STEM |ED Magazine Issue 2 by STEMEDmagazine

STEM || ED STEM ED M MAGAZINE AGAZINE

PEDAGOGY AND TEACHING WITH STEM AND LEARNING OUTSIDE

Teaching and learning outside with an integrated STEM focus

OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO...WITH STEM!

How, why, and how well do we incorporate STEM into our schools?

ACTION RESEARCH

Building Teacher Agency in Integrated STEM.

MATHEMATICAL INVESTIGATIONS 2 e u s s I | 1 2 0 2 li r p A

One teacher's reflections on a holistic and authentic approach to mathematics.

Acknowledgement of Country WE

ACKNOWLEDGE

TORRES THE

STRAIT

TRADITIONAL

AUSTRALIA

AND

CONTINUING WATERS, PAY

OUR

PAST,

AND

ABORIGINAL

ISLANDER OWNERS

PEOPLE

CONNECTION

RESPECTS PRESENT

AND

THROUGHOUT

ACKNOWLEDGE

CULTURE.

AND

THEIR LAND,

WISH

THEIR

ELDERS

EMERGING.

from around the world. And I believe that is what

founder's note

we are truly starting to achieve! Statistics from the magazine has shown that it has reached

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine releasing a magazine, let alone getting to Issue 2! What

wild,

unexpected,

and

absolutely

FANTASTIC ride it has been since we launched Issue 1 of STEM | ED Magazine back in February. I am unbelievably in awe of the countless educators

have

connected

with,

and

particular those I've had the immense pleasure of working with on the magazine. What has really struck me as I conversed with and read through the contributions shared for Issue 2 was the common

thread

COMMUNITY

that

runs

through each article. Whether it was the deep collaboration between students (such as in the 'Global Changemakers' article by Sue Floro, and the

follow-up

Ian

Fairhurst

and

Sarah

Beamont-Jones), or the collaborative practice of educators (noting Dr Jane Hunter's research, Jesse Chambers' article on teacher Professional Learning around STEM, or the power of the global

educators in 65 countries, including the Maldives, Samoa, Qatar, Estonia, and Latvia - what a humbling

experience

for

educator

from

Sydney, Australia. I have always advocated for collaboration and connection between educators; however this magazine has deepened this conviction within me. My hope for you as you read and engage with Issue 2, is to fully connect with the article - click on a contributor's Twitter page and start up a conversation with them about their article; or use the magazine hashtag #stemedmagazine and start up a conversation with Sandy and I. My main vision

and

COMMUNITY moves

mission

has

through

beyond

the

been

this

develop

magazine,

digital

pages

which of

publication. Please connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, and let us continue our collaboration

enhance

our

practice

support student learning.

PLN by the Global GEG Founders). What this magazine has truly taught me is the power of collaboration and connection between educators; which is the real reason why I created the magazine in the first place - to be able to connect and share the stories of STEM education

this

Fi Morrison Founder + Editor-in-Chief

and

IN THIS ISSUE 07

EDITOR'S NOTE

FOREWORD: TO STEM OR NOT TO STEM? THAT IS (NOT) THE QUESTION

ACTION RESEARCH FOR BUILDING TEACHER AGENCY IN INTEGRATED STEM

Dr David Roy

Dr Jane Hunter

S T E M

I N S I G H T S

F R O M

E V I D E N C E

SPECIAL FEATURE: OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO... WITH STEM! Rachael Lehr

'T' IN STEM EDUCATION: IS IT... A 'TECHNOLOGY PROCESS' OR IS IT A 'TECHNOLOGICAL ARTEFACT' (DEVICE)? George Spiridis

WHOSE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IS IT ANYWAY? Jesse Chambers

LITERACY IN STEM AUTHENTICITY IN ACTION Beck Keough

PEDAGOGY AND TEACHING WITH STEM AND LEARNING OUTSIDE Meridith Ebbs

S T E M

I N

P R A C T I C E

GLOBAL CHANGEMAKERS: A WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH USING ESTEAM Sue Floro

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 05

CARDBOARD EMPATHY MICROBIT ARCADE GAME CHALLENGE

Ian Fairhurst + Sarah Beaumont-Jones

BUILDING MATHEMATICAL SKILLS THROUGH INVESTIGATION

Aaron Johnston

STEM EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Çelebi Kalkan

MUCKING AROUND WITH MERGE! AR-TASTIC EXPERIENCES FOR K-6 CLASSROOMS

MEET FI MORRISON: A CONCEPTUAL PLAYWORLD STEM CHAMPION – JOIN THE #PLN INNOVATING NEW WAYS OF TEACHING STEM Professor Laureate Marilyn Fleer

GET TO KNOW MELISA HAYES

R E S O U R C E

Helen Kardiasmenos

FINDING THE SWEET SPOT: RASPBERRY PI, STEM AND PHYSICAL COMPUTING

C O R N E R

REGULAR FEATURE: THE STEM BOOK NOOK

Beck Keough + Dr Stephanie Smith

Dr Keith Heggart

MOONHACK CHANGEMAKERS: A CELEBRATION OF EDUCATION, EQUALITY AND ACCESS

Nicola Curnow

COULD ROBOTS BE DEPLOYED TO HELP SAVE KANGAROOS?

Ronel Schodt

E D U C A T O R

S P O T L I G H T

THE POWER OF THE PLN: GLOBAL GEG STORY Global GEG Founders

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

RESOURCE REVIEW: 15MINUTE STEM BOOK

RESOURCE REVIEW: DNA + EDULATTE

RESOURCE REVIEW: DOUBLE HELIX MAGAZINES

RESOURCE REVIEW: CSIRO PUBLISHING

REGULAR FEATURE: #STEMEDMAGAZINE FEATURES

EXTRA ACADEMIC READS

| 06

initiatives can and do have a ripple effect globally

editor's note

and I am always mindful to note STEAM has this potential

too.

the

skills

underpinning

As the editor of this professional magazine one

STEM/STEAM and the possibilities I like. These

of my visions or aims is to support and empower

skills include many such as teamwork, innovation,

our profession. Before the magazine launched I

critical

could see our founder Fi Morrison had so much to

understandings, and digital literacies. All of which

offer with her presence on Twitter. We met in

when achieved can be about vision and inclusion

person in January 2021, and I wanted to support

not division. I like what Professor Asha Rao from

her in any way I could. I became the editor and

RMIT often reminds us on Twitter, STEM is about

aspired to be a supportive checker who embraces

asking questions.

creative

thinking,

ethical

and empowers teacher voice which has been

The STEM|ED magazine shines a bright torch on

sadly "silenced" in recent times. I think agency

many amazing teachers/educators regardless of

(Ferris, 1992), or the power for teachers to act on a

gender and is a great way to guide others in

global scale is not like it was in the year 2007

Education and beyond. My tip: Just follow the

when I presented my first peer reviewed paper

light of others like those who have contributed to

(Rawling, 2007) on this idea.

this edition: Celebi Kalkan from Turkey, and

Today, teachers are so busy each day with life in

Nicola Curnow from Code Club Australia. In all

a classroom and preparation at home, I often ask

honesty as the editor the thought on gender does

myself how can we all help each other? I think

not enter my mind at the time of editing, as it

this

should not. In my mind I am excited for this

magazine

one

example.

teach

predominantly at University and mark many

magazine

assignments. As a marker I deliberately prose

contributed did so due to passion, creativity,

feed-back which starts with a student’s strengths

teamwork, a desire to support others, to share on

first

inclusion

ideas and skills. I see this as an example of

(Woodcock & Hardy, 2018; Woodcock & Nicoll,

agency, an ability for teachers to act. Thank you

2020-under review). I use this approach as the

everyone who have contributed and support this

editor for STEM|ED and wish for others to have a

magazine by reading it, re-sharing on social

go, even if unsure, as together we can sparkle up

media platforms .

and

aligns

with

ideas

your article. Another example why I love this magazine comes from the week of the global annual day when we acknowledge women (8th March, 2021#ChooseToChallenge). policy/initiative

can

see

STEM

Education

where

#visionnotdivision can be about skill set, not gender.

For

this

#empoweredwomenempowerothers. Policy

about

ripper

read

for

those

who

Fi & I had so much fun working on edition two and

yes,

are

busy

primary/elementary

teachers. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did- #teamworkmakesdreamswork.

Dr Sandy Nicoll @PSTchat- moderator, 2021 Editor

S T E M

E D U C A T I O N

What actually is STEM and what are the

O P I N I O N

P I E C E

adopted in 2001. STEM, as we know references

implications of STEM and its’ promotion in

Science,

schools

particular

Mathematics (although it was originally called

subjects such as the Arts have argued for

SMET) and encompasses the natural and

STEAM,

formal sciences (borrowing psychology from

for

other

whilst

subjects?

there

are

multitude

alternative suggested additional letters for

Technology,

Engineering

and

the social sciences).

multiple subjects being included under the

The collecting of subjects together into a

banner. Some STEM subject areas are even

new label is not new. It is often done to either

starting to argue against STEM, claiming overt

promote

focus on only some STEM areas is causing an

coalesce funding as a cost cutting exercise a

imbalance. This article argues for how STEM is

method to have targeted funding. There was

about creating a wider, accessible curriculum,

real concern in the 2000s over the lack of

and integration for all.

promotion and diversity of the workforce

To understand where we are in life, we have

involved

certain

knowledge

STEM.

Through

areas

standardised

to look at where we came from. With STEM, it

testing and national comparison measures

is an anacronym that originates from the

such as PISA, Numeracy became a focus.

1990’s and is generally recognised as being

Governments across the world have instituted

used by Charles Vela of the Centre for the

specific grants to promote STEM learning to

Advancement of Hispanics in Science and

improve outcomes and increase workforce

Engineering Education (CAHSEE), who then

participation

took

minorities and woman.

the

National

Science

STEM

areas

for

ethnic

Foundation(NSF) where it was officially

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 08

Data suggests there has not been that much

the binary hierarchies of vested interests.

impact beyond education. Whilst there may

Physics

not

superior

be a slight increase in diversity of those

Mathematics is not superior to Dance.

Biology;

undertaking STEM linked degrees that has not

Find what engages your students in

seemed to transfer to increased jobs or

learning. If that is bee-bots or logic puzzles

indeed increased wages; and of all the STEM

that can lead them to Visual Art then great. If

areas, it is in engineering that that is still the

that is an Oliver Jeffries picture book that

minimalist diversity. So is there a point to

leads them to Engineering, then fantastic.

STEM?

We need to celebrate difference and not get

STEM is important as it creates a recognition

trapped in labels but use labels as a tool

of knowledges that are connected and allows

alone for the wider challenge of helping

schools

children to become all they can be.

target

resources

maximise

impact. Too often in schools and higher

We don’t need to change the anacronym

education we are focused on workforce and

but do have to ensure the concept of STEM

monetising future knowledges rather than

stays true to the intention. It is not a zero-sum

celebrating knowledge in itself as opening

game.

opportunities

for

content,

happy

individuals. We do need to be concerned that

Further reading

policy

Teaching the Arts

makers

diminute

the

foundational

knowledges of STEM and indeed of HASS

Learning and Teaching primary Science

(Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences). Just as the grouping of various Arts subjects into ‘The Creative Arts’ has created a devaluating of sorts

and

reinforced

false

hierarchies

knowledge we need to be careful that STEM branding does not do the same.

Dr David Roy

In technology many schools can have a focus IT equipment and programs, but we need to remember that lighting design uses technology, science and various creative arts in conjunction. Instead, I would argue that STEM

useful

tool

for

promoting

knowledges to individuals that already have adopted a pre-set judgement on their ability or not in STEM or other subjects. Yes, certain individuals thrive in Mathematics and others in Drama (sometimes in both) but I have yet to encounter an individual who ‘can’t’ succeed in

any

area

encouragement

with and

the

right

facilitation.

Dr David Roy is a lecturer and researcher in Education and Creative Arts at the University of Newcastle. He uses his research to inform inclusion and equity practices for children across Australia, with a particular focus on children with a disability and engagement with the Arts and Science. He is the author of 10 books, plays the bass guitar, drinks too much coffee and prefers Star Trek to Star Wars.

support, What

teachers we need to do is see the connections and significance between subjects. We need to recognise the intersectionality between them

all,

recognise

domain

specific

knowledges and skills whilst not playing into

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 09

STEM insights from evidence

STEM INSIGHTS FROM

EVIDENCE Read some of the latest research, trends and ideas circulating in the STEM education world.

S T E M

I N S I G H T S

F R O M

E V I D E N C E

OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO... IN STEM! RACHAEL LEHR

“The best thing about teaching is that it matters. The hardest thing about being a teacher is that it matters every day.” ~ Todd Whitaker. As educators, we are cognisant of the rewards of working in a field that matters so much; one that changes lives, and many feel truly privileged to be part of such a worthwhile vocation. Yet, we are also aware of the challenges we face in making a plethora of decisions about the what, how and why of education to ensure our students receive the best education they possibly can, and that our learning communities provide opportunities for our students to develop academically, physically, socially and emotionally.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

Adding complexity to our daily

improvements, thereby resulting

decision-making processes is the

shifting landscape within which

alterations

education

ever-

policy

changing expectations of what

STEM

constitutes the what, how and

Engineering and Mathematics)

why,

and digital technologies into the

and

effective

sits,

even

and

the

how

education.

well,

policy

formation (Levin

agendas

2010). have

(Science,

and Such

brought

Technology,

Professor

forefront of discussions related to

Finkel, Australia’s Chief Scientist

educating our students for an

(Education Council 2018, p. 5)

unknown

noted that, while society often

have crept into our vocabulary,

agrees on the why of education,

into

it is the how and how well that

teaching and learning, into our

leads to debate.

curriculum and our classrooms.

future.

our

These

conversations

terms about

Educational priorities have

In 2021, there is no option other

altered over time (influenced by

than to consider how we as

various factors, whether political,

educators

social

leaders

economic),

the

and

can

educational

best

implement

pursuit of answering how to best

teaching and learning in STEM in

meet our students’ educational

order to give our students the

needs, and to analyse how well

best chance of future success.

this has been done. This has led

STEM education has been

to significant efforts being made

defined

including

to address perceived issues in

knowledge

education and garner

collaboratively constructed at

and

the skills

| 11

the intersection of more than one of the aforementioned “STEM subjects” (Rosicka 2016). The overarching theoretical framework for STEM education is curriculum integration; with a

focus

deep

learning

and

engaging

students in creative thinking and problem solving

through

“real

world”

learning

experiences (Corlu, Capraro & Capraro, 2014). A notable

challenge

with

STEM

education

currently, when reflecting on this definition, is the

lack

understanding

common

agreement by educators about what STEM entails and how STEM learning looks in their classrooms,

and

even

why

are

implementing STEM learning; combined with the fact that STEM is not a subject area, but rather a culture of learning...a pedagogy. When considering the what and how of STEM learning in our schools, it should be noted that the Australian Curriculum addresses STEM in separate

learning

areas

Science,

Technologies and Mathematics, and via the General Capabilities (Numeracy, ICT and Critical and

Creative

Thinking).

ACARA

(2016)

acknowledged, however, that STEM learning is strengthened connections

through between

learning

emphasising areas

and

offering authentic learning opportunities to promote problem solving across learning areas. Despite ACARA proposing that strong and natural

links

exist

between

the

STEM

disciplines in the curriculum, true integrated STEM learning is, in fact, made difficult by the learning

area-based

development

the

Australian Curriculum (Rosicka, 2016) and the lack of an integrated STEM curriculum to guide teachers in how to teach STEM and what to teach.

order to enhance economic productivity” (2015, p. 147), thus causing digital technologies to take centre stage in key policy documents informing pedagogy. Nevertheless, I digress. This is not intended to be a detailed background into policy influences, government

agendas

and

the

that

have

created the need for educators to consider the what, how, why or how well of STEM and digital technologies education, but more the story of how we, at West Beechboro Primary School - an independent

public

school

Perth,

Western

Australia - have sought to integrate both STEM and digital

technologies

into

our

school

learning

community, and to share some strategies that have been successful. This story is shared with the disclaimer that this is the beginning of a journey, that I do not propose to have all the answers and that there is still a long road to travel to a

Additionally, increasing policy drivers around

destination that isn’t all that clear as yet - a moving

STEM have brought digital technologies into

target, if you like. Meanwhile, I am enjoying the

focus, along with a shift into gamification of

journey and hope that our students (and our

education, adding to the complexity of STEM

school community more broadly) benefit from

education (Arnott 2016). Ingleby declared that,

these efforts to ensure that both STEM and digital

across the world, “Technologies have come to

technologies

be regarded as being of central importance in …

learning

a ‘knowledge economy’ that applies digital

authentic and meaningful ways into learning.

don’t

programs,

become but

“add-ons”

rather

our

integrated

technologies in

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 12

As a science specialist teacher from 2011 to 2019, I

to them.

spent a lot of time thinking about the what, how

Over the past seven years, I have hosted an after-

and why of teaching primary science and the best

hours STEM Club (previously a Girls’ Science Club)

way to engage our students in hands-on learning

to our senior girls and this year morphing into an

to build their curiosity and wonder. It was after

ICT

attending

the

inaugural

for

both

boys

and

girls.

