implementing stem approaches in diverse secondary school...

The University of Sydney

Implementing STEM Approaches in Diverse Secondary School Contexts

Presented byAssociate Professor Judy Anderson

President of ACSADirector of the STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy

Faculty of Education and Social [email protected]


Overview

1. What is STEM education?

2. Why the focus on STEM education?

3. Some approaches to STEM education?

4. Working with Secondary School STEM teams: Challenges and Opportunities

5. Where to from here?


What is STEM education?

STEM education in Australia:

–there is no “STEM curriculum” in the Australian Curriculum F-10

–there are no teachers qualified as “STEM teachers” at this stage!

However:

–we do see positions advertised for “STEM Curriculum Leaders”, and

–we do see buildings and classrooms named “STEM Centres”

So, what is STEM education?


What is STEM Education:from an analysis of many documents, reports and research articles

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

Separated S.T.E.M. - Each subject is taught separately with the hope that the synthesis of disciplinary knowledge will be applied – referred to as “Silos”

Integrated STEM - The principles of science and the analysis of mathematics are combined with the design process of technology and engineering in the classroom.

But there are many other interpretations …


STEM education appears to be synonymous with …

• Project-based learning

• Problem-based learning

• Solving complex problems

• Real world or authentic problem solving

• Engaged learning

• Inquiry learning

• STEM + Creativity = STEAM??

• Integrated curriculum

STEM – a meta-discipline


So, how do we connect this definition with current policy documents?


STEM curriculum – Content and Discipline focus

Science

Engineering?

Technology

Mathematics


What constitutes integrated STEM?

S T

E M

STEM

How are the subjects similar/different?


Australian Curriculum F-10 (Content and Processes)

ScienceTechnology (Design

technologies and Digital technologies)

Mathematics (Proficiencies)

Science understanding Creating preferred futures Understanding

Science as a human endeavour

Project management Fluency

Science inquiry skills:• Questioning and

predicting• Planning and conducting• Processing and analysing

data and information• Evaluating• Communicating

Systems thinkingDesign thinking Computational thinking

Problem solvingReasoning

Communicating (NSW)


General Capabilities Cross-curriculum Priorities

Literacy Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and cultures

Numeracy Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

ICT Capability Sustainability

Critical and Creative Thinking

Personal and Social Capability

Ethical Understanding

Intercultural Understanding

Australian Curriculum K-10(ACARA, 2010)


Overview







The STEM Imperative

1. Price-Waterhouse Report (April, 2015). A smart move: Future proofing Australia’s workforce by growing skills in science, mathematics, engineering and maths (STEM)

2. Thompson, S., Hillman, K., & Wernet, N. (2012) Monitoring Australian Year 8 student achievement internationally: TIMSS 2011. Melbourne: ACER.

44% or 5.1 million jobsat risk from digital

disruption 1

75% of the fastest growingoccupations require STEM1

Shifting 1% ofworkforce intoSTEM roles

would add $57.4billion to GDPover 20 years 1

The average performance of Year 8students in mathematics has not

changed since TIMSS 1995 2

Number of Year 12students studying STEM

subjects is declining 1


The STEM Imperative

3. The Australian Industry Group (March, 2015). Progressing STEM skills in Australia. Melbourne: AiGruop4. Thompson, S., De Bortoli, L., & Buckley, S. (2013). PISA 2012: How Australia measures up. Melbourne: ACER5. Weldon, R. (March, 2015). Policy insights. The teacher workforce in Australia: Supply and Demand Issues.

