in focus
Edition 3 2017 STEM at REC Science Technology Engineering Maths STEM learning is about involving students in learning programs that encourage risk, innovation and problem-solving.
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We know that 75% of the fastest growing occupations now require STEM skills and knowledge, therefore we aim to have all students develop the capabilities they need for their future lives and workforce requirements . At REC we have undertaken a range of activities and programs to help staff and students gain a better understanding of what STEM means for today and the future.
Last year the Education Department (DECD) released a P-12 STEM Learning Strategy and REC has used this to shape some of our current and future school, staffing and curriculum directions. The ‘vision’ of the Strategy is for STEM learning to help students ‘secure their place as forward thinkers, innovators, entrepreneurs, leaders and shapers of an adaptable knowledge-based economy and society’. This edition of In Focus is a showcase of many of the things that students, staff and the wider community have been involved with, relating to STEM, at REC this year.
pRIMARY stem week
pRIMARY stem week Year 1/2
Primary STEM Week
Ms Connell, Mrs Bradley and Miss Davis’ classes designed and built bridges that allowed a matchbox car to drive on, over and under them.
A planning group comprising of Kelly Patch, Lauren Green, Mel Hollitt and Leesa Weger came up with the idea to engage staff and students in STEM pedagogies through an inaugural STEM week here at the College.
We utilised a staff meeting for teachers to experience an innovation design thinking process. We shared this problem with teachers: ‘Research shows that teachers are often dehydrated by the end of the day. This can lead to various issues including headaches.’ Teachers were encouraged to come up with a design which could keep them hydrated ‘on the go.’
Year 2/3 Mrs Lawrence and Mrs Patterson’s classes had a brief that was linked to their fairytale narrative writing. They could design a parachute to get Jack from the top of the beanstalk to the bottom, build a house for the three little pigs using only popsticks, build a bridge for the gingerbread man to cross the river or design a trap to keep Goldilocks out of the bear’s house.
Once a problem has been identified the next stage of the innovation design thinking process is to engage in research and ideate about the problem and possible creative solutions. The next stage is to ‘power sketch’ ideas, a time limit is set for each sketch to encourage the generation of as many ideas as possible. The next stage is to build a prototype or representation of the ideas. Following this the idea is tested, shared with others, feedback given and received and modifications made. The final part of the process is creating a sales pitch to sell your ideas to others. Teachers came up with some great ideas! Teachers then shared the innovation design thinking process with their classes and during week 10 all classes were in full problem solving mode.
Mrs Hollitt’s class designed solutions to keep the school chickens alive over the holidays and needed to consider food, water and temperature requirements.
Mrs Hesling’s class designed chairs that would support the weight of a teddy bear.
Reception / Year 1
Miss McWhinney’s class started with a walk around school and then brainstormed problems. The class voted and the most popular was how to feed the chickens over the holidays.
Year 3/4 Mrs Kennett and Miss Wegers’ class came up with ways to deter magpies from swooping cyclists in breeding season.
Miss Adams’ class built a house for the three little pigs that would stay standing when blown by the
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Mr Simpson’s class tried to make a rock float on water.
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pRIMARY stem week
pRIMARY stem week
Year 4/5
Year 6/7
Mrs Lee’s class had two problems and two design tasks; 1. Teachers get dehydrated during the day. Can you design something to help keep them hydrated? 2. Who will look after the chickens in the holidays? How will the chickens get their food and water? Can you help solve the problem?
Ms Lush’s class built rubber band powered catapults that could launch a marble and/or create their own marble run using recyclable products.
3. Build a Marble Track using the supplied materials. Your marble must land in a square (and stay there). How long can you make your marble track?
4. Tommy's Toy Treasure Trove is looking for new robots to sell in their shop. Can you design a robot made up of at least 5 different 3D shapes for Tommy to sell.
Ms Walsh’s class found a place in school grounds and invented an animal that must adapt to this environment and build a model with physical and behavioural features. They were also given a problem to solve: The evil giant (teacher) is invading our village. All villagers called upon to devise a catapult each, and come together to defeat evil giant.
Mrs Leonard and Mr Walls’ classes had two problems to solve; 1. How can we minimize or reduce the consumption of energy in the classroom or school? 2. How can we prevent leaves and mud from entering the classroom?