Students have applied for, and attended weekly sessions focused on providing experiences that

learning at WBPS shifted from being that of being

demonstrate the possibilities in STEM fields. The

a pure focus on the what, how and why of science

focus is on “process over product” and students

learning, to considering more how well our

work collaboratively on projects that allow them

students are learning science concepts.Then, in

to create solutions to problems they care about,

light of the previously mentioned STEM and

with reference to the 17 Sustainable Development

digital technologies policy developments, I came

Goals being a priority. They have participated in

to consider, how our students can apply this

competitions

knowledge more deeply to integrated STEM

Robogals and Young ICT Explorers. The highlight

learning

outlined

of these sessions is visits from STEM professionals

science content descriptors, but allow students to

who share their journey into STEM and the

explore

possibilities for our students in the future.

problem

that

address

solving

about

Academy

Club

Canberra in 2016, that my focus for science

projects

STEMX

Explorers

the ‘real

world’

such

Game

Changers

and

problems relevant to them and our community.

While it is clear that digital technologies alone

Also, I began to think more about the why behind

are not STEM learning, digital literacy is key to our

what I was teaching and to think about how I

students’ participation in society in the 21st

could

the

Century, and digital technologies have become a

necessary skills and capabilities for their futures -

best

prepare

our

students

with

focus in Australian curriculum documents and

whether that be in STEM fields or otherwise.

central

Rather than picking up pre-packaged programs, planning for science lessons became less fixed,

STEM

learning.

Using

digital

technologies allows students choice in how they demonstrate what they know, and gives students

more fluid, more student-focused, and while possibly less content was covered, students had the opportunity to apply content knowledge deeply to projects of their choice. Planning for STEM learning in my science classroom, started with the science curriculum descriptors (what needs to be taught), then considered current realworld problems or questions students may have (why they should learn this), and, finally, digital tools (part of the how) were selected to enhance learning, not to drive the learning. For several years, I incorporated digital technologies into science learning and have relied on digital tools (such as Seesaw, various apps, robots and more) to demonstrate the learning that is occurring, and to share

this

broadly

with

our

school

community. For our junior students, this saw them applying their science content knowledge to solving problems presented in fiction stories or problems that arise in the classroom, and our senior students looked at solutions to cleaning up rubbish in the school/community or creating apps to address issues like bullying that are meaningful

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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access to an audience beyond the classroom walls.

STEM learning, I am thankful to weekly chats on

At WBPS we have the goal to...“engage with

Twitter

technology

educators come together to share their ideas for

that

meaningfully

integrated,

where

educating

#PrimarySTEMChat takes place every Thursday

established a committee of interested teachers

evening and is a place where educators showcase

who

the

what is happening in their classrooms, where they

implementation of digital technologies in an

share resources, ask questions, and even share

integrated way in our classrooms. These teachers

failures, in that constant quest to ensure our

work to showcase best practice in using the

students receive the best education they can. It is

various digital technologies tools we advocate at

through participation in the professional learning

our school.

network that I have been motivated, encouraged,

In my role as the digital technologies’ teacher

and supported to go out and make changes in

leader

regular

what I do in my classrooms. It has helped me

demonstration lessons in classrooms, with the aim

reflect on the why and how and to keep trying

of first showcasing to classroom teachers how they

when things do not go to plan - because,

can use the various digital tools that we have

ultimately, it’s the how well that matters to our

access to within their classroom learning, and then

students and I feel the responsibility of continuing

to assist and support teachers to build their

to seek how to be better at helping our students

confidence and capacity to implement these

learn.

the

school,

upskill

conduct

for

passionate

and in order to achieve this goal, we have together

students

STEM

through varied authentic learning experiences ... “

work

our

like-minded,

the

future.

lessons regularly without assistance. These sessions

Teaching matters. Teaching matters every day.

always focus on integrating into the learning that

And what, how, why and how well of that is up to

and

us as educators and educational leaders. It is

showcasing digital tools that can easily enhance

evident that the focus on STEM education and

this learning, rather than drive this learning. On

digital technologies will not disappear in the near

Mondays at West Beechboro, students line up

future, with many reports and policies continuing

eagerly to attend the Minecraft Mondays club and

to be developed supporting the ongoing push for

work on independent projects or challenges that I

a STEM-skilled society.

taking

give

place

them,

within

such

the

classroom

creating

classroom,

playground, or maze. Minecraft is also offered as an option for students to show what they know in various classes, and our students are incredibly adept at creating scenes that demonstrate their understanding of different concepts using this platform. As

mentioned

earlier,

this

journey

into

integrating both STEM and digital technologies at West Beechboro [while being a focus for a number of years] is in reality still in its infancy. My aim is, ultimately,

see

our

teachers

using

digital

technologies naturally and authentically in their classroom

without

requesting

support

and

guidance - basically doing myself out of a role. Also, there is much scope for integrated STEM projects to be introduced in all classrooms across the school - for our Integrated Studies lessons to have a stronger, real-world problem-solving STEM focus. Nevertheless, in the pursuit of a better understanding of what, how, why and how well of

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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Educators now have their role to play in ensuring these policies are enacted and moved beyond espoused theories to bring about the required change in the classrooms for our students; but mostly that our students receive the education that

ensures

they

are

well-equipped

for

successful future - whatever that may look like for them.

References -

Australian

Curriculum

Assessment

and

Reporting Authority [ACARA] (2016). ACARA STEM

connections project report. Australian

Curriculum. Australian Curriculum Assessment and

Reporting

Authority.

Retrieved

from

https://www.acara.edu.au/ - Arnott, L. (2016). ‘An ecological exploration of young children’s digital play: framing children’s social experiences with technologies in early childhood’, Early Years, 6 (3), 217-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2016.1181049 - Corlu, M.; Capraro, R. & Capraro, M. (2014). ‘Introducing STEM education: Implications for educating

our

teachers

for

the

age

innovation’, Education and Science, 39 (171), 7485. - Education Council (2018). National STEM school education strategy. A comprehensive plan for science,

technology,

engineering

and

mathematics education in Australia. Canberra: Education Council. - Ingleby, E. (2015). The impact of changing policies about technology on the professional developments needs of early years educators in © Copyright Monash University

England.

Professional

Education,

Development

41(1),

144-157.

https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2014.894482

Rachael Lehr

- Levin, B. (2010). ‘Government and education

Rachael Lehr is a deputy principal at West

Journal of Education Policy, 25(6), 739-747.

Beechboro Primary School in Perth, WA, where she was previously the science and digital technologies specialist teacher for many years. Rachael is the founder of #PrimarySTEMChat on Twitter, a weekly STEM-focused chat, where she shares her passion for the authentic integration of digital technologies and STEM learning into classrooms.

reform: some lessons from the last 50 years’, - Rosicka, C. (2016). From concept to classroom: Translating practice.

STEM

education

Camberwell,

research

Victoria:

into

Australian

Council for Educational Research. Retrieved from https://research.acer.edu.au/professional_dev/10/ - Whitaker, T. (2011).

What great teachers do

differently: 17 things that matter most, Eye on Education, Larchmont, New York. ISBN-13: 9781596671997

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S T E M

I N S I G H T S

F R O M

E V I D E N C E

ACTION RESEARCH FOR BUILDING TEACHER AGENCY IN INTEGRATED STEM DR JANE HUNTER

Each teacher

week

interested

educators

and

teachers,

principals,

professional

staff

get

learning

and

development

a in

program

series

action

professional research

together to discuss STEM and STEAM through the

projects with an academic partner (me). More

Twitter

online

than 1500 students from the early years (ages 4 to

conversation initiated by Deputy Principal Rachael

5) through to elementary and the middle years

Lehr is a popular way for educators to connect for

(ages 6 to 13) were involved.

forum

#PrimarySTEMchat.

This

professional development, affirmation and sharing.

Two studies were conducted over one school

A few weeks ago, comments were posted about

term (approximately ten weeks) and the third,

action research and it peeked many participants’

longitudinal

interest. Action research methods underpinned all

(approximately 60 weeks over 15 months).

nature,

was

for

six

terms

of the studies in a new book (2021) authored by me

titled:

High

Possibility

Integrated

STEM

Learning

STEM in

Classrooms:

Research

and

Distinction between professional learning and professional development

Practice. In response to numerous kind messages from #PrimarySTEMchat participants I would like to share some general points about action research in the context of building teacher agency in Integrated STEM in K-6 contexts. You will need to read the book to place these short snippets into the broader context. The research

From 2016-19 I led three studies in 14 Australian public schools. This research involved 59 teachers who volunteered to participate in professional

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

It is important to make a distinction between “professional

learning”

which

refers

the

processes and experiences teachers engage with in

order

develop

their

practice;

while

“professional development” describes structured learning activities for teachers, sometimes one-off but

preferably

Teachers

ongoing

participating

and in

well

the

resourced.

three

studies

detailed in the book engaged in both. Conducting

successful

action

research

schools

Research partnerships between schools and

| 16

university

colleagues

from

teacher

education

Partnership-led teacher inquiry using

faculties are not new ideas; rather, they are

action research cycles alongside practitioners

essential for professional learning and for building

in schools has been a key focus of my ‘insider

and

and outsider work’ in education for more than

sustainable

confidence

teacher

pedagogy

capacity

curriculum

two decades. School-based action research

integration. I would add, greater funding of

often becomes a transformative professional

teacher

learning

professional

and

learning

research

activity

for

teachers.

Education

government using action research approaches is

scholars like Campbell (2011) suggests this is

necessary.

also the case for the academic partners who

The interventions described in the book were

support teachers in schools when they:

collectively funded by the principals pooling their

create a culture of inquiry and respect for

annual professional learning budgets to conduct

teacher knowledge

an academic partnership (with me). I note that

encourage learner centred instruction

some schools do not always have such funds nor

develop and control their own foci for

are they geographically located to enable this

enquiries; and

type of elbow-to-elbow support.

engage in collaboration work and study groups

Long history

for

intellectual

challenge

and

stimulation. (p. 142)

There is a long history of scholarship in teacher

Academic partners and research partnerships

education that connects practitioner inquiry and

require a change in mindset from being ‘the

professional

sustained

expert in the ivory-tower’ to seeing that the

teacher learning in the workplace. This arises from

broader remit of a public institution is to be in

calls for practitioner research that has at its core

and of the community and deeply connected

both professional agency and workplace learning

to social action and the public life of schools –

led by practitioners, often in partnership with

that is, to connect with the moral purpose of

others.

education.

learning

for

authentic,

It was Grundy (1982) who initially argued for the

Making the transition from ‘outsider to

acceptance of practitioner research as a means of

insider’ demands a particular skill set, and not

addressing

all

teacher

professional

learning

and

teacher

education

academics

feel

school improvement by making the crucial link

comfortable with what is required, nor do

between

and

they see it as part of their teaching or

professional learning that, according to Campbell

research responsibilities. However, possibly

and Groundwater-Smith (2009), “would counter

because I was a classroom teacher, I felt

overly simple solutions packaged in short courses”

comfortable

(p. 205).

becoming an academic partner.

teacher

inquiry,

research,

with

making

that

leap

Three ingredients

Successful

teacher

professional

learning

includes practitioner inquiry that can be stepped through an action research cycle of selecting a focus,

taking

action,

reflecting

practice

through discussion or data collection and then teaching the lesson/s again with a renewed or changed action.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 17

Participatory

action

research

school–

This philosophical stance towards the conduct of

university research partnerships can focus on

research in schools has shaped the agendas I

pedagogical knowledge and professional learning.

have engaged with throughout my education

In my experience it’s highly motivating for teacher

career.

learning. I call it the ‘insider-outsider model’ – it explains

practice

knowledge:

(teacher

education

when

Action research detailed in the book was co-

(teachers in schools) work in partnership. It is

designed to respond to the needs identified in

about

practice

partnership with the school principals and to

knowledge based on knowledge of good teaching,

answer particular questions negotiated with all

and knowledge of how to conduct research. There

participants at each site. My experience is that

is value in bringing together both knowledges to

the permutations of partnership arrangements

solve the challenges of practice in classrooms,

produce different sorts of professional learning,

particularly in minority or low socio-economic

and provided productive learning is the goal,

school communities.

these variations are not too significant.

together

they

and

Designing the action research

insiders’

how

academics)

‘outsiders

generate

Academic partnerships involving ‘insiders

and outsiders’ are an example of

Underlying the distinctions of technical,

participatory

practical, and emancipatory action research is a

action research which springs from the works of

commitment to improving practice, with teacher

Kurt Lewin in business and management, Paulo

participation sometimes involving feelings of

Freire on ‘critical pedagogy’, and Myles Horton at

vulnerability

the Highlander School in the US (Groundwater-

reflection and self-evaluation.

Smith, 2007; Somekh & Lewin, 2011). researcher

consequence

critical

Such reflexivity aligns with the notion of

This frame sits alongside my belief that as an education

partnership

work

with

‘insider knowledge’, which, in combination with the ‘outsider knowledge’ of an academic partner

schools is about involvement in a transformative

act, something noted by Kemmis and McTaggart

sometimes challenges the teacher’s classroom

(2005): “participatory action research aims to

practices,

transform

both

practitioners’

theories

external

colleague

can

lead

who to

supports

powerful

and

teacher

and

professional learning. Carefully structuring the

practices and the theories and practices of others

processes within the research design is essential.

whose perspectives and practices may help shape

It is a big conversation.

the conditions of life and work in particular local settings” (p. 568).

Successful teacher professional learning includes practitioner inquiry that can be stepped through an action research cycle.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 18

References Campbell, A. (2011). Connecting inquiry and professional learning: Creating the conditions for authentic, sustained learning. In N. Mockler & J. Sachs (Eds.), Rethinking educational practice through reflexive inquiry: Essays in honour of Susan

Groundwater-Smith

(pp.

139–151).

Dordrecht: Springer. Campbell, A., & Groundwater-Smith, S. (2009). An ethical approach to practitioner research: Dealing with issues and dilemmas in action research. London: Routledge.

Groundwater-Smith,

(2007).

Questions

quality in practitioner research: Universities in the 21st Century – the need for safe places for unsafe ideas. In P. Ponte & H. H. . Smit (Eds.). The quality of practitioner research: reflections on the

position

the

researchers

and

the

Dr Jane Hunter

researched. Rotterdam: Sense.

Grundy,

(1982).

Three

models

action

research. Curriculum Perspectives, 2(October,) 23-24. Hunter,

school teacher. She is an Associate Professor in teacher education specialising in research in curriculum, pedagogy, professional and digital

(2021).

High

Possibility

STEM

Classrooms: Integrated STEM in Research and Practice. New York: Routledge.

action research: Communicative action and the public sphere. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd

ed). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

social

research

Technology

Sydney,

Australia.

Her

work

reinforces the importance of continuous teacher university

(2nd

partnerships.

The

pedagogical

framework developed out of her research with teachers known as High Possibility Classrooms has led innovation and changes to practice in Australian schools. More recently her work is focused

Somekh, B., & Lewin, C. (Eds.). (2011). Theory and in

learning in K-12 education at the University of

professional learning through ongoing school-

Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory

methods

Artificial

Intelligence

school

education and its impacts on young people.

edition).

London: Sage.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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S T E M

I N S I G H T S

F R O M

E V I D E N C E

'T' IN STEM EDUCATION IS IT...A 'TECHNOLOGY PROCESS' OR IS IT A... 'TECHNOLOGICAL ARTEFACT' (DEVICE)? GEORGE SPIRIDIS

To understand the 'T' in STEM education, we need to understand 'Technology education' historically.

understanding of the 'Technology Process'. Our world was changing fast, students just learning practical skills alone was not adequate enough for our 'Technical World' ahead of us.

‘In order to see where we are going, we not

During these changes fate provided me with an

only must remember where we've been, but we

opportunity (end of a 23-year career in industry via

must understand where we have been!’ (Ella

a life ending experience), a call for interested

Baker Dec. 31, 1969)

personal

from

industry

enter

'Technology

In the late 1980's the Victorian Certificate of

Education'. It made sense to me, not only imparting

Education was piloted to replace the Higher

skills but also the 'Technology Process' where

School Certificate. This led to the introduction of

students have a greater understanding of the world

Design and Technology Education in Australia,

around them and what is ahead of them.

about the same time when it was emerging in the UK and the USA. During this period in education there was a realisation we needed to move forward and away from 'Purely Skills Based Learning'. We needed to implement critical thinking and deeper

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

Image: 'Project Based Learning' Life sized 3D printed 'Humanoid Robot Arm' (voice controlled). InMoov 3D printed robot OpenSource https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=H4Z09edx52E

| 20

What is Technology Education (Studies)?

department. I was sitting in the back row with a bunch of elderly woodwork and metalwork

Technology studies is an area of the curriculum

teachers (the epitome of the two old gentlemen

in which students, at all levels of schooling, learn

in the balcony from the Muppets Show) voicing

about:

their opinions like 'This Stuff Will Never Catch

Materials

(what

made

of),

Engineering (putting it together and making it work), Energy (what makes it go), Systems (the whole, not just parts). By being involved in the process of: 'Designing It', 'Making It', 'Testing It'. (Ministry of Education,

Victoria, 1988, p7) ...a set of principles or rational method involved the

production

accomplishment

an an

object end...

the

implying

knowledge of principles but has its aim in making and doing. (Runes,1942). ...the bodies of skills and knowledge and procedures for making, acting, and doing useful things...

techniques

for

In some quarters of education there was, and still is, a reluctance to any change to and the delivery

the

curriculum

'Technology

Education' which incorporates the 'Technology Process'. The implementation and wide-ranging use of

Some definitions of 'Technology'... in

On".

accomplishing

recognised purposes. (Merrill, 1968).

