New resource is changing the game for STEM learners

Gamechangers by name, Science Alive has high hopes its latest initiative will also be a game changer by nature for teachers. Free to use, the online activity uses successful Kiwi innovators to engage and inspire students with STEM, develop their skills and expose them to potential career paths in science and technology.

Launched late last year, Gamechangers is a new, online learning tool that’s part of the Science Alive Ma -tauranga resources. It has been created in collaboration with Education Perfect and is accessible for free on the digital learning platform. “Gamechangers allows primary school students to understand the skills that drive a data scientist, the teamwork that creates a film and the problem-solving mindset vital for a start-up CEO,” said Project Lead Lauren Pugh. “Students set out on a journey to master skills across a land of native flora and fauna. Throughout the journey, they meet Gamechangers, inspiring experts from a range of science, technology and innovative disciplines who share their experiences and advice.”

Kiwi flavour

Gamechangers has a distinctly Kiwi flavour. While the resource’s focus is science, innovation, and technology, it also weaves Te Reo Ma -ori and Ma -tauranga Ma -ori (Ma -ori knowledge, views, and perspectives) throughout each learning activity. Additionally, students learn from inspirational Kiwis in a diverse range of industries related to the STEM fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. From rocket engineers and master weavers to app developers and inventors, the programme aims to encourage learners to hone their skills and become the country’s next ‘game changers’. “We have collaborated with homegrown Kiwi innovators – people that students can identify with, such as Logan Williams, entrepreneur, inventor and founder of Shear Edge.” said Claire Turner, Science Alive Executive Trustee. “These are real, relatable New Zealanders delivering a powerful underlying message for students: if they can do it, I could do it too”.

The influence of Ma -ori culture also helps students recognise the interconnection of learning, culture and technology. “Ma -tauranga Ma -ori is knowledge and perspectives of connectedness, just as science concepts are, so we’re looking at how we can inform and explore in an unbiased way, acknowledging our heritage and our indigenous people as well as technology and science,” added Pugh, whose experience includes STEM teaching, project-based learning and consulting in schools.

T the Tuatara

Funded by the Science Alive Charitable Trust, Gamechangers content description challenges students to explore new scientific concepts, important moments in history, key players, and apply their knowledge to take action. In order to achieve this, they have to navigate a map with ‘T the Tuatara’ collecting new skills, represented in the form of pa -ua shells. “Students have to go out and find all these skills and bring them back to the centre, to reunite the land together once more,” explained Pugh. “Each one is a lesson. They learn from the game changer then demonstrate that they have learned that skill.

“We are moving into a skills economy more than a knowledge economy. We want to give these kids the skills, so they will be able to thrive no matter what kind of role they are in.” There are six skills to master: problem solving, communication, collaboration, character, critical thinking, and creativity.

Competition and internship

New content is being added all the time to Gamechangers.

“There’s more coming on board and we’ve got some exciting gamechangers to come. “Ideally, we’d like to continue to build them into the land, which would mean we’d have more lessons available for the skills. However, we’re also looking at opening the activity up for different involvement for teachers and students.

“For example, Rush, who designed the COVID-19 tracer app, are doing some live Q&As with students. We’re also going to run a competition, where the prize will be a mini internship with a gamechanger. “We’ve been incredibly blessed by the fact that so many of these fantastic people, who are all very busy, have wanted to be a part of this and been willing to give up their time and donate their knowledge to help children. “We want to get more people and more companies involved to bridge that gap between these industries and our kids. We want to break down their idea of STEM industries and expose to more of what’s out there, expanding their horizons and career aspirations.”

Teachers can track students’ progress using Education Perfect’s data and analytics tools. “It’s a really strong data and analytics platform. This allows every lesson to be reviewed. The information it provides goes right down into the data around the percentage of what students are getting right. It can recommend next steps for students, really personalising their learning.

New online direction

Science Alive is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting science and technology through interactive experiences. Since having to leave its physical location in Christchurch following the 2010/11 earthquakes, the Trust has been operating outreach programmes and more recently taken a new online direction. More recently, it’s partnered with Education Perfect to develop resources with a “shared understanding and passion’, added Alex Quinlan, Acting Executive Trustee. “Our team have quietly been working on how best to deliver our mission to promote, inspire and engage people with the endless opportunities that the world of science holds.

“We’ve been collaborating with Education Perfect for more than a year now. We’re very lucky to have them working with us. The resources are continuing to build and new content is being uploaded all the time. “The world is changing at an unprecedented rate, and the demands and lifestyles of our youth are moving with this. We believe in the potential of every child and are driven to spark hope, excitement and curiosity within our future generations. “Gamechangers aims to inspire young learners to develop 21st century skills that will equip them for the jobs of the future. It has been developed as a koha to all children. There is no cost or time limit associated with this digital taonga.”

Connect to real people

Gamechangers is already proving a popular addition to Science Alive’s free resources, which include content that aligns with the Nature of Science framework of the New Zealand Curriculum.

“The students loved the aesthetic look of the ‘game’, characters and navigating through the website,” explained Jo Flavell, who teaches at Frankton School in Hamilton. “Collecting the taonga was an element that really engaged students as well. In regard to explicit engagement of science, technology and innovation, it was the videos that engaged the students. Real people, from here in New Zealand, people that my students could connect to and see themselves in.”

Compiled by the INTERFACE team.

Science Alive is a Charitable Trust established to inspire interest in science and technology, to showcase New Zealand successes in these fields and raise awareness of related opportunities. For more go to

bit.ly/sciencealivegamechangers

Or learn more at INTERFACEXpo 2022, where Science Alive is a sponsor this year.