20% of mathematics and physics teachers are teaching out-of-field 5

The number of students taking intermediate and advancedmathematics at secondary school has fallen by 34% over the last

18 years 3

Australia’s mean mathematical literacy performancedeclined significantly between PISA 2003 and PISA 2012 and

males significantly outperformed females 4


Skill sets needed for the 21st Century(Bybee, 2013, p. 38)

– Adaptability

– Complex communications

– Non-routine problem solving

– Self-management

– Systems thinking

Could be developed in STEM programs that include scientific inquiry, technological innovation and mathematical computation

STEM Literacy


A bigger picture - global challenges (Bybee, 2013)

Sharing the planet with others and overuse of common resources:–Atmosphere–Biodiversity and ecosystem loses–Deforestation–Water deficits–Fisheries depletion

The problems:–Global climate change–Ecological scarcity–Emerging and reemerging infectious diseases


If we want students to learn how to apply knowledge, their education experiences must involve them in both learning the knowledge of STEM disciplines and reacting to situations that require them to apply that knowledge in contexts appropriate to their age and stage of development(Bybee, 2013, p. x)


Overview







Disciplinary

Multidisciplinary

Interdisciplinary

Transdisciplinary

The inclined plane of STEM integration (Vasquez, 2014)

Students learnconcepts and skillsseparately in eachdiscipline

Students learnconcepts and skillsseparately in eachdiscipline but in reference to a common theme

Students learnconcepts and skillsfrom two or moredisciplines that aretightly linked so as to deepen knowledge and skills

By undertaking real world problems or projects, students apply knowledge and skills from two or more disciplines and help to shape the learning experience

Curriculum Integrity??


– 5th grade students learning about force and motion in Science and about data analysis in maths

– Work in teams to design roller coaster tracks out of cardboard boxes and tubes

– Ideally students pose the questions and determine what resources to use

– Project-based learning

One example of a STEM Transdisciplinary Approach (Vasquez, 2014, p. 12)


Suggestions for Beginning to Integrate STEM subjects(Bybee, 2013, p. 84)

Coordinate 2 subjects taught separately are coordinated to synchronize content

Complement while teaching content of 1 subject, the content of another is introduced

Correlate 2 subjects with similar themes, content or processes are taught so students understand similarities and differences

Connections use 1 subject to connect with others

Combine combine 2 or more subjects using projects, themes, procedures, or other organizing foci


Approaches to STEM Education in Schools

Number ofStudents(specific vsgeneral)

Number of STEM subjects collaborating (and numbers of teachers)

1 2 3 4

A

B

C


Approaches to STEM education:Level 1


Approaches to STEM education:Level 2

STEM Festival


Challenge Based Learning Project for Year 7 in 3 stages

The Big Idea – The big idea is a broad concept that can be explored in multiple ways, is engaging and has importance to learners and the larger society. The big idea for the Year 7 Integrated Project is sustainability.

Each group of students will choose a specific focus area of sustainability for their project. These areas are:

WaterFood

EnergyAir

Resources & RecyclingWaste Management

Biodiversity & GroundsPopulation


Challenge Based Learning Project for Year 7 in 3 stages

Essential QuestionThe group needs to come up with a clear, concise and answerable question in their focus area of the “Big Idea”.

The question should be answerable through research and provide a focus for the rest of the challenge based task.

Eg: How can we use water more efficiently at school?


Approaches to STEM education:Level 3 and beyond???


Overview







STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy:http://sydney.edu.au/stem/academy/

The aim of the STEM Academy is to inspire and enthuse secondary teachers of STEM subjects, enriching and reinvigorating their classroom practice – and through this, to improve student engagement so that more continue to study these areas in Years 11-12 and beyond.


Goals and Guiding Principles

– Focus on inquiry and challenge to enhance engagement within and between disciplines

– Focus on curriculum requirements –content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge

– Build collaborative teams in schools

– Prioritize STEM in school plans

– Engage with the University as a STEM Partner school beyond the Academy


Features of effective professional learning (Desimone, 2009)

– Content focus

– Active learning

– Coherence

– Duration

– Processes


STEM Academy ModelTeacher Professional Development Model

1. 3-day residential program on campus

2. In-class change project, mentoring, online support

3. 2-day non-residential program on campus

4. Ongoing engagement with the Academy and the University


STEM Schools 2014 -15

– Fairfield High School

– Greystanes High School

– Gulgong High School

– Kandos High School

– Mudgee High School

– Riverside Girls High School

– Sir Joseph Banks High School

– Sydney Secondary College, Leichhardt

– Moriah College– Ravenswood School for Girls– St Scholastica’s College– Trinity Grammar School

