Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. It is a relatively new learning area that is being taught as a specialist subject in primary schools across the country. It is a subject that is currently relevant due to the increased technological use in everyday life and the endorsement of companies like Google, General Motors and Meta.
An essential part of STEM education is teaching the Design Process. The age of your students will affect the complexity of the Design Process that is taught, but in essence it will always describe a series of steps that engineers undertake that will see the students create a product or service that aims to solve an identified problem.
So what’s so great about it I hear you ask?
Firstly, students need to use their learning from the science and technologies curricula and apply it to a problem. Through brainstorming, a skill in itself, students will collect their ideas and consider the merits of each. They will refer to the design brief, which has given them criteria to meet and develop a plan. They will use this plan to create their product or service.
My favourite step is test and improve. Students discover if they have been successful, but it doesn’t stop there! They need to make improvements, and test again! This is a crucial part of the design process and I think the hardest for students to do well. It requires determination and resilience as it’s unlikely to be smooth sailing! Students need to learn how to take on feedback and how to use it. This cycle can go on for a few iterations and culminates in the design solution being communicated through a report, presentation or trial implementation.
Throughout the design process the students engage in group work. Collaboration amongst students requires them to give and receive feedback, to compromise, and to unite to achieve a common goal.
By the end of the design process, students have worked together to solve a problem, have applied their scientific knowledge, and have had the opportunity to practise important life skills.
Kim Miter – STEM Consultant
Kim brings 10 years of experience as an aerospace engineer, specialising in the structural analysis and design of civil and military aircraft. Over the past 5 years, she has been a teacher leader of STEM in schools ensuring a curriculum delivery through problem-based learning to engage students in critical and creative thinking. She is passionate about science and the technologies being taught side by side to be more authentic and meaningful to students through projects that are both independent and collaborative. Kim is experienced in STEM curriculum design, including scope and sequencing, unit of study planning and lesson planning. She is an effective coach and mentor to new and experienced teachers alike and will be an advocate to promote this key learning area for 21st century students in your school.