Ms Schipanski and Mrs Kennedy’s students were challenged to design and make fidget spinners, bridges, fantastic huts and a cargo container to drop a raw fragile egg from a height.
Mrs Minuzzo’s class investigated the spinning times of several different types of spinners. They then looked at the shape, material size, weight and the most cost effective. Students then used their knowledge to design and make their own spinner. They also designed some new play spaces for school.
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Mr Papagallo and Mr Worthington’s classes were challenged to design and build a container that can drop cargo from a height. The cargo was a fragile raw egg!
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seesaw APP
Year 8 innovators
This year in Hewlett 4, every student was lucky enough to receive an iPad. We wanted to use them to enhance the current curriculum and explore inquiry-based learning. The iPads allowed us to create meaningful and relevant learning experiences that saw our engagement skyrocket. We were creating wonderful work that we were proud of but no one was able to share it with us. Miss McWhinney did some research and discovered the Seesaw App. Seesaw is a student driven digital portfolio that allows for simple and up to date parent communication. It helps empower students and engages families. It saves Miss McWhinney time on organisation and allows her to adapt tasks so that every student can show what they know. We can also use the range of features to present our information in a way we think best shows off what we have learned. We can take photos of what we have made, we can upload videos, or record our voices. The Seesaw app invites our parents into the classroom on a regular basis and gives us something to talk about over the dinner table. Miss McWhinney also taught us about being digital citizens and only posting our Wow Work. We love using Seesaw!
Innovators Academy This year was the first year that Reynella East College has run the Innovators Academy and it has been a glorious success. The students that take part develop a sound grounding in all of the aspects of STEM learning. They especially experience the practical applications of Science, Mathematics and Engineering.
The year started off with all students getting involved in some team work exercises and basic problem solving activities. These activities were to help them get to know each other and develop the skills to work as a team to solve the real world problems presented to us by our industry link.
Students from Hewlett 4
We were lucky enough to have an Engineer (Luke) come in from Aurecon engineering to give the students a basic understanding of what an engineer does. He detailed to the students the different areas of engineering, what training it takes to become an engineer, what different things happen in the daily life of an engineer; as well as the different projects he had been a part of over his career. To conclude Luke’s presentation he invited us to join the Aurecon Bridge Building Competition that was taking place on the 4th of August. To prepare for the competition students ran a series of materials and process tests to get to know how to make their bridge in the most economically, mathematically and scientifically efficient way. As each school is only allowed to send two teams in the competition we had an internal competition to see which team had embraced the skills we had been teaching. We had 4 students that were up to the task of representing Reynella East College, Hayden G, Nathan N, Alex M and Caleb M. All students represented the school extremely well and had a great time over the experience.
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stem workshop
southern stem expo
Southern STEM Expo
Real - World Problem Based Learning
In August, two teams of students went along to the Southern School STEM expo at Tonsley TAFE to showcase their work alongside ten other local schools.
On Monday 30th October, the year 10 STEM class held an exhibition of their design proposals prior to presenting them to our Industry partner, Onkaparinga Council.
One team was a group from the year 9 STEM class who presented their work from the SA Power Networks challenge. The second team were students from Mr Mathew’s year 10 Multimedia and Computing classes who showcased their work on Unity 3D and Game Creation.
The class had been tasked with exploring the use of the Byards Road Wetlands and to develop ways to improve this public space. Proposals included improved walking trails, play areas, cafes, and improved signage as well as increasing online visibility through a new interactive website to help draw in the public.
The class presented their work to 7 industry judges as well as a number of Reynella East College staff members during the hour long exhibition. Their work will remain on display for the rest of the week for parents, staff and students to see. Lauren Green - Teacher
The students had a busy day presenting their work to both professional industry judges as well as over 400 yr6/7 primary school students from across the local area. Both teams did a great job of showcasing their learning and enjoyed the opportunity to see what other schools are doing in STEM learning areas too. Lauren Green & Bryan Mathews - Teachers
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stem
Stem Club Seedlings The year 10 STEM class have been working with Onkaparinga Council and Natural Resources on developing the Byards Road Wetlands area. As part of getting to know the client (Onkaparinga council) and the environment for this problem based learning challenge, they were invited to help plant over 180 native seedlings around the Eastern end of the wetlands. It was a bit of a damp start to the day but everyone got stuck in and did a great job of getting the plants in the ground. After the planting the Onkaparinga Council staff took us on a walk around the Wetlands to see the established plants that our seedlings would grow into and explain the positive impacts they will have for this wetland environment.