– St Patrick’s Marist College


STEM Schools 2015 -16

– Belmore Boys High School

– Cabramatta High School

– Chatswood High School

– Kooringal High School, Wagga Wagga

– Rooty Hill High School

– Rose Bay Secondary College

– Ryde Secondary College

– Barker College

– Kambala

– Mount Annan Christian College

– Domremy College

– Kildare College, WaggaWagga


Challenges

– Understanding curriculum requirements across the STEM disciplines – horizontal expertise and boundary crossing (Clarke, 2014)

– Identifying discipline content and processes in already prepared tasks (English, 2016)

– Working effectively in multi-disciplinary school teams (Flowers et al., 2000)

– Designing an appropriate STEM strategy based on data and school context (Daggett & Gendron, 2015)

– Building a community of practice (Wenger, 1998)


Opportunities

– Getting to know each other!!

– Meeting and sharing ideas with teachers in varying contexts

– Time for planning

– Mentoring through outside expertise

– Developing inquiry-based learning with and across disciplines


Some of the STEM Academy Partner School Approaches

1. Embedding more cross-curriculum applications within regular lessons

2. Conducting cross-disciplinary investigations in several STEM subject lessons to design solutions to problems

3. Undertaking an extended investigation over several weeks to design an artefact

4. Redesigning the STEM curriculum program for a whole year group around themes or big ideas


Approaches to STEM education:Level 3 (Mike Nightingale, DP, [email protected])


Overview







The challeges (Bybee, 2013, p. 2)

– The challenge of including technology and engineering

– The challenge of using contexts for STEM

– The challenge of moving from STEM as a slogan to an education definition

Purposes

Policies

Programs

Practices


Questions to plan or evaluate a STEM education initiative in your school

1. Why do you we want to add STEM to our curriculum? (PURPOSE)

2. What problem are we aiming to solve? (PURPOSE)

Shared Vision



3. Given the problem, which STEM strategy might address this? (POLICIES/PROGRAMS)

4. Which teachers should be involved?

5. What school structures need to change to implement the strategy?

6. How can we find the time and space to develop the plan?

Collaborative Problem Solving



7. What PRACTICES will we implement?

8. How will we know they have been effective?


Final Advice

– Conduct an audit of student enrolments in STEM and student destinations – does this suggest a problem?

– Begin with a trial in a few classes and with key teachers

– Bring the parents with you

– Collect data from students/parents

– Consider an industry partner

“The rigidity and resilience of school curriculum structure should not be underestimated when proposing reform …” (Williams, 2009, p. 27)


http://www.acsa.edu.au

http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/page656.asp


References

Bybee, R. W. (2013). The case for STEM education: Challenges and opportunities. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers’ Association

Clarke, D. (2014). Disciplinary inclusivity in educational research design: Permeability and affordances in STEM education. Keynote address presented at STEM Education and our Planet: Making Connections Across Contexts. 12 July.

Daggett, W., R., & Gendron, S. A., (2015). What’s your school’s DNA? Using data to drive innovation. International Center for Leadership in Education, Research Brief.

Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Towards better conceptualisations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38(3), 181-199.

English, L. D. (2016). STEM education K-12: Perspectives on integration. International Journal of STEM Education, 3(3), 1-8.

Flowers, N., Mertens, S. B., & Mulhall, P. F. (2000). What makes interdisciplinary teams effective? Middle School Journal, March, 53-56.

Vasquez, J. A. (2014). STEM—Beyond the acronym. Educational Leadership, 72(4).Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. New York: Cambridge

University Press. Williams, P. J. (2009). STEM education: Proceed with caution. Design and Technology Education: An

International Journal, 16(1), 26-35.

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