'Digital Technologies' including the introduction of the subject area of 'Digital Technologies' (Australian Curriculum) has impacted on the true intrinsic value of 'Technology Education' as a

'Technology

education)

Process'.

constantly

Society

(including

represents

Digital

Technologies as 'Technology or Tech', implying there is or has been no other Technology. Unfortunately, the only course of study in Victoria for a 'Bachelor of Education Technology'

...the know-how and creative process that may

(not just Digital Technologies), was Latrobe

utilise tools, resources, and systems to solve

University, it has ceased. I am not aware of any

problems, to enhance control over natural and

other course of study for the 'Bachelor of

man-made environment in an endeavour to

Education Technology' available in Australia.

improve the human condition. (UNESCO, 1985).

As a 'Pre-Service Teacher' my first experience of professional development was at staff PD. on

Digital Technologies is moving forward at an incredible pace for humanity, to enhance and maintain this pace for humanity, 'we not only

how to deliver the new curriculum of VCE Design

must remember where we've been, but we

and Technology by the education

must understand where we have been' (Ella

Baker, Dec. 31, 1969) 'The Technology Process'. 'T' in STEM Education Implementing 'The Technology Process'

STEM Education Year 5 & 6 Students. Life sized 3D printed Humanoid Robot. (voice controlled) 'Project Based Learning' students take on individual responsibilities in a common project. Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary approach.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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Technology and STEM Education Year 12,7,6 & 5 Students 'Student Centred Learning'. Individual projects that meet students needs or wants. Solar & wind powered battery charger for a house without an electrical supply, remote controlled tripod, walking robot, lighting displays with infinity mirror effects, bedside lamp-engraved acrylic. Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary approach.

Applying the 'Technology Process' to STEM Education

Unit 3: Integrated and controlled systems Area of Study 1 Integrated and controlled systems design

The 'Technology Process' will never date. It is the

'Technological

Artefacts'

that

will

date

(change and improve with time). Using the 'Technology Process' to implement STEM Education can be as complicated as the educator wants it to be. For those who have not experienced it, it may be an amazing revelation. If we look at 'Technology Education' curriculum it can be translated into 'STEM Education' curriculum (for those who need a translation, there are old technology educators out there who are well versed in the 'Technology Process'). The 'Technology Process' is designed for Interdisciplinary approaches.

One

Interdisciplinary

and of and

Multidisciplinary many

examples

Multidisciplinary

approaches in curriculum is presented in this example from the VCE Systems Engineering 2019–2024 Study Design.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

Students use fundamental physics and applied mathematics

solve

systems

engineering

problems. They apply theoretical concepts and principles

and

use

the

systems

engineering

process to manage the design and planning of an integrated

and

controlled

system

and

commence its production. (Systems Engineering, 2019, p22) Applying the 'Technology Process' to STEM Education

If we do the research into and investigate each discipline in STEM Education, we would surely identify the same learning outcomes or qualities such as Inquiry Learning, Metacognition, Critical Thinking,

Authentic

Interdisciplinary

Design

Making,

Multidisciplinary

Transdisciplinary Learning, plus many more...

| 22

Why not take a leaf out of the 'The Technology

George Spiridis

Process'. Where all of the elements are studied and integrated into the design and making of a 'Technological Artefact' that meets the needs of the 'Human Condition'. What do we lose if we believe in the notion that all elements rely on each other for a final outcome? No one discipline is more important than any other discipline.

After

years

Electrical/Electronic

wide

Engineering

range

Industries,

George commenced a career in Technology Education in 1992. This role incorporated Design Technology, Engineering, Technology

Systems

Technology,

Information (ICT).

George

Systems

Communications has

wealth

experience in Secondary and Primary Schools, across

the

Government,

Independent,

and

Catholic sectors, as well as in Co-Educational and single gender schools (both girls and boys). His experience also includes schools spread over metropolitan and rural areas. George has also worked

curriculum

development

and

implementation for the Education Department, Technology Education Teacher Associations and Schools. In 2014 he changed direction towards STEM Education, delivering a program in primary and secondary schools where he provided all the resources and expertise in a making environment with enthusiastic teachers and students.

References

- Merrill, R.S. (1968). The Study of Technology, in Sills, D.L., (ed), International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences, Macmillan.

- Ministry of Education, Victoria. (1988). The Technology Studies Framework P-10.

- Runes, D.D. (1942). (ed.), The Dictionary of Philosophy, Owen/Vision Press.

- Systems Engineering. (2019). SD - VCE Systems Engineering 2019–2024 Study Design.

-The Black Woman in the Civil Rights Struggle. (1969) Ella Baker Dec. 31, 1969— Atlanta, Georgia. Speeches, Speech given at the Institute of the Black World, Atlanta, Georgia. - UNESCO. (1985). "Technology Education within the Context of General Education", a Working Paper presented at the international Symposium of the Teaching of Technology within the Context of General Education, UNESCO, Paris,

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 23

S T E M

I N S I G H T S

F R O M

E V I D E N C E

WHOSE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IS IT ANYWAY? JESSE CHAMBERS

Only a few years ago I may have said – ‘I just

These are no exception in a PL setting – you

don’t have the resources’, or ‘if only I had more

must know your participants. But this means

time to ‘do’ STEM with my students’. I was

willing to implement it but struggled to see

background;

past barriers that might prevent me from

understand their context, thoughts, and day-to-

STEMifying my teaching; a view shared by some

day experiences that might prevent or promote

Australian pre-service teachers (Kurup et al.,

STEM learning.

2019).

than

simply to

understanding

truly

know

them

their is

Successful capacity building exercises take I

have

since

participated

targeted

into account the context teachers work in, such

professional learning (PL) that has built my

STEM capacity, but also fleeting professional

(McKinnon

development activities that left me wondering

approach enabled me to consider teachers’

how

one-size-fits-all

context and embed their perspectives, although

approach didn’t work. In 2020, when I was given

when it came time to implement the program,

an opportunity to complete a personal project

for

Communication

dramatically. They found themselves teaching

Outreach degree, I jumped at the chance to co-

from home and I found myself unable to deliver

design a PL program that considered teachers’

the program in-person. As with most things in

needs and encouraged them to take a leap into

2020, we went online.

they

were

Master

relevant.

Science

school

support &

and

Lamberts,

participants’

prior 2014).

context

experiences A

had

co-design

changed

STEM. The golden rule in science communication is

Program structure

‘know your audience’, and as educators, it’s

The program was structured around two key

embedded from early on that we must ‘know

events: an online teacher workshop to develop

our students’.

content and pedagogical knowledge, and a co-

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 24

designed and team-taught online workshop

Teacher

for their students. These aimed to develop

participated in an hour-long Zoom

teachers’

workshop where they took part in

self-efficacy,

confidence,

and

simple

willingness to implement STEM.

Workshop:

Teachers

inquiry-based

STEM

investigations using the materials I began by surveying the primary

they had received. I modelled strategies (e.g.,

teachers I was working with to

predict,

better

techniques (e.g., directed, open) for guiding

understand

their

observe,

explain)

and

questioning

student investigations that built on their prior

STEM experience and goals. They then decided on a topic for the student

skills and knowledge. From these activities,

workshop, in this case ‘heat and forces’, which

teachers then formed groups and chose their

aligned with their scope and sequence for

preferred STEM investigations to include in

Term 3.

their student workshop. This allowed them to Based

their

chosen

topic,

posted household materials for the teachers to use during hands-on

collaborate, which is a necessary feature of online PL if they are to find it beneficial (Powell & Bodur, 2019).

activities in both workshops. This

Student Workshop: The student

aimed to reduce barriers to engagement and

workshops gave teachers an

minimise the perception that STEM is resource

opportunity to apply their learning

intensive (Margot & Kettler, 2019).

and take ownership of the final product – more powerful than if I alone had

Figures 1-3: The online student workshop was teamtaught by the teachers (located in Melbourne, Australia) and I (located in Canberra, Australia) to students who were learning from home during Melbourne’s second lockdown.

delivered

them.

workshops,

the

During teachers

the and

one-hour alternated

between each of their chosen investigations. In total, 85 Year 4 students participated across the two workshops.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 25

Involving teachers in the design and implementation of a PL program amplifies

References

their voice and gives them a space to develop

- Kurup, P.M., Li, X., & Powell, G. (2019).

their self-efficacy and confidence. In turn, the

Building future primary teachers' capacity in

literature tells us that confident teachers with

STEM:

higher

understandings

self-efficacy

are

likely

based

platform

beliefs,

implement STEM (Margot & Kettler, 2019).

and intentions. International Journal of STEM

Through PL we are able to see past the

Education,

barriers that were once there and find new

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-019-0164-5

opportunities for integrating STEM in our

- Margot, K.C., & Kettler, T. (2019). Teachers’

classrooms.

perception

What have I learned? A co-design approach

6(10).

education:

STEM

integration

systematic

literature

and review.

to PL generates teacher buy-in. By taking a

International Journal of STEM Education,

moment

6(2). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0151-2

better

understand

teachers’

context, the barriers they face, and their goals,

Influencing

science

teaching

experience. I’m hopeful that the seeds I

beliefs

primary

school

planted,

for

longitudinal case study. International Journal

scaffolding investigations, gently encourage

of Science Education, Part B, 4(2), 172-194.

them to invite STEM into their classrooms.

doi:10.1080/21548455.2013.793432

was

able

such

create as

simple

positive

STEM

strategies

After all, the most convincing reason to STEMify your teaching is seeing its impact on students first-hand.

McKinnon, of

M.,

Lamberts,

R.,

(2014).

self-efficacy teachers:

- Powell, C. G., & Bodur, Y. (2019). Teachers’ perceptions

online

professional

development experience: Implication for a design

and

implementation

framework.

Teaching and Teacher Education, 77(1), 19-30.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.09.004

Jesse Chambers Jesse

Chambers

STEM

educator

with

experience in formal and informal learning settings.

program

coordinator

for

G.A.T.E.WAYS, he crafts exciting and challenging learning experiences for high-ability students and enjoys supporting presenters to develop online and onsite programs. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Education (Honours) from Monash University,

and

Master

Science

Communication Outreach from the Australian National University.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 26

S T E M

I N S I G H T S

F R O M

E V I D E N C E

LITERACY IN STEM: AUTHENTICITY IN ACTION BECK KEOUGH

Learning through connected content and

houses. The students spent a day with people who

conceptual frameworks is a ‘thing’, right? I am

were passionate about engineering and STEM,

often amazed at how impressed people seem to

which elevated them and empowered them with

be with what seems to be obvious connections

the skills and concepts to enter the next phase of

between curriculum content areas I weave into

the inquiry.

my teaching and learning sequences.

Their School Outreach programs are purposeful

The big ace up my sleeve is simply this: My

and curriculum connected. Engineers Without

students read and write about our content areas.

Borders

We write narratives from the perspective of an

advocate for human centred engineering with a

animal,

focus on creating a positive change for the world.

create

newspaper

articles

persuade about global issues, we note down procedural texts to help others learn and we craft scripts for documentaries to inform. I had the pleasure of working with Doctor Jane Hunter in 2018. I had the opportunity to work on a project incorporating her High Possibility Classroom (HPC) framework, and it was this that inspired me to write an integrated inquiry unit of work

for

stage

class.

Using

Jane’s

are

volunteer

organisation

who

This sells the concept really, doesn’t it? Using a website as the platform for the learning, the inquiry then commenced. Our big question centred on ‘The New Urban Agenda’ as presented in 2016 by the United Nations, and specifically future housing needs. Put simply, this unit had the students

wondering:

What

will

sustainable

housing be like in the future?

Conceptions (Hunter, 2014, 2015) the planning of my

project

and

inquiry

sequence

was

established. If you have not read this work, I can not recommend it highly enough. Being involved in the project was invigorating and motivating. Every great inquiry sequence begins with a provocation.

This

time

used

Engineers

Without Borders who ran a workshop on floating

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 27

Students took on roles such as urban planners, futurologists and engineers to create artefacts to demonstrate their plan for future housing and to persuade others that this is an issue we need to consider. They were placed in Habitat Hubs (biome groups) to collaborate. The literacy component of this task was not siloed, it was ongoing. One element had the students creating media articles explaining why building sustainable houses in a specific biome. Their experiences, reading, writing and discussions centred around future housing. They listened to experts and shared ideas for future housing. They read across many different fields and gathered

The interesting part was when we began to

knowledge in a variety of important aspects to

explore

inform the creation of their curios. They were the

conceptualisation open and discussed the various

experts.

ways engineers present models to their clients.

what

model

is.

broke

this

The level of excitement and drive to complete these tasks was invigorating. Students created model houses using Minecraft, recycled materials and craft supplies. Student creativity was the only limitation.

The task was highly differentiated (Tomlinson, 2006) to allow access for a variety of learners and to empower choice in what and how assessment tasks

were

presented.

The

website

platform

provided the ability for students to work through

Ensuring the students are supported at each

the task at their own pace with support platforms

step of the way is integral. The adoption and use

interwoven to scaffold their learning journey. As

of The KQED Quest Engineering Design Process

this was a guided inquiry, students had specific

was key to keeping students accountable and

criteria and deadlines to meet.

focused on solutions, not creating craft. The

can

not

understanding embarking

emphasise

the

what

upon

type

with

your

MacKenzie’s Framework (2018)

importance inquiry

you

students.

of are

Trevor

for a Successful

KQED Quest has a quirky video entitled: The Engineering

Design

Process:

Taco

Party

(https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=MAhpfFt_mWM)

which

students

loved

are

watching, and that provided a relatable problem

considering exploring inquiry learning in any

for students to conceptualise how the design

learning area. The below sketchnote by Rebecca

process helps in many areas of our lives. We kept

Bathurst-Hunt

referring

Inquiry

must

see

explains

eloquently.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

resource

this

you

conceptualisation

back

this

and

adapted

the

"Engineering for Good" Framework provided by

| 28

(https://www.kqed.org/quest/

- MacKenzie, T. (2016). Dive Into Inquiry: Amplify

267100/engineering-for-good) to support the

learning and empower student voice. Irvine, CA,

thinking and ideation during the process.

EdTechTeam Press.

KQED

Quest

The sequence culminated in a symposium

- MacKenzie, T. & Bathurst-Hunt, R. (2018).

where the students shared their learning with

Inquiry

the school community. They felt empowered

wonders,

and the feedback from students, parents and

learners. Irvine, CA, EdTechTeam Press.

other educators was that this style of learning

students

Retrieved

- The KQED Quest (2021), Engineering for Good,

enrich the experiences of all of our students.

Retrieved

Our learners need to be able to understand of

from

https://www.kqed.org/quest/

267100/engineering-for-good

the language they speak and to be able to others

declaration/

declaration

In short, we need learning experiences that

convince

https://www.dese.gov.au/alice-

resources/alice-springs-mparntwe-education-

learners?

from:

springs-mparntwe-education

how do we get here? How do we create these

well

youngest

- The Alice Springs Declaration Mparntwe (2019),

and informed citizens. What a challenge! But

our

Melbourne: Seastar Education.

can

become successful, confident, creative, active

use

dreams,

and purpose in the contemporary classroom.

(2019) educational goals centre on building where

curiosities

the

Teaching and learning with curiosity, creativity

The Alice Springs Declaration Mparntwe contexts

and

Nurturing

- Murdoch, K. (2015). The Power of Inquiry:

was purposeful and engaging.

learning

Mindset:

- The KQED Quest (2017) , The Engineering

the

Design Process: A Taco Party, Retrieved from

importance of a myriad of things that will

https://www.youtube.com/watch?

make our world a better place. STEM is the

v=MAhpfFt_mWM

perfect place to start!

- Tomlinson, C. (2006). An Educator's Guide to Differentiating instruction. USA: Cengage

References

Learning.