This year STEM club was introduced at Reynella East College. This club is based around the internationally recognised E-sports game League of Legends. The club has started with a great deal of interest and we already have enough players for two teams. These teams are currently playing together and are getting ready for the interschool competitions that will be taking place next year. With Cyber bullying also taking place in a big part around Australia it is important for students to take ownership of their online activity and this club is a good forum to achieve this. Recognition needs to be given to the IT support team at Reynella East College as without them this whole adventure wouldn’t have been possible.
Lauren Green - Teacher
One of the key principles of STEM is looking at ethical and inter cultural responsibilities. League of Legends gives us a good platform to talk about the ethical responsibilities of some of the most well-known people on the planet. Youtubers and Streamers are newly formed entertainers with vast audiences and as a group we get to have detailed discussions about how they impact society and in particular teens of today. The founding principles of this club are based around team work and respect for each other. These qualities are seen in the general capabilities that are part of the fundamentals behind the STEM curriculum. This has been a fantastic experience to be a part of seeing students that are somewhat disengaged in a general classroom setting taking part and being enthused in a school setting is fantastic.
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stem Study Where can the study of STEM lead….? STEM skills aren’t just important for our scientists, mathematicians or engineers. In fact, many jobs require basic STEM skills to problem solve, and understand and apply innovations. Having STEM skills can also offer pathways to a diverse range of occupations, particularly in emerging industries and the digital economy. Defence Industries The Australian defence industry employs around 27,000 people and supports/supplies to the Australian Defence Force and Defence Material Organisation. Australia exports over A$750 million of defence products and services, in particular to the US, Europe and New Zealand. Australia has a long history of designing, manufacturing and adapting products to meet demanding military requirements. Australian defence industry sectors cover the aerospace, maritime, land, weapons and electronic systems domains. It is flexible, responsive and customer-focused and its business environment promotes competition and innovation. There are several major companies and all are foreign owned with the exception of Australian Submarine Corporation. These companies include BAE Systems, Raytheon, Thales, Airbus and Boeing. For the small to medium enterprises, there are around 3000 organisations. Science Industries In many fields of science, the development of new knowledge and techniques has increased in recent years, helped along by technological innovations and the higher performance of research and development driven economies. Biotechnology in particular seems poised to enter a new era, with the human genome project leading to a strong increase in technological and knowledge development – and consequently, to increased employment in the field. Other growth areas in science are likely to arise in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries, where demand exists for chemists, biochemists, geneticists, molecular biologists and microbiologists. As the global community moves towards a more sustainable approach to living, other areas of employment growth will occur in environmental protection, resource management, and areas focusing on response to climate change and alternative energy sources. According to the annual Australian Graduate Survey, the main industries of employment for students who graduate with a Science-related major are: Business Services, Education, Government :defence and intelligence agencies, Health, Medical and Pharmaceutical, Sports and Physical recreation activities, Information and Communications Technology, Manufacturing. ICT Industries The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry is one of the fastest growing and changing fields. Technology is developing rapidly and new devices and systems are constantly being created to provide faster and more efficient methods for information and communication technology. Careers in the ICT field are in high demand and the industry is expected to grow. Professionals in ICT careers may work in a range of commercial service sectors and ICT companies. Engineering Industries There are many kinds of engineers. Some create things that are so small they can only be seen with microscopes. Some make things we use with our hands every day such as mobile phones and laptops. Others build big — designing cars, planes and skyscrapers! Engineers have the skills to turn products of the imagination into real-world innovation. As humanity’s knowledge and needs increase, the demands on engineering grow. This means the future will be full of new opportunities for engineers. Inventing tools and technology for the betterment of humanity is a special task. WEBSITES that may be of interest: http://www.innovation.gov.au/page/inspiring-nation-scientists http://www.science.gov.au/scienceGov/news/Pages/STEM-skills-help-every-career-27-Sep-2016.aspx https://www.dst.defence.gov.au/careers
http://careerblueprint.com.au/category/stem/
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/For-Students-And-Educators/Engineering-Careers/Future-Of-Engineering http://joboutlook.gov.au/occupation.aspx?code=2332
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