM often
for select groups rather than whole
year groups.
STEM Saturday events.
STEM expos

What are we learning from existing STEM

practice?

If there is support for STEM from school leadership

team then there are STEM Coordinators and flexible
spaces, such as Maker Spaces are being created.
Problem-based learning (PBL) suits integration of
STEM as it provides authentic opportunities for
students to learn. During PBL students:
Collaborate
Communicate
Critically Think
Creatively Problem-Solve.

What are we learning from existing STEM

practice?

If STEM is so important then it should be

delivered within the curriculum.
There is recognition of the need to support
and coach teachers into these new ways
of teaching and learning
.
Grow an approach from primary through
secondary that includes and engages all
students progressing both to University
and TAFE.

What tasks will engage

students in STEM Learning?

Authentic problems, set in a real-world

context, with real world data and
apparatus where possible.
Open-ended, ill structured tasks that lead
students into inquiry/design/problemsolving processes.
Links to Industry where possible.
Students need to feel ownership of the
problem and the tasks.

What pedagogies will engage students in STEM Learning?

Multi-faceted problems leading to

optional areas of extension.
Production, evaluation, reflection,
communication, advocacy and actionoriented processes maximise learning
engagement.
Self-evaluation and reflection to assist
students to understand the skills they
are learning.

How can teachers plan a STEM

activity?
Need to map to the science,
mathematics and technology syllabi.
Interdisciplinary learning requires
team-based teaching and crossdisciplinary programming.

http://www.ted.com/talks/diana_laufenberg_3_ways_to_teach?utm_campaign=social&utm_m
edium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=education

Develop a brief for a STEM

activity for Year 7

How do we identify a
problem or context to
use for the resource?

Starting Point The Curriculum

The WA Curriculum has been written to enable young Australians to
engage effectively with and prosper in a globalised world.
The Western Australian Curriculum must be both relevant to the lives of
students and address the contemporary issues they face.
Cross-curriculum priorities:
1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
2. Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia
3. Sustainability

Teachers may find opportunities to incorporate the cross-curriculum

priorities into their teaching and learning programs.
The cross-curriculum priorities are not assessed unless they are
identified within the core content of the Western Australian Curriculum.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander histories and cultures
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander priority provides
opportunities for all learners to
deepen their knowledge of
Australia by engaging with the
world's oldest continuous living
cultures.
This knowledge and understanding
will enrich their ability to
participate positively in the
ongoing development of Australia.

Asia and Australias

engagement with Asia
This priority provides a regional context for learning in all areas
of the curriculum. It reflects Australia's extensive engagement
with Asia in social, cultural, political, and economic spheres.
This priority will ensure that students learn about and
recognise the diversity within and between the countries of the
Asia region. They will develop knowledge and understanding of
Asian societies, cultures, beliefs and environments, and the
connections between the peoples of Asia, Australia, and the
rest of the world.
Asia literacy provides students with the skills to communicate
and engage with the peoples of Asia so they can effectively
live, work and learn in the region.

Sustainability
Sustainability addresses our capacity to maintain all life.
Sustainable patterns of living meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Actions to improve sustainability are both individual and collective
endeavours shared across local and global communities. They necessitate
a renewed and balanced approach to the way humans interact with each
other and the environment.
Education for sustainability enables more sustainable patterns of living.
It enables individuals and communities to reflect on ways of interpreting
and engaging with the world. Sustainability education is futures-oriented,
focusing on protecting environments and creating a more ecologically and
socially just world through informed action. Actions that support more
sustainable patterns of living require consideration of environmental,
social, cultural and economic systems and their interdependence.

Sustainability Global view

Also in WA
Office of Science: Priority Areas
Five areas have been identified in which the
advancement and application of science can help
broaden the economy and create a new generation
of jobs.
These areas are:
1. Mining and energy
2. Medicine and health
3. Agriculture and food
4. Biodiversity and marine science
5. Radio astronomy
https://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/science/ScienceStatement/Pages/default

Also in WA
Office of Science: Priority Areas
Cutting across each of the five science priorities
are areas of opportunity that can help WA achieve
greater outcomes:
fostering a culture of science through education
and engagement initiatives
developing WAs emerging capability in data
intensive science
building on the State's water science expertise
strengthening partnerships for effective
collaboration.
https://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/science/ScienceStatement/Pages/default

General capabilities in the

Curriculum

The general capabilities encompass the

knowledge, skills, behaviours and
dispositions that will assist students to
live and work successfully in the twentyfirst century.

All young people in Australia should be

supported to become successful learners,
confident and creative individuals, and
active and informed citizens.

These describe individuals who can

manage their own wellbeing, relate well
to others, make informed decisions about
their lives, become citizens who behave
with ethical integrity, relate to and
communicate across cultures, work for
the common good and act with

Key elements of the resource

Problem

MST
Curriculu
m
content

Resour
ce

Learners
context

STEM
pedagog
y

Develop a brief for a STEM

activity for Year 7
Groups of 4
100 ideas in ten minutes to get a
project.
Use the scope and sequences
provided.
Consider what is available in schools.
Collaborate to choose 1 idea that you
can all work on.
Report back to whole group

Develop a brief for a STEM

activity for Year 7
Groups of 4
Use the Scope and Sequence
documents
Build a pitch for a Year 7 project
using the template.

Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the influence and
insights of the STEM Learning Project
on the development of our
presentation.

http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/
SPI2016_release.pdf