- Hunter, J. (2014). "High Possibility Classrooms: Technology integration in action." Refereed paper presented to the Society for Information

Beck Keough

Education

Beck is a Primary School Educator who teaches

Jacksonville,

at St Bernard's Primary School on the South

- Hunter, J. (2015). Technology Integration and

and a Masters of Education. Her passions are

Technology

and

Teacher

International (SITE) conference,

Florida, USA. High Possibility Classrooms: Building from

Hunter,

High

(2018),

possibilities

classrooms-tech-enhanced-learning. Retrieved

from:

authentic integrated inquiry learning, innovative and creative educational design, gifted and

TPACK. New York: Routledge.

Coast of NSW. She holds a Bachelor of Teaching

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/high-

possibility-classrooms-tech-enhanced-learningjane-hunter - Furniss, E. and Green, P. (1991). The Literacy Connection: Language and learning across the curriculum. South Yarra, VIC, Eleanor Curtain

talented education, and literacy across the curriculum. Beck has completed projects such as

the

reSolve

Math

Inquiry

Champion

Program, ACARA Digital Technologies Project, and Dr Jane Hunter's High Possibility Classroom research. Beck has recently launched a Podcast called Edulatte to share Professional Learning with educators globally.

Publishing. - Hochman, J.C and Wexler, N. (2017). The Writing

Revolution:

guide

advancing

thinking through writing in all subjects and grades. San Francisco.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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S T E M

I N S I G H T S

F R O M

E V I D E N C E

PEDAGOGY AND TEACHING WITH STEM AND LEARNING OUTSIDE MERIDITH EBBS

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics by

Cross Curricular Pedagogy

Cross curricular teaching is a pedagogy that

using a cross curricula approach or a thematic

can be used to address the time poor classroom.

approach to content. Thematic teaching was very

Currently many learning areas are taught in a

popular in the 80’s and 90’s and with the

silo’d fashion, using case studies and resources

emphasis on literacy and numeracy it has gone

designed

out of fashion.

specifically

Worksheets History

for

and

Mathematics.

for

English,

Geography With

each

subject

units

designed

for

By teaching in a cross curricular manner, it also

and

textbooks

for

allows you to demonstrate how STEM concepts

being

link to other learning areas such as History,

the

curriculum

overcrowded if you can overlap key learning areas in your teaching it allows more time to cover additional content.

Geography, English, Arts and PDHPE (Sport). There are several benefits to the use of cross curricular teaching:

Cross curricular teaching is when you teach

Assists with the crowded curriculum by using

English but complete a comprehension on the

theoretical

theory content associated with a Science unit. It

students can learn about science in their

is when you teach graphing in maths but use the results of a science investigation as the content rather than using favourite pizza toppings. Use mathematical language when discussing maps in Geography. This still requires the explicit teaching of vocabulary and skills and reminding students this language is used in other learning areas.

Cross

demonstrates

curricula that

content

teaching is

not

then

silo’d

particular subjects.

concepts

reading

material

reading and comprehensions. This increases vocabulary and encourages comprehension in subjects relevant to their other learning areas. 2. It engages students who may not enjoy english but love science. 3. It allows for real world integration of skills and problems in history and geography that have a STEM focus. Such as the use of drones for mapping.

STEM theory and STEM concepts can be used in learning areas not associated with Science,

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Cross curricular teaching increases student exposure

thematic

vocabulary

living things you photographed either from

and

photos or live (Art and Science)

applications for tier 2 language such as arrange,

Lesson 10 - Create a banner for the podcast.

compare, contrast, analysis and evaluate. When

(Art)

teaching comprehension use content associated

Lesson 11 - Write a persuasive text on how

with

human could change behaviour to reduce

themes

from

Science,

History

and

Geography.

impact on living things eg: Being a careful fisherperson when fishing, Reducing meat in your diet (english and science) Lesson 12 - Record the persuasive text as a podcast (ICT Capabilities and English) Lesson 13 - Design and produce a habitat for a creature - frog pond or cardboard craft (Technology) Lesson 14 - Lesson volume (Maths) Lesson 15 - Science Investigation on the sensitivity of plants to light. (Science) Lesson 16 - Code a Microbit water sensor (Technology) Lesson 17 - Science Investigation on the

Sample Lesson Sequence

amount of water required by plants to

Some project ideas for integrating STEM

survive, water plants and take recordings

content across key learning areas in a years 3/4

daily over a term (Science)

class on the topic of living things. These lessons

Lesson 18 - Graph the water required by each

can be woven into your explicit English, Maths,

plant in the investigation (Maths)

Science and Technology programs. Lesson

comprehension

the

characteristics of living things using MRS GREN (Science and English) Lesson 2 - Drawing features of living things (Technology) Lesson 3 - Classification of living things (Science and technology) Lesson 4 - Code a Microbit with a variable for counter to be used for data collection outside on living things (Technology) Lesson 5 - Investigation and survey of living things

outside

using

Microbit

counter

(Maths and Science) Lesson 6 - After data has been collected record the data in a tally table. (Maths) Lesson 7 - Features of a graph - graph the living things observed in Lesson 4 and tallied in lesson 5 (Maths) Lesson 8 - Take photos of living things in the playground (ICT Capabilities and Science) Lesson 9 - Make a scientific drawing of your

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

Geography

In Geography, consider living things and the management of local spaces. Who is responsible for

local

environments

and

how

they

influence spaces we use as citizens. How does management

impact

living

things

and

endemic ecosystems? History

How did Aboriginal people manage their environment and how did they use living things for food and medicine. The benefit of cross-curricular teaching is it allows for a deeper dive into STEM content and provides more opportunity to integrate concepts across relevant learning areas. Cross-curricular teaching is not used at the expense of explicit teaching in other key learning areas however it is a practical way to approach teaching to provide an in depth study rather than 1-2 hours per week on each subject area.

| 31

Nature Pedagogy

will look different for each school, a grassy patch,

Nature Pedagogy is “the art of being with

the shade of a tree or even a rug on a basketball

nature, inside, outside, and beyond.” It is about

court or in the middle of a football oval. Outside

connection with nature and not separation. When

learning will require a risk assessment according

you move your classroom outside and allow

to your schools policy and procedures.

students

time

sit

and

appreciate

their

At minimum you will need to bring student hats

and maybe a mat to sit on. For more formal

enhance well-being. The opportunity is created

lessons you may need shared or personal pencils,

natural

a writing surface - an outdoor journal/scrapbook,

surroundings, consider relationships to both land

clipboards, whiteboards or paper. If there is a

and each other as a community of learners. This

nature focus to the lesson you may consider

surroundings an

creates

opportunity

appreciate

creates a time to truly understand our connection

Magnifying glasses

to the land and the role humans play in caring for

Binoculars

the world (Warden, 2018).

Field guides for identifying plants, insects or birds. Water bottles

Nature Pedagogy is an understanding of our sense of belonging to land, our sense of working with nature. There is a pedagogical shift when you move outside into nature... it's learning with nature, not just teaching about it." - Claire Warden (2021)

Learning and Teaching Outside

Teaching outside uses Nature Pedagogy and aligns with teaching STEM and cross-curricular teaching. It allows you to use real world problems. Teaching outside you can introduce science, technology and mathematics, arts or physical geography concepts. One quarter of the lessons mentioned previously are designed to be conducted outside either in your playground or during an offsite excursion. This

Nature Pedagogy may be conducting a simple lesson outside such as art or paired reading, lie in

provides

opportunities

experiences

with

experiences

real lessons

data

integrate

and

link

conducted

real these the

classroom.

the grass for a moment of quiet and mindful contemplation or an opportunity to conduct a scientific or mathematical inquiry. Many students can go through 13 years of school and

not

experience

the

opportunity

learning outside. Why do we insist on teaching inside most of the time? Consider setting up chairs outside your classroom for reading groups, painting or quiet work. Or moving your entire class outside for an explicit lesson with portable whiteboards. In an urban school teachers may need to be creative with where they can teach outside on a regular basis. It is important to consider the playground as an outdoor space that can be used for appreciating nature. The outdoor space

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 32

Lesson

Classification

living

things

(Science and technology)

References

Lesson 5 - Investigation and survey of living - Edutopia (2021). Smashing Silos!. Available at: things outside using a Microbit counter (Maths https://www.edutopia.org/blog/smashing-silosainissa-ramirez (Accessed: 13 March 2021).

and Science)

Lesson 8 - Take photos of living things in the - Media, W. (2021). Nature Pedagogy | Claire Warden Ltd, Claire-warden.com. Available at: playground (ICT Capabilities and Science) Lesson 9 - Make a scientific drawing of your https://www.claire-warden.com/nature-pedagogy/ living things you photographed either from (Accessed: 21 March 2021). - Natural Start (2018). Claire Warden Available at:

photos or live (Art and Science)

Lesson 17 - Science Investigation on the https://naturalstart.org/feature-stories/natureamount of water required by plants to survive, pedagogy-common-thread-connecting-naturewater plants and take recordings daily over a based-settings-worldwide (Accessed: 21 March 2021).

term (Science) Outdoor

lessons

STEM

have

many - Posts, V. (2017). A focus on vocabulary, Noella

opportunities to integrate concepts that make Mackenzie. Available at: https://noellamackenzie more sense when taught with physical problems. .com/2017/07/28/a-focus-on-vocabulary/ The key to teaching outside is the selection of (Accessed: 14 March 2021). themes and concepts that rethink how we - Victoria State Government, Education and address curriculum:

Training. (2021). Introducing scientific language.

Science

Available

at:

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/

Investigations in the school garden

school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/eng

Living things data surveys

lish/literacy/Pages/scientificlanguage.aspx

Land surface processes

(Accessed: 13 March 2021).

Scale modelling of space

- Victoria State Government, Education and

Technology

Training.

(2021).

Vocabulary.

Available

at:

Using Microbits for

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/

Pedometer

teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/read

Compass

ingviewing/Pages/litfocusvocab.aspx#link72

Counter

(Accessed: 14 March 2021).

Thermometer Sensors

Meridith Ebbs

Light

Meridith

Temperature

technology specialist in schools teaching from K-

Movement

10 and working with teachers in the CSER Digital

Rugged robots

has

extensive

experience

Technologies project. Meridith has now returned

Navigation

to a school and is working full time as a stage 2

Position

classroom teacher. She is now exploring the

Engineering and Design

applications for technology and teaching outside.

Constructing pulley systems to move objects

Meridith speaks at conferences and provides

Design and construct shelters

practical ways to implement technology in the

Maths could include,

classroom.

Meridith

has

Measurement, such as volume

MakeCreateEducate

Mapping or orienteering

interested in her work.

page

facebook

called you

are

Position Geocaching Scale models Arrays Surveying with data.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 33

STEM in Practice

STEM IN

PRACTICE Read some innovative and engaging stories from educators worldwide promoting STEM in their classrooms.

Image: Source Knox Grammar Preparatory School

S T E M

I N

P R A C T I C E

GLOBAL CHANGEMAKERS: A WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH USING ESTEAM SUE FLORO

What is it that our young people are going to

In order to solve real world problems, one must

need in order to thrive in a world that is ever

seek to understand the full context and impact of

changing, rapidly evolving, and exponentially

the issue, as experienced by those living and

increasing in complexity? Perhaps even more

dealing with the problem. Empathy is the heart

importantly, who do we want our students to

and soul of our approach, and has led to such

be?

significant outcomes.

These

are

complex

questions,

during

complex times, requiring clarity of thought, creativity in design, and simplicity in execution. At Knox Prep, we have wrestled with these challenges,

immersed

ourselves

thinking

So What is Knoxigations?

Each

year,

every

Prep

student

completes

investigative units, one each from the domains detailed below (following page).

about how to design an educational offering that satisfies the needs of the modern learning so that they are set and ready to thrive post school. Our aim in embarking on this mammoth overhaul of every aspect of our curriculum was to ensure that our students understood their ability to impact positively on the world, and their responsibility to become active global citizens. And so Knoxigations was born! Knoxigations is a

K-6

whole

school,

transdisciplinary

and

investigative curriculum, underpinned by the purposeful use of technology to create and solve real world, authentic problems. It is aligned with the NSW syllabus outcomes, and designed on an empathy STEAM (eSTEAM) platform.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 35

It’s all in the planning!

Students then work either individually or in small groups to conduct their own investigation, following

Each unit has: A Big Idea, which is conceptual in nature

the Kath Murdoch Inquiry Cycle.

and which encapsulates the heart of unit. A number of concepts underpinning the learning that will take place An acknowledgement of the impact the learning will have on student understanding of: The ACARA General Capabilities The NSW Cross Curricular Priorities The

Knox

Grammar

School

Global

Competencies The Knox Grammar School Values The

United

Nations

Sustainable

Development Goals The

ISTE

(International

Society

for

technology in Education) What is the process?

Each unit begins with a case study, during which students consider the big idea in relation to Australia and the NSW syllabus outcomes, and when they learn the skills required in the independent investigation that follows.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

All

units

rely

the

purposeful

use

technological tools to create and solve problems, and there is no standalone tech use at Prep. The most appropriate tool is applied for each project, whether that be year 1 students programming ozobots to trace food production and distribution, year 2 students designing inclusive arcade games for children with disabilities;

| 36

Year 3 experimenting with Frame VR and presenting their inclusive playground design work in a virtual expo environment; year 4 programming Micro:bits and Mars Rovers to detect moisture and terrain as part of an investigation into how we might colonise Mars, avoiding the pitfalls evident from examples of colonisation throughout history; year 5 students using CoSpaces to analyse human impact on various natural environments worldwide; to year 6

students

innovating

current

disaster

detection systems to alert communities about impending natural disasters. These examples are a mere snapshot of the deep learning that happens every day at Prep.

Sue Floro Sue

Floro

the

Head

Knox

Grammar

Preparatory School, an innovative and future focused primary school in Sydney. She has led the development of a whole school curriculum rethink, not just in terms what is taught, but in how curriculum is organised, how students

Does it work?

Oh, how it works! Our students are engaged; they understand the relationship between hard work,

effort

achievement; process,

the

and

persistence

they

understand

importance

leading the

design

incorporating

feedback into the iteration process and the power or trial and error; and they are motivated to not only succeed but to make a difference in the world – their world!

learn, and ensuring that learning is connected, purposeful and has a powerful impact. Sue has experience across the whole gamut of primary school systems and structures, having taught in and led both co-educational and single sex schools. In her 35 years of experience, Sue has developed a clear understanding of what’s important, what works, and what is needed to transform an outdated education system, from the inside out.

If you are interested in learning more, please do feel free to reach out to us – we love sharing our students’ work and their thinking. Up next you'll see a specific example of Knoxigations in action!

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 37

S T E M

I N

P R A C T I C E

YEAR 2 CARDBOARD EMPATHY MICROBIT ARCADE GAME CHALLENGE IAN FAIRHURST + SARAH BEAUMONT-JONES

The acronym VUCA refers to a world or

deep integration of both digital and design

environment that our students need to be able

technologies, the students find out about the

to adapt and thrive in, one that is full of volatile,

big ideas through real-world case studies to

uncertain, complex, and ambiguous situations.

ensure they have a deep understanding of the

To prepare school graduates who are ready for

concepts

this type of future, a guiding principle for

Student’s then go further by exploring this in

technology use in an educational context is that

promoting

needs

purposefully

strategically

implemented

personalised

and

selected to

and

they

depth and

are

being

through

introduced

personal

encouraging

to.

projects

creative

and

promote

divergent thinking. The spiral of inquiry at Knox

real-world

Prep ensures that each year the students re-

experiences. The technologies we select need to

engage with key concepts and build more

be adaptable to student interests and provide

deeply on their understanding as they progress

open-ended challenges to promote individual

through the Knoxigations units.

immersive

capabilities at the level each student is ready to learn. The ultimate goal is for our students to be

Year

adaptable creators of technological solutions

Challenge

who are able to pivot their creative ideas to

Empathy

MicroBit

Arcade

Game

In a domain of learning titled ‘Tinkering

solve unpredictable situations setting them in

Towards

good stead to be passionate and creative

knowledge and use this to construct new

decision-makers of the future.

paradigms

for

innovative

problems

our

The Knox Prep Inquiry learning framework has been

developed

provide

students

with

Tomorrow’

interdisciplinary

the

students

approaches

world.

STEAM

acquire

Using

approach,

to an

students

opportunities to develop future-focused critical

follow an iterative design process, using both

thinking and problem-solving skills. Through

digital and technical skills.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 38

accessible

for

child

with

disability

impairment. In addition, they are guided through the Feel Imagine Do Share (FIDS) framework from the Design For Change organisation to modify their design and make it inclusive for people in society that may have an impairment or disability, specifically

considering

the

difficulties

perspectives some people have in completing every day challenges. The purpose of following the FIDS process is to help them empathise and understand

that

there

community

that

not

are

people

have

the

in ease

our of

accessing the everyday things many of us take for granted. Here is a video of the students' work on the Cardboard Empathy Microbit Arcade Game Challenge to help visualise the story further.

Students in year 2 are introduced to Micro:Bits

With a focus on equitable access to the task we

with a focus on developing a range of knowledge

scaffold our 8 week units and ensure that the

and competencies which can then be applied

students have been introduced to the required

and

skills

demonstrated

through

the

design

and

competencies.

