Great Scot April 2018 GreatScot_153_April_2018_Online | Page 13

ABOVE: ANG TAINSH, RORY BOOTH AND JUNIEL TOH, WITH MR PHIL RICHARDS
opportunities, there come just as many
challenges.
Technology continues to develop at an
ever increasing pace and most of us would
admit to feeling a little overwhelmed
at times as we try to keep pace with
it. Not so our younger generations, it
seems. They readily embrace every new
development, each new app, social media
format, device or way of communicating,
leaving the adults in their dust.
In the Junior School we are
continually working to adapt our
teaching to reflect how today’s students
like to learn and to incorporate many
of the strategies and technologies they
make use of in their external lives. We
have an obligation to prepare them for
their futures and not to be teaching them
according to how we were taught in the
past. This requires us to continually
reflect on our teaching practices and
pedagogy to ensure that the School
remains relevant and vital in each boy’s
development and growth.
One of the most important ways
that we can do this is by providing the
boys with opportunities to explore new
technologies, along with older ones.
To this end, we recently created two
new Science and Technology Rooms
in the Junior School. What were once
unused changing areas have now been
transformed into wonderful spaces
where the boys and their teachers are
able to explore the realms of science and
technology. In particular, our Technology
Room has been designed to be a very
open, multi-use space where the boys
can learn about and make use of older
technologies such as saws, hammers and
drills. Equally they will have opportunity
to explore the wonders of programmable
devices like Sphero balls and drones,
virtual reality, QR codes, robotics and
CAD design. With many of our teachers
having grown up in a generation that
was pre-internet, we probably feel more
comfortable working with the traditional
technologies and less so in the new and
exciting world of digital technologies.
However, we have to be brave and provide
opportunities for the boys to work across
all aspects of technology.
This year we have determined to make
the world of STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics) a major
focus, and recently the Junior School
staff worked for a day with Roland
Gesthuizen, a STEM Method Lecturer
and Professional Practice Consultant at
Monash University. Roland introduced
Junior School staff to a myriad of ways
of incorporating STEM teaching into
the curriculum, as well as showing us
many of the newest tools, equipment
and devices that could also be used to
enhance the boys’ learning in this area.
Our teachers are looking to include
STEM as part of all boys’ learning,
and I am sure that the boys will
eagerly embrace the opportunities and
experiences, hopefully even taking the
lead and teaching us, as they race to
explore the possibilities and potential of
each new activity or piece of equipment.
We are entering an exciting new
world, and no one can really predict
where the pathways may lead us. I am
convinced of one thing, though; the
current and future boys of Scotch are far
more likely to be absorbed and engaged
in their learning if they are provided with
problems to solve rather than answers to
remember. Problem solving is at the very
heart of STEM education, and it is this
aspect that I believe is its greatest value
and provides a wonderful opportunity for
schools to embrace.
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
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