ARTICLES
Teaching and learning STEM in context at Belrose Public School (continued)
A timetable that was organised around the existing (siloed) Key
Learning Areas meant the teachers found the flexibility needed
to complete the project a real challenge. They felt their class
timetables restricted how much time could be spent on the project,
and at times a high demand on resources was experienced.
Through weekly team meetings Tom guided the team through a
process of pedagogical change. A direct outcome of changing
teacher practice was seen when adjoining classrooms were
opened up so that classes could work together.
Teacher collaboration
Through collaborative negotiation (ideas being put forth and
teachers making choices about what they felt was achievable
given their current zone of proximal development) Tom, as the
new educational leader of the team, was able to develop trust and
push the staff to complete this innovative project. Collaborative
planning assisted the team to set goals for their students that
extended their own abilities.
Teacher perspectives
Creativity
The team was able to reflect with pride on what their students had
created. This success has built confidence which has translated
into Sharon leading projects with another team in 2019 and for
the existing team to plan for bigger, future projects. The next
project will incorporate the expertise of the librarian to a greater
extend; something that didn’t feature this year.
The realisation that students had to cope with materials they had
access to, helped to promote creativity. One example was the use
of large cardboard boxes that were painted black and secured
with Make-do’s to make backdrops for the museum display
booths. The booths were added to with leftover parliamentary
voting boxes. All of these items have been kept, stored and
reused, further demonstrating to students how we can reuse
materials promoting sustainability.
Community partnerships
It was also important getting community members ‘on board’ to
keep the project going. Belrose Public School had a need for
‘improved and sustained community engagement’. This was
achieved through partnering with the local high school, the CSIRO
and pre-school. These partnerships supported staff and enabled
students to be exposed to a rich learning environment. Parental
expertise was also valuable, for example parent helpers were
able to assist children with some of the physical work involving
cutting, joining and soldering.
Catering for diverse learners
The flexible nature of the project ensured that the diversity of
learner needs was able to be met. Whilst the brief required
students to design and make an animal model with moving parts,
this could be achieved to different degrees. Students were shown
how to make parts move using physical mechanisms involving
scientific principles such as levers. Year 5 students were also
able to make use of Little bits to allow the mechanisms to be
controlled by electric motors. Digital technologies were also
incorporated allowing some groups to use Hummingbird robotics
kits that were coded using Scratch (see Figure 10).
The Principal supported the project by providing resources and
funds for release. The STEM-share kits (from the Department of
Education) where organised and used in the planning stages
for the Museum. Virtual reality enabled the students to ‘tour’
international Museums such as the British Museum in London,
Natural History Museum in New York and the Australian Museum
in Sydney. The technology allowed students to visit, analyse and
plan what their museum displays could look like.
Challenges
The two main challenges that had to be overcome were physical
resources and timetabling.
Fig.10 - Scratch code used by some students to mechanise
used to code Mechanica
The lack of physical resources at the outset was overcome with
the support of the P&C and the Principal, who provided funds
to purchase the robotics kits required for the project. The team
then had access to 4 Hummingbird Robotics Kits and 16 Little
Bits kits. These resources were grouped so that parts could be
shared between classes. Sustainability issues were realised in
relation to use of batteries to provide electricity. Rechargeable
batteries and chargers were purchased to reduce the expense
and environmental impact from disposal of used batteries.
Students documented their learning using Seesaw. One group
chose to keep their successive prototypes and feature them
in their final display as physical evidence of their learning
progression (see Figure 11).
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 4