The

students

first

construction of working cardboard arcade games.

learned to program in pairs which involves one

The students were then asked to pivot their

student verbalising coding sequences that the

projects and follow a process called ‘Empathy

other student is responsible for compiling.

Mapping’ to modify their game to make it

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The students use a Google Classroom

Game Builder - Responsible for making

assignment to identify and label the parts of a

sure

Micro:Bit and their functions. They then work

electricity

towards obtaining a microcredential in the

detect when someone ‘scores’ a point.

the

game and

works,

that

the

can

conduct

microbit

can

form of ‘Coding Licence’ by completing tasks

As a part of the Design Process, the students

and

will;

assignments

using

computational

thinking challenges, fantastic resources such

ASK - Ask questions!

IMAGINE

Grok

Learning

and

through

physical

Imagine,

what

will

your

computational thinking challenges on our

toy/game look like?

fleet of Turing Tumbles. These programs help

PLAN - Plan your game/toy with detailed

to build soft skills that all levels of learners will

annotated labels

benefit

and

CREATE - Create and test your design.

from

persistence

including

when

confidence

difficult

Does it work? Does it engage a variety of

problems, the ability to deal with open-ended

working

with

forces? Is it accessible to all members of

challenges, and the ability to communicate

society?

and work with others to achieve a common

IMPROVE - How can we improve our

goal.

design? To acknowledge the creativity and depth of understanding of students, the School hosts Celebrations of Learning events providing all stakeholders in a child’s learning journey to engage with the inquiry process. In our most recent

cohort,

the

boys

passionately

presented their prototype arcades sharing the function and purpose while highlighting the modifications

they

had

made

ensure

inclusivity. This unit of inquiry demonstrates just

how

competent

our

very

youngest

learners can be when provided with the To leverage peer learning and engagement the students worked in teams to design and

correct scaffold and a personalised learning approach.

build cardboard arcade games and used Micro:Bits to create score counters including additional components to provide sounds and lights. The team roles were: Coder

responsible

for

writing

and

compiling the code ready to load onto the Micro:Bit. Debugger

responsible

for

reading

through the code and looking for errors or modifications that need to be made. These students also connected the ‘add on’ components from the Grove ‘Inventor Kit’ produced by Seed Studios such as gesture sensors, speakers and LED neopixel strips.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

| 40

Ian Fairhurst

Sarah Beaumont-Jones

Ian has been in educational innovation and

Sarah Beaumont-Jones is the year two Team

technology roles for over 15 years.

Leader Knox Grammar Preparatory School.

He has a passion for embedding authentic

She is a future-focused educator engaging in

globally-focused learning opportunities through

authentic learning opportunities for students

STEAM education, as well as establishing an

through

active ‘maker culture’ within schools. He has a

application

Masters in Education in the area of Innovation

learning tasks involving various forms of

and Change, and as Team Leader of Innovation

technology. She has experience designing

and Technology at Knox Grammar Preparatory

and implementing inquiry and personalised

School, He is currently responsible for leading a

learning

team dedicated to supporting both staff and

environment.

She

students in the immersive use of digital and

Kindergarten

design

within

foundations for a life-long love of learning,

has

empowering them to be modern innovators

Technology

and global changemakers in our technology-

technologies

innovative

learning

presented

embedded experiences.

Innovation

and

Ian

conferences globally, with workshops focused on

the

effective

of,

and

programs

programming,

reflection

the

encourages year

inquiry

primary boys

build

from strong

rich world.

developing real-world educational experiences with an Empathy + STEAM approach. His vision is set on providing opportunities for the next generation of leaders to engage with authentic issues in our world.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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S T E M

I N

P R A C T I C E

BUILDING MATHEMATICAL SKILLS THROUGH INVESTIGATION AARON JOHNSTON

Life was never made to be compartmentalised.

Is it learning a formula?

Every day we are faced with a range of situations,

Is it finding the answer to an equation with higher

circumstances, and problems to solve that call on

numbers?

us to integrate a range of ideas, prior knowledge,

Is it memorising a process to work out an

and skills to find an effective solution.

algorithm?

Why is it that when it comes to curriculum and

On the contrary, doing Mathematics is in the

subject areas, we see compartmentalism that

application and transfer of the skills we have

separates skills, knowledge and understanding

learnt to a range of familiar and unfamiliar

into different categories? When it comes to

situations, but what does this look like in practice?

Mathematics it is critical that we set our students

Investigations allow students to freely explore

up for success by showing them the beautify and

real-life problems or scenarios and work through

interconnectedness of Mathematics.

the process of integrating and applying a range of

Introducing new concepts and ideas requires us

mathematical skills simultaneously. This process is

to focus on using an explicit teaching structure

not always quick and not always simple. Quite

(CESE, 2020) to ensure that our students have the

often it gets messy or even confusing, but that is

opportunity to effectively grasp any new content,

the beauty of this style of learning as students

knowledge or skill being presented. However, it’s

learn just as much (if not more) through the

critical to the process of learning that we focus on

process of making mistakes, coming across dead-

how we apply what we’ve learned to various

ends and persevering.

situations and scenarios.

As a primary educator my focus in numeracy

Mathematician Paul Halmos (1985) once said,

lessons first and foremost is the explicit teaching

“the only way to learn mathematics is to do

of skills and content whilst building towards

mathematics.” As educators it is important, we

mastery through the integration of similar content

ask ourselves the question, ‘What does “doing”

and skills.

mathematics look like?”

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| 42

This begins with carefully selecting and ordering my content to ensure we are focusing on teaching skills in partnership and emphasising the

relationship

learning

during

cycle.

guided/modelled

this

the

teaching

stage

approach

before

and

use

moving

towards independent practice where student work at demonstrating their understanding and use

the

monitoring

knowledge and

timely

and

content

feedback

with

from

the

teacher or peers. Once we have moved to a stage where students

have

competency,

reached

begin

high

level

applying

the

skills

covered in an investigation task that is hands-on or

application

learning

about

focused.

example,

after

concepts

area

and

working

through

the

The next step was to calculate the area of

relationship between these two mathematical

tables, cupboards and other key pieces of

skills students were given an investigation to

furniture that they would use in their layout

explore. My role became less about teaching and

design.

multiplication

the

For

and

more about facilitating the learning to take

Finally, the students needed to draft a layout

place. Rather than giving students the direct

that they could prove had educational benefits

answer I give focusing questions to help them

to support learning and create a scaled drawing

move in the right direction or offer simple

on grid paper by using their division skills to

prompts

formulate an accurate scale for each square of

about

consider,

things

research

they

further

might or

need

clarify

to for

themselves.

the grid paper. What rich learning this was! Yes, it was time

One example is students were required to

consuming, yes it was frustrating for students at

submit a new classroom layout to me as the

times,

teacher in the form of a scaled drawing (A3 size

through the process was incredible. I have

grid paper).

In order to complete this task

never seen student so keen to pick up a tape

students needed to apply several mathematical

measure and rearrange furniture. At the end of

skills and ideas. They needed to accurately

the project students presented their layout

measure the perimeter of the classroom which

drawings in a shark tank type scenario and we

was not a standard shape and then apply these

voted for the layout we wanted to implement

measurements to calculate the total area of our

the

classroom space.

presentations and based on their reasonings.

but

most

the

after

engagement

listening

and

all

the

growth

pitch

This learning was deep, it was higher order, and it was richer than any textbook page or test I could have provided my students to do that required them to calculate area. This was real life and an insight into the roles of architects, interior designers, and furniture manufacturers. STEM was alive!

This was a big end goal and building the necessary skills into my students to complete a task like this didn’t happen overnight.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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Scope & Sequence

We started by reflecting on what we teach and when. As a school we moved to a twoweek teaching cycle where we taught two Mathematical

concepts

hand-in-hand

because of their relationship. This usually involves a key number concept with another strand area (See: stage 3, Fractions & Decimals and Length). During this cycle we explicitly teach the concepts and skills with a focus on how these two ideas work together. Some examples include fractions and measurement with decimal notation or multiplication with the concepts of volume and capacity. 2. Set problems that involve multiple operations or steps

One thing that often brings students unstuck is the idea of using simultaneous skills together. Try setting students a problem to solve that involves using two skills at the same time. Ask students to measure the length of a single window and the calculate the total window space. This practically shows students that measurement and addition can be used together to find a solution. Or simply ask students to solve a word problem that involves two or three steps to find a solution.

References -

Boaler,

Mathematical

(2016).

Mindsets:

Unleashing students’ potential

through

Messages

and

creative

Innovative

maths,

Inspiring

Teaching.

Ross

Publishing. - CESE (2020). What Works Best 2020 Update. Retrieved

from

https://www.cese.nsw.gov.au//

images/stories/PDF/What-works-best-2020update.pdf -

Halmos,

(1985).

Want

Mathematician: An Automathography - Paul R Halmos. Springer, ISBN 978-1-4612-1084-9

You might even like to raise the stakes a little

- NESA. (2021). Mathematics K-10 Syllabus 2012.

by make the operations inverse to get them

Retrieved

thinking (Boaler, 2016).

nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-

from

https://educationstandards.

areas/mathematics/mathematics-k-10 3. Use guided investigations This involve giving student a task to complete

Aaron Johnston

or an end-product to work towards but

Aaron Johnston is an Assistant Principal from

setting out the key steps/directions for them

Central Coast, NSW. He graduated from Avondale

to follow independently. A great resource for

College in 2008 with a Bachelor Education

this style of task is the “Maths Investigations”

(Primary) Honours degree. Aaron is currently

from Ell Educates on Teachers Pay Teachers.

teaching years 5 & 6 and he has taught all ages K-

She

6. He is passionate about providing students with

has

created

range

integrated

concept tasks with clear steps to follow. Working towards investigations takes times so most importantly give yourself and your

rich and engaging learning experiences across all subject

areas

with

passion

for

Science,

Technology and Maths.

students the time they need to develop their skills and independence to do it and do it well. Happy investigating!

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S T E M

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STEM EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ÇELEBI KALKAN

The concept of sustainable development, which

emerged

about

years

ago,

Science,

Technology

and

Innovation

for

Sustainable Development…

“Development that meets the needs of present

An important aspect of achieving sustainable

generations without compromising the ability

goals is the use of innovative technologies, for

of future generations to meet their own needs”

example, to improve access to food, clean

in the Brundtland World Report Environment

water, healthcare and affordable and clean

and Development Commission Report (1987).

energy (SDGs 2, 6, 3 and 7). It is also about the

Education is one of the most powerful tools

protection of ecosystems and the mitigation of

promoting sustainability at the individual level

climate

and in the daily life of each of us. For this

Technological change also plays a decisive role

reason, UNESCO has developed the Education

for Sustainable Development (ESD) concept.

communities (SDG 11) and in the area of

Education according to EDS;

responsible consumption and production (SDG

the

change design

(SDG of

14,

sustainable

and

cities

13).

and

12). Issues such as digitalization and big data

deals

with

environment,

pedagogy it

and

learning

holistic

and

artificial

intelligence

will

become

increasingly important in various fields such as

transformational.

medicine, mobility and the design of smart

It is about lifelong learning and is an integral

cities. The new normal and change is no longer

part of quality education.

about choice. The issue of accepting or not

While

respecting

empowers decisions

learners and

cultural to

diversity,

make

accepting change is over. Now it's all about how

informed

quickly you can adapt to change. For this

for

reason, in the 21st century, especially with STEM

environmental integrity, economic viability

education aims to develop and offer innovative

and just society.

solutions to global issues directly related to the

It achieves its goal by transforming society.

2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

responsible

actions

| 45

The quantum leap in technology forces us to

practitioners uphold. Inculcating STEM values

rethink the ways we train in STEM and non-

and

STEM

students who are both knowledgable and

pedagogy; It includes the culturing of the

competent students as well as possessed of

components

fields

as of

well.

Sustainable

Daily

important

for

producing

Natural

high moral values and ethics. Examples of STEM values and ethics are rational thinking,

and helps children to acquire skills such as

objectivity, precision, risk-taking, persistence,

problem solving, critical thinking, creativity,

commitment, and adherence to laboratory

communication

rules and safety measures.

and

entrepreneurship for

the

Skills,

Environment Knowledge, Values and Ethics,

especially

Life

ethics

collaboration the

solution

21st of

and

century, the

2030

Sustainable Development Goals. STEM knowledge comprises facts, ideas,

concepts, principles and theories in STEM disciplines;

science

mathematical

theorems

concepts are

and

examples

STEM knowledge. Students acquire STEM knowledge through investigative activities in the classroom or outside the classroom. STEM

skills

competencies

relate or

acquiring

abilities

How were the activities held?

the

explore,

Check out this video compilation of what the students were involved in

investigate and solve problems, and to design and produce products. The products can be

On the first day, we introduced global

in the form of an idea, a solution or an object.

problems related to Sustainable Development

STEM skills include science process skills, science manipulative skills, computational thinking skills, mathematical process skills,

Goals with the “Future of the World” box game with our students.

engineering design thinking skills, ICT skills and other specific technical skills. Technical skills,

which

can

have

many

similarities,

include psychomotor skills, skills in managing and handling materials and equipment, and skills involved in ensuring safety. STEM values and ethics consist of the

ethics, guidelines, scientific attitudes and moral values that STEM students and

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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On the second day, we matched their achievements and sustainable development goals with our ‘Safe Life’ unit. The students chose the design of sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and conservation of ecosystems (SDG 14, 15).

Education is one of the most powerful tools for people to pull themselves out of poverty and fully participate in society. Considering On the third day or “21" as part of logical reasoning we taught coding to our students because coding is a “century skill".

the vital and urgent agenda for the world for the next 10 years, sustainable development education for children will not be a luxury but a critical necessity. In summary, human skills cannot

education cannot

developed and

without

sustainable

achieved

quality

development

worldwide

without

human development.

Çelebi Kalkan Çelebi is a city elementary school teacher in Turkey's Kayseri. He is a STEM project Scientix ambassador to Turkey. Çelebi has authored a book titled "Kids Fairy Tales STEM + A". He is very passionate about the Sustainable Development Goals and is a Sustainable Development Goals On the fourth day, “TWIN Science Inventor Set”

products

were

introduced

for Children Mentor.

our

students. We brainstormed how we could use these

materials

solve

the

problems

described. These ideas formed the basis of prototypes which we called the engineering design process stage.

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S T E M

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P R A C T I C E

MUCKING AROUND WITH MERGE! ARTASTIC EXPERIENCES FOR K-6 CLASSROOM HELEN KARDIASMENOS

“What is that big black cube?” is a phrase I hear

lot

from

students,

teachers,

and

parents, to which I reply, this is a Merge Cube or Mrs K’s magical cube that shows you fun stuff in the palm of your hand. It’s usually at this point that people look at me like I am nuts, until I show them. What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality (AR) is the intersection of the real world and digital world. Essentially, AR superimposes a digital layer of content onto a real-world environment when viewed through a camera enabled device. In order to work successfully, AR requires a trigger image (like a QR code) or ability to track a surface

investigate,

(scanning an area) for digital content. The

with ICT. In developing and acting with ICT

Merge Cube is an AR object that provides that

capability, students: select and use hardware

trigger

and software; understand ICT systems; and

image

enable

this

digital

experience.

creating,

and

communicating

manage digital data. Similarly, in using and creating AR students

Curriculum Links

AR links strongly to the digital technologies

are also exploring various core ideas within the

digital

technologies

stream

the

and ICT capabilities of the curriculum. In

curriculum. Here students are exploring ideas

creating and using AR students are exploring

around representing data and digital systems.

the managing and operating ICT to

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Figure 1 - Images from ACARA (1) and (2)

Figure 2 - More information available at the What do you need to make it work?

Australian Curriculum Website

To use the Merge Cube in your classroom, you simply need a Merge Cube and a

What is a Merge Cube?

The Merge Cube is a small 7cm by 7cm foam cube, with silver markings (glyphs) located on all six sides. The glyphs act like QR codes and subsequently provide a trigger that launches an AR experience through a connected Merge app. When the app is launched and the device is aimed

the

Merge

Cube,

the

students

experience the Augmented Reality through the camera of the device. The digital content is superimposed onto the cube, and this provides an interactive experience in the palm of your hand.

camera enabled device with the Merge suite of apps downloaded onto the device. The Merge Cube can be purchased from most educational supplies, some even offer classroom packs. Individual cubes can also be purchased online through retail outlets including Amazon. Merge has even offered a printable Merge Cube to ‘try before you buy’. This can be downloaded and printed directly from their site, and with some clever printing you can make a large version of the cube, this is perfect for large group or whole class demonstrations and discussions.

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Merge Apps

cube

There are several apps that can be used with the

Merge

Cube.

