High Expectations in STEAM

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I love presenting new information to my learners, particularly when it leads them to finding new interests. At the end of last term we investigated different times in history which lead to discussions about etymology and language. This was a great hook for my learners and I had a group of boys who began to read texts about medieval times and King Arthur, while other students became fascinated with geography and foreign languages.

This term our school is focusing on architecture, which has presented a wonderful opportunity for us to investigate 'STEAM' subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths). I am hoping that this topic will be just as rich and engaging as our previous inquiry and it will allow me to cover different areas of the curriculum.
Student create activity about insulation
We kicked the week off with a Science Intensive, where we spent four days investigating different scientific and technological concepts. Each teacher was responsible for covering one topic and the students rotated around the four senior classes. My science intensive covered chemistry and I focused on the states and changes of matter with younger students and atoms and molecules with the year seven and eights.
Building a bridge from a single piece of paper
In class we have been comparing the different resources and types of buildings used by different cultures. We also looked at design and investigated engineers and their careers. I challenged my students to create a stable bridge in my year six technology class and there was a lot of rich discussion and problem solving taking place.

Following the design specifications
While the students have been exposed to a lot of content over the past two weeks, they have coped with it well and a lot of learning has occurred. I believe it is really important to have high expectations of learners in these subjects and to support them to interact with these concepts. If they are introduced and enjoy such topics at an early age, they could go on to study them at high school, university or to pursue a career in a STEAM field.

Comments

  1. DJB6 August 2017 at 14:26

    Bravo Danni. You are well placed to lead the introduction of the new digital technology curriculum. I always appreciate teachers focusing on STEAM rather than STEM:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Danni Stone6 August 2017 at 17:04

      Thank you Dorothy! I will definitely be looking for more ways to incorporate STEAM concepts into my teaching!

      Delete

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