principles and concepts to take their education further, or in a direction that enables new possibilities
for their own learning.
PLANNING FOR YOUR STEAM OUTCOME
To plan for STEAM education I start by doing a bit of an audit of my program. Firstly I decide which
concepts within each discipline really lend themselves to a STEAM approach. Whilst I want to ensure I
still planned opportunities for explicit instruction for Science and Mathematics concepts that were
embedded within the unit of work, I am very conscious that the theme and investigations I plan aren’t
tenuous applications of STEAM education. After all, if I didn’t believe in the purpose of the work then
my students certainly wouldn’t!
One outcome from such planning was the creation of following investigation:
“The City of Mount Gambier is re-developing the railway lands into a community shared space. There is
t he opportunity for a group of local artists to use the steel from the old railway tracks to create a public
art installation that reflects Mt Gambier’s railway history and connects it to our local environment and
community”.
• You have X meters of steel to use, which is from the old railway tracks (each group negotiated this
length, however students were placed in mixed ability groups to maximise learning opportunities)
• The structure can be any shape and size, but cannot exceed 50m2 of surface area at its base
• You may use other materials in your design and sculpture, but the focus must be on the railway
tracks
• Its design must reflect, connect or represent our unique natural environment/ community/ history
in some way
• You must submit a written proposal to local council justifying why your sculpture is the most
suitable along with a scaled model
STUDENT GROUP
Creation
STEAMed Magazine
18
July 2016 Edition