These

apps

are

free

using

blocks

and

building

environment similar to Minecraft.

download, although some features may require a subscription purchase to unlock. These apps allow students to both experience and create with AR. Merge Viewer

The main app is called Merge Viewer, and this includes a number of cards that contain virtual, curriculum-theme

linked

experiences

and

activities. While there are a number of cards and

Pictures taken from App Store

experiences you can choose to pay for through a monthly subscription, many of the free activities are sufficient and include an app on the human body, space and the environment. The simplicity of the Merge and its apps makes it ideal to use with students from preschool up. Object Viewer App

The Object View app is an animated library of 3D virtual manipulatives, while not everything is free, there are lots to choose from and students can upload, view and share their own 3D and collections to place in the world. Merge D!g

Merge D!g is an AR creation app that allows students to create their own AR on the Merge

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

Learning Experiences

I have used the Merge cube in classes from stage 1 to stage 3 as a means of students experiencing interactive Augmented Reality experiences and even to create their own Augmented Reality. All the experiences I have used with my students have been directly linked to their learning in other KLAs and have been used to supplement and support their learning and understanding of key ideas. These

experiences

elements

that

have

develop

also ICT

included capability

including take screenshots and photos, voice recording,

sharing

files

and

images

and

trimming media. Here are some of these Augmented Reality experiences:

| 50

Sound & Sound waves - Stage 1

springboard for writing an information report

In stage 1, students were learning exploring

about the earth and the solar system.

sound and sound waves. Using the ‘We’re Making Waves: Wave-o-Rama’ card students

Mucking around with Merge is so much fun

explored sound waves on the Merge cube in

for teachers and students alike, and the clear

real time. They were able to see and hear the

links

sound wave and observe what happens to the

concepts and ICT capability skills make it an

sound

ideal tool for use in the classroom.

wave

when

the

wavelength

and

digital

technologies

curriculum

frequency is modified.

Helen Kardiasmenos Helen is a primary school teacher based in

Human Body - Stage 2

Working again with students in stage 2, we used the ‘Mr Body card’ as part of the Merge Explorer PDHPE

app about

supplement

the

different

learning parts

in the

Sydney,

Australia

with

passion

for

integrating technology into student learning. She

was

recently

awarded

the

ICTENSW

Leader of the Year 2020 Award. She has been

human body.

teaching in primary schools across Sydney for

Building a Digital Boat - Stage 2

taught across K-6 in a number of capacities

over 10 years across various systems. Helen has

In stage 2 my students used the Merge D!G app to build an AR boat for the characters in the Matt Shanks book ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’ as part of a collection of Storytime STEM

including as a technology and school leader. Presently she is working as the Junior School Technology Teacher and K-6 mentor at a Top Independent School in Sydney and as a Digtal

learning experiences.

Technolgies Project Officer with the Computer

The Solar System - Stage 3

University of Adelaide.

Science Education Research Group at the

As part of their learning about the earth's place in the Solar System, students in stage 3 used the ‘Galactic Explorer’ card in the Merge Explorer app. Students interacted with virtual experiences

and

this

supplemented

their

learning about the earth and the solar system. The students used this experience as a

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S T E M

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FINDING THE SWEET SPOT: RASPBERRY PI, STEM AND PHYSICAL COMPUTING KEITH HEGGART

Balancing the flavours

bit about what it is and how they can be used

In Australia, there is a significant emphasis being

placed

secondary

upon

schools

both

primary

embrace

in the classroom. This tool is the Raspberry Pi.

and

Science,

Ingredients

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

A Raspberry Pi looks like a spiky green

(STEM) education. These initiatives can often

credit card – but looks can be deceiving. At its

bring with them a range of bewildering

most simple level, a Raspberry Pi is simply the

acronyms and confusing terms – all of which

insides of a computer. In your normal laptop

are

the

or desktop, there are lots of different boards

technology itself. There are the references to

that do different things, but in the Pi, all of

‘hackathons’, ‘makerspaces’, coding camps

those boards have been shrunk down and put

and MicroBits (see last issue of STEM | ED)

onto

Raspberry Pi and Arduino and Little Bits and

developed in the UK. It was specifically

Makey Makey and much, much more. It can

developed to promote the teaching of basic

create an impenetrable wall of jargon that is

computer

more than a little bit off-putting for a teacher

developing countries. It was a lot more

who might be interested in these things but

popular than anyone expected, and by 2019

is unsure how or where to start.

more than 30 million Pis had been sold

rapidly

changing,

much

single

card.

science

Raspberry

schools

and

was

It would be impossible to cover all of the

around the world. There have been a number

above subjects in any great detail in the space

of different versions of the Pi – the most

of one article, so what this article is intending

recent is the Raspberry Pi 4 (July 2019), and

there is also the Raspberry Pi Zero, which is

introduce

new

and

interested

teachers and school leaders to one of the

even smaller – about half the size of other Pis.

most common and versatile tools that can be used in STEM education, and explain a little

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Raspberry Pis don’t come with any of the

The generic Pi Operating System comes with

peripherals that you would normally expect in

a range of built-in tools that are great for

a computer. This means that, to get one up

students. These tools include things like

and running, you need, at the very least, a

Scratch

keyboard and a mouse, an HDMI monitor or

environment

TV with a cable, a power supply and an SD

programs in that language. There are also

Card with at least 8 GB of RAM. Fortunately,

tools

many suppliers (there’s a handy list below)

calculations. You can even run Minecraft on a

offer

have

Pi. But it gets even more powerful when you

everything that you need. There is also the

start to add additional functionality to the Pi,

Raspberry Pi 400 which includes most of the

in the form of things like HATs and Shields.

peripherals.

One example is the SenseHat. This clicks onto

Getting

Started

Kits

which

for

and

a for

Python building

making

music

development and

and

running

performing

Getting all these bits and pieces together

the GPIO pins, and allows the Pi to track data

might sound like hard work, but there are two

like temperature, movement, humidity - and

reasons for it. The first reason is that it keeps

also display it via an 8x8 LED screen. This was

the cost down – the Raspberry Pi 4 costs less

such a powerful tool that it was even taken to

than $70, which is significantly less than a

the International Space Station (in a custom

larger computer would cost.

built

However, the real reason is so that you can easily

access

the

General

Purpose

Input

enclosure)

perform

experiments!

There are other boards and tools, such as cameras or speakers and lots more!

Output (GPIO) pins. These pins are the spiky parts of the Raspberry Pi, and they are very

Some of my favourite recipes

important because they let you connect

1. You can use the Pi to set up an automated

cameras and sensors and motors and all kinds

security camera. Using motion sensors and

of other things to the Raspberry Pi – which

the PiCamera, you can write a program that

makes it a lot more flexible than a traditional

will take a photo every time the Pi registers

computer.

motion.

Once the Pi is all set up, it behaves much as

2. You can use Scratch to create a game that

you would expect a computer would. There is

is controlled by buttons that you build and

a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which looks

create. If you are really enthusiastic, you can

very similar to Windows or Mac. You can

even build the Picade - a Pi powered arcade

answer emails and browse the web and type

machine

word documents and all those common,

3. Use the Pi and some sensors to create a

everyday tasks that computers normally do.

weather station. This could collect data like

Great Flavour Combinations

But doing any of that really misses the point! Pi might be capable of all of that - but it’s not what it’s for. Instead, Pi is for tinkering; it is the

temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and lots more! 4. You can even build a telescope with the Pi!

This is an advanced project, but it looks great!

perfect device to fiddle with. It’s great for physical computing and experimentation – especially in schools and coding clubs! In many ways, it narrows the divide between the real world and the world of software, which makes it much easier for students to collect data, make predictions, experiment and so much more.

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Chef’s Tips

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you start to use them. Tinker:

These

boards

are

made

for

tinkering. In other words, try different things with them. Have Fun: Build and program things that

you

and

your

students

are

actually

interested in. When in doubt, start again: it’s really

simple to re-image the operating system of the Pi. Belong to a community: there are lots of

ideas out there about what you can make, and lots of guidance and advice on how to make it for everyone from beginners to

Keith Heggart Dr Keith Heggart is an early career researcher with a focus on learning and instructional design, educational technology and civics and citizenship exploring

education. the

way

that

currently

online

learning

platforms can assist in the formation of active citizenship amongst Australian youth. Keith is a former high school teacher, having worked as a school leader in Australia and overseas, in government and non-government sectors. In addition, he has worked as an Organiser for the

Independent

Education

Union

Australia, and as an independent Learning Designer for a range of organisations.

experts. Ask: Whatever you want to do, there’s a

chance that somebody has already tried to make it – and will share their ideas! Good luck, and happy making!

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S T E M

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MOONHACK CHANGEMAKERS: A CELEBRATION OF EDUCATION, EQUALITY AND ACCESS NICOLA CURNOW PROGRAM MANAGER AT CODE CLUB AUSTRALIA

Code Club creates changemakers. Its lessons

Here are two projects that highlight

are designed to teach STEM skills, but also to

opportunities to engage your classroom in

explore

changemaking.

educational

beyond

just

themes

coding,

that

into

expand

areas

likes Dhinawan in the Sky – the Gomeroi Story of

sustainability. Every child should have the opportunity to learn the skills of tomorrow. Code Club exists internationally

democratise

technology

education. This means a few things. Firstly, it

the Dark Emu

This year, Moonhack 2021 will include an Indigenous story and project, in partnership with Gomeroi designer Tess Reading.

means reaching kids and adults that may not

The Dhinawan in the Sky project celebrates

have access to digital education resources due

the story of the Dark Emu, showcasing the

to location or funding. Secondly, it means

light and the dark in the sky that appears in

growing the representation of minority groups

the shape of an Emu. This story guides the

in technology. And thirdly, it means telling

agricultural

stories that fuel these goals and are important

Gomeroi people. The Moonhack lesson teaches

to kids and their future.

kids how to animate and build the story using

practices

and

lifestyle

the

Our yearly Moonhack campaign is our

Scratch. Listen to the story of the Dark Emu

biggest event of the year. Over 40,000 kids

with Ben Slick as it has been heard for 10,000

have joined the Moonhack adventure over the

years, here.

past

six

from

As educators we value stories and stories

have power. This Moonhack lesson is designed

animations of forest regenerating drones. As

to teach coding skills, as well as highlight the

part of Moonhack this year, we have 6 projects

stories of the world’s oldest living culture.

moisture

for

kids

years,

coding

sensing

aged

everything

micro-controllers,

8-15

that

showcase

changemaking themes.

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This

lesson

empowers

educators

with

This Moonhack project gets the kids to build

unique way to teach their students coding

their

own

Carbon

Calculator.

They

can

and to build awareness about an Indigenous

measure their own impact, build on the data

story.

in the project and track their outputs. They

We hope that kids finish building this

can build a carbon calculator in 45 minutes,

project and it sparks their curiosity to want to

and then in the next 45 they can build a

know more! More about the Gomeroi people,

solution.

more about their own Indigenous Country and more

about

Australia’s

journey

Reconciliation.

STEM can only be improved with more human input. By taking time to listen to stories and time to build human-centered

Our Code Club and Moonhack lessons tell

solutions our coding projects become more

Australian stories. This is the first lesson we

than just a syllabus ticking lesson plan but a

have built with our Indigenous partners.

chance for meaningful, important discussions

The lesson will be available on the Moonhack

that build changemakers in classrooms across

website here on April 19th.

the world. As with all our Moonhack and Code Club projects they are a jumping off point for more questions and for more activities. They should be the beginning of a learning journey, not the end. The lesson will be available on the Moonhack website here on April 19th. Find out more

Moonhack is a free yearly coding event organised by Code Club Australia, a Telstra Foundation philanthropic program. Now in its sixth year, the event has drawn over 40,000 kids who have coded free projects using Carbon Footprint Calculator – Measure

Scratch, Python, micro:Bit, Scratch Jr and

your Impact

more!

Moonhack

began

2016

Finding engaging content for Secondary

celebration of Australia’s space history. Over

Students to code can be challenging. STEM

the last five years it has morphed into an

has the power to teach more than just coding.

international celebration of sustainability and

Many of our lessons provide opportunities for

Caring for Country. All Moonhack projects are

other

available for free on the Moonhack and Code

questions,

subject matter.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

for

growth

beyond

the

Club Australia websites.

| 56

The story of the Dhinawan in the sky is the property of the Kamilaroi/Gomeroi people of Western New South Wales.

which the members and Elders of the local communities

have

been

custodians for many centuries, and on which these

people

have

Nicola

changemaker

that

supports

teachers and librarians to grow a national

We recognise that Australia is a country of Aboriginal

Nicola Curnow

performed

age-old

ceremonies.

network of 2,000+ student code clubs around Australia through Code Club Australia. Her experience

education

and

community

building has fostered a passion for inclusion and social equality across all fields, and particularly

accessibility

digital

technologies. Nicola grew up in Northern NSW

We also acknowledge their living culture

on Bundjalung lands.

and unique role in our vibrant community. Code

Club

Australia

recognises

the

Traditional Custodians of the land across all of Australia and their continuing connection to

land,

cultures

and

communities.

Australia’s Traditional Owners are the world’s first innovators.

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S T E M

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P R A C T I C E

COULD ROBOTS BE DEPLOYED TO HELP SAVE KANGAROOS? RONELSCHODT

As parents, we constantly strive to prepare our

Move over 20th century careers, we are now in

kids for the ‘real world’ and since the beginning

the fourth industrial revolution. The nature of

of time we have relied on the Education System

work

to provide and fulfill the needs to society.

technologies

Before, teachers would educate students for a

artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

changing such

...

driven

robotics,

disruptive automation,

specific job, but now it is much different, they have moved to develop children’s mindsets to learn a wider variety of skills that they could use in their future jobs. Then when the time comes for them, they can use the correct skillset for the job at hand. For

teachers

there

are

plethora

educational technology products to choose from and education product designers are constantly trying to find new ways to keep students engaged and interested in learning. We may not all know how to code but it is not

These days, automation and AI is becoming common place in farms, factories, and businesses.

hard to notice the prevalence of coding in the

Amazon

past decade, especially when it is being used in

checkouts and even picking delicious apples in

80% of our daily lives. Your car, your phone, your

New Zealand.

computer, your fridge at home, at gym etc. Our

warehouse,

self-driving

cars,

self-

OECD estimates predict that 14% of jobs across

next generation will live in an automated world

OECD

where coding will be essential. It used to be said

automated and over the next 10 to 15 years nearly

that it is a skill for future jobs, but that future is

50%

upon us right now.

automated.

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

countries of

jobs

are

OECD

risk

from

countries

becoming could

| 58

Bruce Jackson, CEO, and self- confessed

According to the NSW curriculum, under

geek saw his son coding at school and was

Digital

very disappointed with the line following

demonstrate the following outcomes.

robots and how it lacked the challenge for

Technologies,

1. Plans

and

uses

students materials,

had tools

to and

kids to learn something valuable. He believed

equipment to develop solutions for a need or

that coding is so much more than just using

opportunity (outcome: ST3-2DP-1, p 63).

your thumbs. “We developed Kai’s Clan over

2. Defines problems, and designs, modifies,

the last 3 years with a low floor and a high

and follows algorithms to develop a solutions

ceiling. It can be as simple as moving your

(outcome: ST3-3DP-T, p 91).

robot backwards and forwards or you can

3. Explains how digital systems represent

introduce sensors, create your own characters

data, connect together to form networks and

and worlds with Tinkercad and Minecraft”.

transmit data (outcome: ST3-11DI-T, p 91).

With

60+

cross-curricular

lessons

already

developed, educators can go even further by

The Challenging/Problem: How can we

creating their own projects and sharing them

save the Kangaroos from the bushfires

with the community.

without human lives being at risk?

On the topic of teachers creating their own projects, Patricia Cazouris, who previously taught at Kingsgrove High School in NSW, Australia,

wanted

her

computer

science

students to apply coding and robotics to a real-world problem and Kai’s Clan rose to the occasion. At the time, Australia was being plagued by bush fires that never seem to end, so Patricia’s students drew from such personal experience as their topic to solve a real-world problem. The bush fires that plague Australia every year are

horrendous

and

leave

devastating

destructions to the natural habitat, affecting humans and animals alike. Lots of kangaroos and koalas had to flee their sanctuary and many unfortunately lost their lives. Those who successfully fled had left with burnt feet. Some were not able to survive because fire trucks could not get to them and if they did, it was hard to pick them up from the blazes due to high temperatures and human lives would have been at risk. This is where Kai’s Clan

For four weeks the students were planning and designing their project. In the end they used 4 Kai’s Robots, allocated them with roles as a 1) bush fire service, 2) firetruck, 3) ambulance and 4) hospital. The students wrote their code collaboratively in Scratch/Blockly and finished with a video of their multiplayer game scenario. Since then, students have moved onto something more challenging and can now also code by using Python once it was introduced to Kai’s Clan. With Kai’s Clan your codes come to life through

augmented

and

virtual

reality.

Students create & can jump into the driver’s seat of a firetruck or be a kangaroo calling for help. Kai’s Clan STEM toolbox integrates features such

collaborative/multiplayer

Augmented

Virtual

Reality,

coding,

Internet

Things, Artificial Intelligence, and physical adventure mats with virtual worlds over-laid.

robots came to the rescue (theoretically).

