STEAM

The future is here

Brisbane Grammar School’s unrivalled reputation for the teaching of science and the arts will be enhanced with the completion of the new STEAM precinct in mid-2023.

The acronym STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics – refers not just to these standalone disciplines but rather to a way of thinking. STEAM represents the skills required to process scientific method. This includes observing, forming questions, making predictions, designing and carrying out experiments, hypothesising and discussing projected outcomes.

STEAM education uses these disciplines as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue and critical thinking. The STEAM project represents a progressive shift in teaching and learning, promoting the sharing of ideas across science subjects, the arts and humanities.

A four-level precinct will replace the School’s ageing science classrooms with flexible learning and exhibition spaces; design, dissection and chemistry laboratories; and a 300-seat open auditorium in the building’s atrium.

The $70-million project has been designed by architect Hamilton Wilson ’78, a third-generation BGS Old Boy who also designed The Lilley Centre, built in 2011. “To match the School’s highly developed pedagogy, our design brings the sciences and the arts together in one building,” Wilson said. “The open atrium promotes collaboration, and students can work across disciplines in an incredibly imaginative and powerful way.”

Headmaster Anthony Micallef said the creative environment will inspire boys and teach them to tackle real-world problems across diverse disciplines. “With industry leaders demanding graduates skilled in critical and creative thinking, now is the time to invest boldly in infrastructure that will foster future innovators and problem solvers,” he said.

QUT Professor and BGS Old Boy Michael Milford ’98, an expert in artificial intelligence and robotics, agrees. “I think blending the traditional sciences and the arts is absolutely critical. They were once seen as separate areas, but we now realise there’s a common theme of creativity and inspiration running through them. Merging them together makes eminent sense,” he said.

“When you already have great students and great teachers, having an amazing physical location to inspire, to learn and to nurture the future careers of our next generation of scientists is the missing piece of the puzzle.”

Having built a career in the emerging field of genome sequencing, BGS Old Boy Arjuna Kumarasuriyar ’98 said he too is excited by the possibilities for current students.

“When I look back to doing a lot of science at BGS, particularly in my senior year, we covered the theory really well, but it was clear that facilities were adequate but basic,” he said. “With STEAM, BGS facilities will be on par with ‘real world’ laboratories. Students will learn in the same conditions – if not better – than some of the lab facilities scientists are working in, which gives them an incredible foundation.”

Given the rapid emergence of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, DNA mapping, robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing and biotechnology, BGS graduates need both the technical and social skills the STEAM Precinct will promote.

“The leaders of the future will need to collaborate and communicate and think critically and creatively,” Mr Micallef said. “It is these skills that will enable our graduates to adapt to the changing professional landscape and prepare them for jobs that don’t yet exist.”

BGS has educated generations of leaders in Queensland, Australia and the world. Australia’s competitive edge depends largely on the quality of its leaders and their critical thinking.

Exposure to a collaborative and creative environment where diverse disciplines work together to solve real-world problems will equip BGS boys with vital technical and social skills that will give them a competitive advantage at university and in the workplace.

Inside STEAM

The new STEAM Precinct will transform the western corner of the campus into a dynamic learning space. Inside, every area will link to a large, open atrium – the ‘incubator’ – bringing together each discipline. The building’s special features will include:

> A 300-seat open auditorium with enough space for exhibiting Science and the Arts – scientific experiments, robot wars, artistic displays and anthropologic artefacts. Students can showcase their projects and experience shared learning.

> Flexible learning areas to accommodate between 30 to 150 students.

> Design labs to devise, design and test prototypes.

> Adaptable Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Technology, Design and Art classrooms so teachers across disciplines can combine and teach classes together.

> Chemistry laboratories of university standard, to promote advanced and practical scientific enquiry.

> A specialised dissection laboratory.

> A new home for the School’s Physical Education classrooms, adding the discipline of Sports Science.

The difference between STEM and STEAM

The challenges we have experienced in the first halfof 2020 illustrate just how important collaboration,scientific endeavour and creative problem-solving willbe in the 21st century.

STEAM is about meeting these challenges head on –combining scientific skills with the imagination andcreative thinking associated with the arts to identifyproblems and design solutions.

STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts andMathematics – refers to an approach to learning thatuses these disciplines as access points for guidingstudent inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.

Educators now recognise content knowledge, whileimportant, is not enough. Creative collaborationthrough inquiry, lateral thinking and communicationenhances the traditional STEM subjects.

Now, more than ever, scientists are required to engagewith society, step outside the lab and addressreal-world problems. By incorporating the Arts, humanconcepts of ethics, morals and responsibility areintroduced to technical discussions and thinking.

The STEAM Precinct will help us educate Australia’sfuture leaders, who will in turn work to improve thelives of those within their communities and solvesome of the world’s most complex challenges.

Effective Thinking Cultures (ETC)

At BGS, we intentionally and actively research the best teaching practices to ensure the best education for our students. For the last two years, we have been preparing for the major change to tertiary entrance – from OP to ATAR. We have researched, designed and implemented a new learning methodology called Effective Thinking Cultures (ETC).

ETC places an emphasis on extending BGS students’ capacity for critical thinking, self-regulation and autonomous learning. For our boys to gain the most from this new method of learning, they need the practical, theoretical and social benefits of the STEAM Precinct.

ETC embraces the concept of STEAM education, which will bring together cross-disciplinary teaching and encourage exploration, creativity, design, testing and the virtue of failing and trying again – independently and collaboratively.

In the past, teachers were content experts who tested how well boys listened. Now anyone can get an answer from their smartphone. What’s more important is learning through problem solving and learning about the process, with solutions found through combining multiple disciplines.