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Kai’s Clan makes learning engaged and fun! Speaking of fun, Kai’s Clan is launching the Global Chess Challenge on 7 April, with the finals happening in April 2022. Teams of up to 4 will not only play a game of physical chess in a virtual world but they will get points towards developing their chess avatars and code their chess strategies to win the battle against their opponents. For more information about the Global Chess Challenge email Ronel, or visit the website

Ronel Schodt Ronel

Schodt

adventurer,

edupreneur

voracious and

learner,

partner

learning with teachers and students around the world. Ronel is an Account Executive currently working at Kai’s Clan. Driven by her passion to inspire in others a love of learning, Ronel’s expertise is grounded in how we integrate digital technologies for developing global competencies and preparing students to succeed as next generation learners.

here.

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Educator Spotlight

EDUCATOR

SPOTLIGHT Connect with STEM educators worldwide and hear their stories of how they incorporate STEM into their everyday classrooms.

E D U C A T O R

S P O T L I G H T

J O N A T H A N

N A L D E R

THE POWER OF A PLN GLOBAL GEG FOUNDERS

I asked the GLOBAL GEG Founders to share

others feel supported in growing local GEGs and

their story of how they came together as a

not have the same struggles. Global GEG may

group to provide powerful, global Professional

have started as a way to support others in starting

Learning in such a short amount of time. They

GEGs but it has become so much more. After all,

have had thousands of Youtube views on their

once groups are established, what can they do?

videos, and constantly create engaging and

We decided we wanted to help support others in

beneficial content. I hope that by reading their

professional

story, you too will be able to see the immense

presenting, and growing leadership. We are still

benefit of connections and community within

amazed at the power of this group. We have

our STEM community - enjoy!

hosted more than 500 sessions, have over 70

GlobalGEG is much more than an Innovator project. It grew out of a true need.

learning,

obtaining

certifications,

leaders, have created series that have been pushed out by Google, and have worked with

Six Google Certified Innovators from four different 2019 cohorts started connecting on

educators all over the world who all want to help others grow.

social media and learned that we each wanted

But, how did we get here? How did it work out

to start our own local Google Educator Groups.

that six Certified Innovators launched a group

Many of us learned about Google Educator

that has had millions of views and connections

Groups

online? One of the reasons that this is even

while

Academies

and

were

came

Innovator homes

possible is the power of the PLN. We see ourselves

wanting to support the same learning and

as a Professional Learning Network, or as some

growth we experienced. As we each tried to

like to refer to us, a PLF (Professional Learning

start our local groups, we all had difficulty with

Family).

the process. We shared our struggles with one

struggles and cared to work together to make an

another and realized we were not alone. After

impact and resolve them not only for ourselves

helping each other through the process of

but for others. We decided to fall in love with our

launching our local groups, we wanted to help

problem and use it to help us focus. By having a

STEM|ED MAGAZINE

back

our

connected

people,

over

real

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shared vision, we could be inspired by our

of supporting the growth of educators around

problem and look at it with each of our

the world. Our leaders are amazing. They have

individual strengths. Stephanie Howell likes to

launched projects and series and we marvel at

approach a problem by jumping in and she

the professional learning they are producing.

quickly took on pushing go on projects,

We are proud of the work we are producing

recruiting volunteers, and management. She

and we are even more proud that this work

helped grow the idea of a Bootcamp into one

has impact. We are grateful that people value

of our largest series. Stephanie Rothstein

this group and trust our team. It is hard to

prefers to question and think through some of

believe that we launched in May 2020 and we

our

can’t remember a time before Global GEG.

steps

planning

and of

focuses

the

group,

the

strategic

protocols,

series

projects, and the website. She supported the Global Educator Series involving educators sharing tips on Virtual, Hybrid, and Returning

The Global GEG Founders

to the Classroom. Abid Patel supports IT needs,

Admin

Console,

internal

communication, and is the glue of the group, regularly checking in and ensuring we are ok. Abid envisioned our Beginner Series focusing on understanding Google Tools at a pace for

Lesleigh Altmann

all. Bonnie Chelette wants to ensure that all of our hard work is seen and oversees all things social media, Twitter, Facebook, chats and marketing. With 10 or more events weekly, this is no small undertaking. In addition, Bonnie

oversees

the

Open

chat

Bonnie Chelette

for

Coaches which runs chats, book studies, and supports those in the coaching application. Luis Pertuz supports IT needs for the group, manages our data and formula needs and supports all of the projects, website and series

Abid Patel

in Spanish. Luis also oversees all the needs of our Google Group. As our group has grown to have thousands of members, this is an ever evolving job. Lesleigh Altmann has helped us all understand what it really looks like to

Luis Pertuz

focus on growing your local region, tracks all of our events for each and every leader on the team and oversees the ET Open Chat for those interested in becoming Google Trainers. The strength of our founding team is that we

Stephanie Howell

fill in the gaps of one another. We all have strengths that have supported this team. But our

team

bigger

than

the

founding

members and we would not have been able to launch any of our projects without other

Stephanie Rothstein

leaders who believe in the vision and mission

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E D U C A T O R

S P O T L I G H T

C O N C E P T U A L

P L A Y W O R L D

C H A M P I O N

MEET FI MORRISON A CONCEPTUAL PLAYWORLD STEM CHAMPION Join the #PLN innovating new ways of teaching STEM PROFESSOR LAUREATE MARILYN FLEER

Like a machine gun, the phone is vibrating and

pinging.

messages.

Visible

What

going

explosion on?

The

of only

explanation can be – it is Thursday night. Time for #PrimarySTEMchat. The familiar handles are responding to host @FiMorrison2 on the topic of Professional Learning and Publications. What is your favourite professional learning to date? What do you look for in STEM professional learning and resources? When reading about STEM education, do you prefer evidenced based readings or practical implementation stories? But how is it possible for such enthusiasm for the professional development of #STEM? The responses contradict what we know from research into STEM in the primary and early childhood years. Or does it? There is longstanding research that shows that teachers worry about their competence in STEM. Specifically, they do not feel they know enough about the foundational concepts, for instance, in physics or chemistry. And with this, comes a feeling of lacking confidence to teach STEM.

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But these reasons are not reflected in what we see on the tweets during #PrimarySTEMchat. Recent research suggests that the models available to intentionally teach STEM were not designed to bring play and learning together in the classroom/centre. Fi is leading the discussion. She is an infant teacher, chief editor of STEM/ED, and a regular contributor to #PrimarySTEMchat. Is Fi a rarity? It seems not.

Figure 1: Meet our Conceptual PlayWorld STEM champion

A chorus of tweets are responding to Fi . They want professional development and they know exactly what kind they need. Professional Development that is, “engaging”, “practical” “fun”, and is “relevant, innovative, and a mix of research-based and practical ideas”.

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It was not that long ago that Fi remotely participated

professional

development

herself in how to plan a Conceptual PlayWorld for STEM learning. From her classroom in Sydney, she zoomed into the Conceptual PlayLab to find out about this new evidencebased model of STEM teaching. There is real excitement in the ‘zoom air’ as Fi and other teachers share their favourite children’s book – they are ready to spend 2 hours

finding

out

about

Conceptual

PlayWorlds and to workshop their children’s book into an imaginary play situation. Rebecca who is leading the Professional Development,

begins

showcasing

examples of a Conceptual PlayWorlds through videos of practices that exemplify what the model

looks

practice.

Powerful,

positive and innovative ideas are shared. Then in the chat rooms Rebecca and the team support groups of teachers with planning their own Conceptual PlayWorlds to take back into the classroom. The teachers are ready to try out their ideas over the next term, and then will get back together for another 90 mins, to share what they did and how it went. Watching

now

the

classroom

implementing a Conceptual PlayWorld to support STEM learning, we see the children jump into the story of Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

(Characteristic

1).

Seahorse

charged with looking after the fertilised eggs, saying to Mrs Seahorse, “I’ll take good care of our

eggs,”,

“I

promise”.

imaginary

underwater PlayWorld (Characteristic 2), the children meet the characters in the story (Characteristic 3), but problems arise that need STEM solutions (Characteristic 4). How

Figure 2: Designing and building with bricks

do we keep the Seahorse eggs safe from

safe underwater spaces in a Conceptual

predators? But where do seahorses live and

PlayWorld of Mr Seahorse

who

are

the

predators?

Researching,

designing and building safe environments, Fi

Fi‘s experience is symbolic of what is

carefully plans her role inside the imaginary

captured in the #PrimarySTEMchat for quality

underwater

professional development, “I like walking away

character in the story researching alongside of

feeling excited and inspired. I think thought

the

provoking, real world and hands on PD helps

Conceptual

children,

and

PlayWorlds

sometimes

being

the

predator to test out their ideas (Characteristic

me make strong connections”.

5).

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Research professional

also

shows

learning

this.

and

Effective

development

experiences for teachers need to be:

Laureate Professor Marilyn Fleer Marilyn holds the Foundation Chair in Early

Ongoing opportunities to learn and share

Childhood

with other teachers;

Monash University, where she's also a Kathleen

Multimodal experiences to enrich learning;

Fitzpatrick

Flexible and tailored, giving choices;

researches in the areas of early childhood

Engaging,

inspiring

and

supports

self-

Education Australian

and

Development

Laureate

Fellow.

at She

science, engineering and technologies, with

reflection;

particular

Based on evidence-based content; and

methodology framed through cultural-historical

Showcase new approaches in practice

theory. Her Laureate Fellowship on the theme

using videos.

"Imagination in play and imagination in STEM"

attention

digital

visual

investigates how families and teachers create Using a closed Facebook for educators and by drawing on materials from the Conceptual

conditions for children’s conceptual thinking in play-based settings.

PlayLab website Fi resourced her Conceptual PlayWorlds.

suggestive

Professional

Development,

quality

came

back

together with Rebecca and the other teachers ten weeks later to share her Conceptual PlayWorlds and reflect on her experience. Fi, when asked about her experience of Conceptual PlayWorlds for educators, said, “Sign up now! You won’t regret it, and you’ll develop

incredible

community

likeminded STEM educators along the way!”

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E D U C A T O R

S P O T L I G H T

M E L I S A

H A Y E S

Get to Know Melisa Hayes Each month we will be interviewing STEM Educators from around the world to share their

favourite lessons, resources and advice for getting started with STEM. This month, our STEM superstar is Melisa Hayes. She shares incredible STEM activities on social media to support educators worldwide, and it was a privilege to chat with her about all things STEM! Find out more of her story in our interview. Hi Melisa, can you start by telling us a bit

Cinderella's foot. There are criteria for this: It has

about your current role?

to be pretty, so many inches, can't fall off her foot.

I'm currently a 2nd grade teacher in America.

Students

write

persuasive

text

why

Cinderella should pick their shoe. Finally, they Can you tell us how STEM relates to your

create a commercial on Flipgrid showcasing the

current role?

shoe, price and why Cinderella should purchase!

I create a 'STEM-a-week' challenge for all the 2nd grade classes in our school including my own.

What

your

favourite

STEM

ice-breaker

activity for a new group of students?

My kids love the Marshmallow Challenge They What is your favourite thing about STEM

use spaghetti, tape and a marshmallow to create

Teaching and Learning?

the tallest freestanding structure. I set a timer

Watching my kids question, innovate, create, wonder, and more! What is your favourite STEM lesson, unit or activity? Can you include some specifics for other educators to learn from?

Oh wow, that's a difficult question to answer! I think the Cinderella STEM is my favourite! The students have to create a shoe that won't fall off

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and after the activity we share what we learned. This conversation is about the stem but also us as learners. What

are

some

your

favourite

STEM

resources in the classroom? Why did you choose these resources?

Straws, cardboard, pipe cleaners, empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls, pizza boxes, q/cotton

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tips, everyday items that we may take for granted at our house. iPad or apps like Flipgrid, Stop motion, camera and video:) I think my favourite is everyday items because they are vital for building and Flipgrid for recording the final product, materials used, successes and failures. What is your favourite STEM resource for your own Professional Learning? Why did you choose this/these resources?

The Daily Stem book by Chis Woods has great ideas Do you have any challenge points around STEM Education?

Anything

you

wish

could

different?

I wish every child in the world had STEM incorporated into their academics. We need to relate science

daily

lives,

Use

authentic

learning

experiences, & continue to promote wonder in our kids! If you could share one piece of advice for new educators or those unsure of starting with STEM teaching, what would it be?

It doesn't matter how you teach: hybrid, face to face or virtual, STEM can and should be incorporated into everything we teach! Our kids need to learn productive struggle while innovating to be ready for careers in the future! Where can readers find you to chat more about STEM Education?

They can find me on Twitter; my Twitter handle is @hayes_melisa.

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Resource Corner

RESOURCE

CORNER Looking for practical ideas and resources to implement immediately into your classroom? Check out these STEM resources collated from around the world.

M O N T H L Y

F E A T U R E

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B O O K

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THE STEM BOOK NOOK WITH BECK AND STEPH

The Provocation Matters and Creates Moments To provoke is to call forth an action or feeling, to stir up with purpose or facilitate the need for a stimulus (Merriam Webster Dictionary, 2021). Do we not want this for our students? We want them feeling curious, that edge of tension where confusion creates the need to find a solution or investigate further. As Kath Murdoch wrote in a blog in 2014: “When handled well, tension and confusion are the gateway to great inquiry”. And with this in mind it is the abstract that facilitates the perfect platform to launch into the great unknown of inquiry learning in STEM!

TITLE: Life on Mars AUTHOR: John Agee STAGE/AGE: Preschool (Early Childhood) - Year 6 (Stage 3) CONCEPTS: Collaboration, Solution Architect, Future Builder POSSIBLE LEARNING LINKS: Key Learning Areas: English, Science, Geography, Mathematics General Capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capacity

REVIEW: Life on Mars is a wondrous text, which while simple in text, opens up the opportunity for discovery and exploration of space and planets. The story follows a young boy looking for life on Mars. With his delicious box of chocolate cupcakes tucked under his arm, he sets off from his rocket on an adventure.

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CONNECTING ACTIVITY: Introduction Students conceptualise ideas in many ways. Stories allow them to connect to abstract concepts such as space exploration in an accessible way. With the landing of the Perseverance Rover on Mars being quite topical, this book is the perfect platform to allow students to consider how they might begin their own life in a foreign place. The ideation around building a community could also be overlayed within the teaching and learning sequence, permitting the exploration of many notions such as belonging right through to democracy. With the scope for the idea of ‘settlement’ being so broad, this text and the activities presented could be adapted to meet learning requirements from K-8. Whilst this text may not be the choice for the Stage 4 student, you may consider abstracts from texts such as “Mars” (Andy Wier). For students from stage 2 - stage 3 (could extend to stage 4) the idea of colonisation and sustainable living on a new planet provide the ideal platform to formulate an inquiry question. As the guided inquiry unfolds, the students will require some explicit guidance on their role in the inquiry. “Mars for Sale” is a great way to start students off on the inquiry and the perfect learning as a stand-alone unit or to place within a bigger unit around Mars.

Brainstorming Open the conversation with a discussion targeted at drawing out all the questions students have relating to the book and Mars. The text and illustrations will lead students to inquire about the land formations, environmental conditions, transport, and no doubt many other wonderings. Invite students to consider the question, If Mars were for sale, what would living there look like and how could we prepare for it? Present the idea of colonising Mars to the students and through the use of the Hexagonal Thinking Routine (https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/hexagonal-thinking/) discover what questions and wonders the students have about the concept of living or colonising Mars.

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The student’s ideas and questions will be powerful guides as the inquiry unfolds. Allow questions, debates, and points of view to be heard as they provide the lens through which students will approach or understand the problem. This activity can be conducted in small groups of three. Provide students with paper hexagons, two different colours, one colour represents questions / wonderings and the other existing knowledge students have on the topic linked to the questions. The initial phase could involve a teacher-led/controlled inquiry where students each bring in a box and they are required to work out the area and perimeter of their ‘allotment’.The teacher becomes the council, with all approval rights on submissions and material distribution. Flocabulary has a wonderfully catchy clip called ‘How to find area and perimeter’, which will also support the idea and inquiry.

Pedagogical process/support/scaffold Classroom organisation is often dependent upon the students within the context and the level of differentiation required. Ideally, each child should work independently on this initial task or with a partner if required. Fitting in with the design phase of the task using a sound framework such as Kath Murdoch’s Inquiry Cycle can be a highly beneficial part of the planning and learning process (kathmurdoch.com.au). Kath has also recently updated her "Freebies" to include a graphic to support when planning a unit of work using her teaching framework (worth checking out). We thank Kath for granting permission for us to share this here.

Kath Murdoch - A Model for Designing a Journey of Inquiry

How the inquiry works will be dependent upon your experience as an educator with inquiry and the experience of the student. For a quick overview of the types of inquiry you can refer to Trevor MacKenzie’s large bank of free resources to

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support in understanding which type of inquiry is best for your learners. This sequence is a controlled or teacher led inquiry. The students will all produce the same output, with slight variations to the product.

Research Students’ questions and wonderings will guide the direction of their research. To support their initial understanding of the planet environment, and to build on the initial ‘hook’ book, watch Perseverance Rover’s Descent and Touchdown on Mars official YouTube clip. Understanding the Mars environment will create a strong foundation for the next phase of students’ inquiry. For the research phase students can work in groups to explore factual information through books, websites, informative clips to build their understanding. To present their learning working together in small groups to create a map, 2D or 3D to share with the whole class will further embed understanding. If you are looking for a technology extension, Bee Bots are a great way for students to showcase a tour of Mars, for more ideas read Ben Newsome's (Fizzics Education) article Five Ways with Bee Bots.

Design Phase Inquiring into life on mars is such a broad concept which can lead to many great, exciting provocations. To support different year levels, we have detailed one example which can easily be adapted to meet student needs and interests. During this phase students are asked to bring in a box (cereal box or a shoe box is ideal, nothing too big!) and they are advised that this will be a model of the block of land they have purchased on Mars. They must fence it (perimeter) and turf it (area) before council will permit them to build anything upon it. Students are required to measure and calculate area and perimeter and submit this to council for approval.

Submission Form: Accountability and accuracy is important Inviting experts in at this point in time can be beneficial as it adds contextuality beyond the classroom learning and allows for collaboration or partnership with community members or organisations. Having a builder or tiler Skype in and 'walk'

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walk’ the class around a construction site discussing how they use area and perimeter (for example) is an excellent scaffold for a lot of students. Likewise, having the local town planner from council come in and explain to the students how towns are built could also be a wonderful way to expand the learning and make it authentic.

Presenting a Concept Upon receipt of approval they can then acquire materials from the resources department to construct a fence (straws and string is ideal here) and to lay the turf (green paper). For those students who require concrete materials, the use of tiles may be beneficial in making connections before using a ruler or tape measure. The inquiry is then able to expand or end. There is opportunity to allow students to then explore the idea of sustainable living in this alien place. The students could research various resources required for survival on Mars and construct a plan of their home using grid paper (to scale) of their home, indicating what they will need in order to survive. You may even like them to construct a model from Lego or recycled materials. NASA has a wonderful lesson sequence to follow to support with extension of the initial task (https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/marsforeducators/soi/). If you would prefer to trial a ‘plugged’ option you could conceptualise this using Minecraft, Showme or Jamboard.

Feedback There is a wonderful opportunity to work with perhaps the local town planner or a builder to look at the learning. Have them come in and challenge the thinking of students or create a Flipgrid and have the students explain their thinking and ideas for the expert to then feedback on. Invite families in to see the learning or create a video ‘tour’ of the homes available in the ‘display’ village. Ensuring a purpose and an audience is important to students.

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Conclusion We’ll be honest … There are so many ideas connected to this book that to narrow it down seemed somewhat frustrating and fruitless. We have provided a list below of a few more ideas we had that you may like to explore and then share! We’d love to see how you use “The STEM Book Nook” in your classroom.

Join our Closed Facebook Group Inspiring Picture Book Ideas for Teachers to share your Life on Mars classroom expedition and find more inspiring ideas from other teachers.

IDEAS BANK: STEM: Design a vehicle to get to Mars, move around Mars or perhaps a hybrid. STEM: Create a model of a hydroponics garden for survival on Mars. CRITICAL THINKING/WRITING: If you were to go to Mars what would you pack? STEM: Design and decorate cupcakes to take to Mars. WRITING: The day I moved to Mars ….. STEM: Design a space suit to go to Mars. STEM: Designing a solar oven. STEAM: What might animals and plants look like on Mars? ART: What do you think you might see on your way to Mars?

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Modelled Exemplars from the Classroom

References Agee, J. (2017). Life on mars. Penguin Putnam Inc. Murdoch, K. (2020). Kath Murdoch Blogs. retrieved from https://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/ NASA (n-d). NASA participate. Retrieved from https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/marsforeducators/soi/. Newsome, B. (2021). 5 ways Bee Bots can teach students. Retrieved from https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/articles/5ways-beebots-can-teach-students/. Potash, B. (2020). The cult of thinking. Retrieved from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/hexagonal-thinking/.

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R E S O U R C E

C O R N E R

B O O K

R E V I E W

RESOURCE REVIEW - EDUCATORS

15 MINUTE STEM: BOOK 2 BY EMILY HUNT BY FI MORRISON I was given a copy of '15 Minute STEM: Book 2' for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

The aim of this magazine from the get-go was to provide practical - and research-based - support to educators worldwide around the implementation of STEM in everyday classrooms. Fortunately, there are also many excellent resources beyond this magazine which can support teachers with getting started with STEM in the classroom - and Emily Hunt's 15 Minute STEM: Book 2 hits the marker on this beautifully.

activity to enable students to dive deeper into their learning

15 Minute STEM: Book 2 is a practical resource that

beyond the single activity. I love that 15 Minute STEM: Book

supports educators no matter their STEM experience -

2 recognises that STEM isn't just individual STEM activities,

whether they are new to STEM education, or passionate

but an integral and integrated part of student learning.

STEM advocates. This book has several elements which I

(Plus the 'What are we learning?' sections support those

think make it stand out from other resources I've seen

educators - like me sometimes! - who want to clarify their

around STEM education, which I've outlined below to help

understanding of the facts, such as chemistry knowledge!).

educators get a glimpse of what this resource is wonderful: 3. It promotes STEM careers - YAY! 1. The book includes practical activity ideas, including

I love, love, LOVE how this resource also makes clear

required materials, step-by-step instructions, and an

connections between the activities and STEM careers (not

image of what it is meant to look like.

connections to Science, Technology, Engineering and

This is the perfect visual guide for educators who aren't

Mathematics like we may normally see). There is also an

sure how to get started with STEM, or want to begin

awesome 'STEM Jobs Glossary' at the back of the book to

developing

help educators explain these more to students. I think this

collaboration, problem solving, and creativity) but aren't sure

is incredibly important, as the activities students participate

where to start. Emily explains each activity thoroughly, as

in can be directly linked to real world careers and contexts,

well as offering a succinct but clear FAQ section at the

making the learning more meaningful and relevant to

beginning of the book. PLUS there is a safety guide at the

them.

STEM

skills

their

students

(such

start too - so IMPORTANT in STEM! If you're looking for a practical guide that will get you 2. The book isn't just silo'd activities - it incorporates

started on STEM, or further enhance your STEM teaching

inquiry learning

with practical and relevant activities, find Emily Hunt's book

Each activity begins with an inquiry question that could

15 Minute STEM: Book 2 Here!

suit an inquiry unit run in your program. It also includes 'investigate' and 'what are we learning?' sections for each

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RESOURCE REVIEW - EDUCATORS

DNA PODCAST The DNA Podcast Network is a hub for podcasts that cover topics around Design, D&T, Design Thinking, STEM and STEAM education. The network was founded in the hope of connecting great content creators together to assist and encourage educators around the world to improve and develop their craft further! Why DNA? The Design Network Alliance (DNA) is a collaborative group of like-minded 'Design' educators from around the world. We have one simple mission, to connect design and STEAM educators with each other and with 'designers' that want to make Design Education better for future generations! The content found on DNAPN is independently curated by the individual podcast hosts. There are already many great shows included with many more on the way! We cannot wait to hear from you about the network, comments, suggests, and other podcasts that should be included. Check it out for yourself: www.dnapodcastnetwork.ga

EDULATTE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING Since COVID and remote learning, the online Professional Learning Network has become even more prominent - and important - as ever before. Educators can instantly connect globally with likeminded colleagues and brainstorm, share, and collaborate on all things education. Beck Keough, the Founder of Edulatte, has taken this one step further, and utilises the brilliant connections she's made to provide a targeted and sophisticated Professional Learning Experience. Inspired by her coffee theme, Edulatte offers a 'menu' of choices for Professional Learning - a 'Drive Through' (Podcast), 'Dine-in' (Zoom session) and 'Takeaway' (document with practical takeaway strategies). Beck's focus for Edulatte is all about people, pedagogy, practice and passion; getting to the heart of educators' stories and bringing them to the fore to enhance the practice of others. Follow Edulatte on Twitter to make sure you don't miss out on this exceptional experience!

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RESOURCE REVIEW - STUDENTS

DOUBLE HELIX MAGAZINES BY CSIRO PUBLISHING BY FI MORRISON I was given two copies of the 'Double Helix' magazine for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

At STEM | ED Magazine, we are passionate about promoting critical thinking, problem solving, flexibility and communication as integral skills within STEM Education. And as I read through through the two editions of Double Helix, published by CSIRO, I was thoroughly impressed with the detail within each article, as well as the learning opportunities they present to students. Double Helix is a full colour Science publication of

approximately 40 pages. It is most suited to Upper Primary or Lower Secondary students; however the information could also be tailored for other grades with teacher support. Each issue of Double Helix incorporates articles around the latest news within

the Science world, activities, competitions, puzzles and comics, all of which are highly engaging for students. Each issue is based around a particular theme; for example, we received Issue 44 (themed around Optical Illusions) and Issue 45 (themed around Robots) which I believe is a fantastic way to tailor these magazines for student learning as it can support educators to utilise these magazines as an inquiry unit resource. For example, one of the issues we received (Issue 45), is a robot-themed issue. This magazine would perfectly compliment an inquiry unit around Digital Technologies and the evolution of robotics within our society (and could also further compliment another resource on the next page - page 80 - of our magazine). I also love how this magazine supports student voice by allowing for student writers to be involved in the writing process - a great opportunity for your students to engage in an authentic learning experience in an inquiry unit!. I can't wait to engage my classroom students with Double Helix to support students to research and engage with our inquiry units. If you'd like to grab a copy of Double Helix (or look into some class sets), visit the website here (www.doublehelix.csiro.au) for more information.

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PICTURE/KIDS BOOKS BY CSIRO PUBLISHING BY FI MORRISON I was given a copy of 'Bots and Bods' and 'Dinosaur Questions & Answers!' for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

These themed books provide a wealth of information for students on topics that could be incorporated into integrated units of learning or student-led passion projects, and encourage students to become independent researchers. Bots and Bods: How Robots and Humans Work, from the Inside Out John Andrews

The Bots and Bods: How Robots and Humans Work, from the Inside Out is a 96 page, full colour reference book that

explores the differences between humans and robots. It is a non-fiction text, beautifully illustrated with engaging and bright cartoon images to support the facts within the book. This text is recommended for students aged 8 to 12, and would compliment the Double Helix Issue 45 (about Robots)

for students over 7 years old, this book answers 50 questions

for an inquiry unit of work around how robots work, as well as

about dinosaurs, including how many dinosaurs there were,

how and why we use them in our daily lives. Students could

which dinosaur was the biggest, and can we tell whether

develop their own inquiry questions (or within a group) and

dinosaurs were male or female?

enhance their independent research skills by using the

Perhaps most impressive about this book - besides being

contents and index pages to find the answers to their

extraordinarily detailed and beautifully illustrated - is that the

questions.

facts within this book have been fully checked and approved by

Bots and Bods also comes with extensive (free!) Teaching

Natural History Museum dinosaur experts, meaning your

notes that include some intriguing STEM activities and links

students can be rest assured they are getting the most reliable

to the Australian Curriculum.

information!

The Bods in your classroom will be jumping with excitement about the incredible facts they'll compute from this book!

Whether you have a class-wide dinosaur inquiry, a library section about dinosaurs or a student who is extremely passionate about dinosaurs, this book is a must-add resource to

Dinosaur Questions & Answers!

your collection!

The Natural History Museum Dinosaur Question & Answers! is another incredible

To view and purchase these books, please visit the links below:

resource to engage students in inquiry or student-led learning

Bots and Bods: How Robots and Humans Work, from the

(such as passion projects or genius hour projects). Designed

Inside Out Dinosaur Questions & Answers!

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#STEMEDMAGAZINE FEATURES This month we had the incredible Dr Jane Hunter offer a free copy of her book High Possibility STEM Classrooms: Integrated STEM Learning in Research and Practice to one reader sharing their favourite STEM activity on Twitter using the hashtag

#stemedmagazine. Below are some of the amazing ideas that were shared for the competition - we hope they encourage and inspire you all in your classroom practice to try out some of these ideas!

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We are excited to announce that the winner of Dr Jane Hunter's new book is....

BRIAN HOST

Congratulations! Please email us at hello@stemedmagazine.com to claim your prize! We hope you'll keep your eyes peeled for a new giveaway in Issue 3! STEM|ED MAGAZINE

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EXTRA ACADEMIC READS For those educators who love to delve into extra academic reading to learn more about STEM and enhance their evidence-based practice, we will be highlighting some extra articles each issue that offer research at the forefront of STEM and/or STEM related ideas.

DR SANDY NICOLL

DR DAVID ROY

We wanted to celebrate the success of our

We also wanted to celebrate the work of our

wonderful Editor, Dr Sandy Nicoll, who recently

other contributors, starting with our Foreword

co-authored colleagues. milestone

the

below

article

with

some

writer, Dr David Roy. David is a passionate arts

This

article

momentous

educator, who has written countless articles and

their

careers

a as

early

career

books on the positive benefits of creative arts on

researchers, and has been accessed over 5000

the

times!

children.

Their study adopted a mixed-method design to examine

online

teaching

self-efficacy

holistic

development

and

learning

For this issue, we chose to share the below

(TSE)

article about the background on dyspraxia,

during COVID-19, its associated factors and

signifiers for identification for children with

moderators.

dyspraxia, practical

- Ma, K., Chutiyami, M., Zhang, Y., & Nicoll, S. (2021).

Online

teaching

self-efficacy

during

COVID-19: Changes, its associated factors and moderators.

Education

and

Information

challenges activities

facing apply

schools,

and

within

the

curriculum. We wish to thank David for his onging activism in the area of disability and inclusion. - Roy, D., & Dock, C. (2014). Dyspraxia, drama and

Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-

masks:

10486-3.

therapy. Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 5(3),

Applying

the

school

curriculum

369-375, https://doi.org/10.1386/jaah.5.3.369_1.

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Australian Designers and Manufacturers of Innovative Makerspace Furniture Trident Activity Trolley

Trident STEM Table

Trident Fabrication Bench

Pinnacle 18 STEM Trolley

"Creative Solutions for your Makerspace!"

THE EDUCATION FACTORY STORY The Education Factory is a small family run business that specialises in product design, manufacture, procurement and total project management. The difference with The Education Factory is that as designers and manufacturers we can provide numerous customisable options for your educational furniture and Maker Space storage. This means no two spaces will be the same. We are able to offer our valued clients the very best solutions for their Makerspace. Using our combined total of more than 50 years manufacturing and engineering experience. There are no limits to the scope of our projects. Our ability to utilize our knowledge and work collaboratively with school leaders and educators creates exceptional Maker Spaces for your STEM and STEAM learning spaces. The Education Factory team is passionate about supplying cost effective quality products to your establishment. We understand the challenges faced by schools and other institutions when implementing cost saving strategies, especially when implementing new Makerspace STEM/STEAM rooms. The Education Factory will collaborate with all stakeholders and likeminded professionals to produce an exciting and functional Makerspace, to best facilitate your STEM and STEAM programs Our design team keeps up to date on worldwide trends and current teaching philosophies to best serve each and every individual project. We are here to give you and your students the best possible learning outcome while also providing aesthetically pleasing learning spaces. Contact us today to find out how the TEF design team can work with you to achieve the perfect learning space for your needs. Whether it is a new space or an existing space which needs a few key items to take it to the next level. Click here to visit The Education Factory https://www.theeducationfactory.com.au/ or contact our team on Ph: 0418 129 073, or at info@theeducationfactory.com.au

KAI'S CLAN

A place where student engagement and learning becomes one

Thank you to the following people who have helped make this magazine possible: Dr Sandy Nicoll Beck Keough Dr Stephanie Smith Dr David Roy Rachael Lehr Dr Jane Hunter George Spiridis Jesse Chambers Meridith Ebbs Sue Floro Ian Fairhurst Sarah Beaumont Jones Aaron Johnston Celebi Kalkan Helen Kardiasmenos Dr Keith Heggart Marilyn Fleer Global GEG Founders Melisa Hayes National Education Summit Kai's Clan

The Education Factory CSIRO Publishing Emily Hunt Jason Reagin

AND A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS PATRONS WHO HELP KEEP THE MAGAZINE RUNNING:

Robin George Erin Chris + Incredible family, friends and colleagues who have encouraged and supported this passion project over the last month.

While the magazine attempts to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publication, it provides no express or implied warranties or makes any representations in relation to any content. The information provided 'as is' and without any guarantees as to its accuracy, currency, completeness or reliability. The magazine reserves the right to amend the information in this magazine at any time and without notice. STEMlED and the editors accept no responsibility for any loss or damage occasioned by use of this information contained. All access to and use of this magazine and its information is at the risk of the user. This magazine contains links to third party websites which are provided for convenience only and should not be construed as an endorsement or approval of the magazine and its editors. This disclaimer will also apply to the website.

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