asms.edu @asms_edu

www.asms.sa.edu.au

STEM from the ground up

Jason LokeSenior Leader, Interdisciplinary Curriculum /

STEM Innovations

@Jason_Loke

ASMS is…..• A school for the renaissance of teaching and learning in science

and mathematics

• A school to create learners who are critical thinkers, problem solvers, communicators, collaborative, creative and innovative

• A school for all South Australian students

Why interdisciplinary curriculum?

• Current and future world problems do not come in neat disciplinary shaped boxes.

• Climate Change

• Water security

• New sciences and innovations such as neuroscience, nanotechnology, agribusiness and medical technologies cross ‘traditional’ disciplines.

• STEM Political drive

• $$$$ (perceived economic need)

Why ID?

• It is a process of answering a question, solving a problem, or addressing a topic that is too broad or complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline or profession.

Julie Klein and William Newell

• We must bring together insights from the natural and social sciences, the arts, engineering and the humanities to produce explanations, create products, ask new questions, and find solutions to contemporary issues.

Veronica Boix-Mansilla

• Arts and Humanities are not ‘soft skills’ but as a meta-language that anchors multi-dimensional thinking, applied ethics, global responsibility and principled social transformation through STEM innovations.

Vanessa Andreotti

ASMS Interdisciplinary Curriculum Aims

A desire from students to understand and make meaning of their world, not as perceived by isolated disciplines

Collaboration and communication between disciplines and learners

Action-orientated to address a real word problem

Valuing the contribution of a range of disciplines

Learners develop the capacity to cross boundaries, explore connections and innovations

Students prepared to navigate a complex interdisciplinary world

Interdisciplinary Curriculum

MATHS & ABSTRACT THINKING BIODIVERSITY

EARTH & COSMOS

MATHS & ABSTRACT THINKING

STUDENT INQUIRY PROJECT

TRUTH & PERCEPTION

CONCEPT & CREATE

INTERNET OF THINGS BODY IN

QUESTION

THE ENERGY EQUATION

MEDICAL ENGINEERINGSTUDENT

INQUIRY PROJECT

SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

COMMUNICATIONSYSTEMS

2016 2017

INTERNET OF THINGS BODY IN

QUESTION

THE ENERGY EQUATION

MEDICAL ENGINEERINGSTUDENT

INQUIRY PROJECT

SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

COMMUNICATIONSYSTEMS

2017

WHAT S, T, E or M CONCEPTS DO YOU THINK WOULD BE MOST RELEVANT?

WHAT CAPABILITIES COULD BE DEVELOPED?

“In IoT students explore technical and humanistic implications of the emergence of an interconnected world with a focus on understanding the mathematical and scientific principles enabling these connections.Students work towards the design, construction and connection of an ‘Internet of Things’ device; enabling them to generate information for a particular purpose and display this in innovative and unique ways.”

The

Inte

rnet

of

Thin

gs

Contributive Leadership

Holistic perspective

School vision & values

Curriculum expectations

Planning Teams

Overarching Pedagogies

Modules

Wicked problems

Assessment Frameworks

Logistics

Teaching Teams

Student input and choiceSession PlansResourcingIndividual & Collaborative PedagogiesQuality Assurance ProcessesAssessment & Reporting

FROM THE GROUND UP

• Global challenges

– Sustainability

– Clean Water

– Energy

– Biodiversity

• Wicked problems

– Poverty

– Nuclear technologies

– Superbugs

• Big ideas

– Space colonisation

– Internet of Things

– Meaning of Life

– Artificial Intelligence

– Unleashing Human potential

– Quantum Computing

A ‘simple’ place to start…

• Meaning of Life: How does the Earth work to sustain life?

• Artificial Intelligence: Should we constrain Artificial Intelligence?

• Poverty: How can we feed the World sustainably?

• Energy: Should we balance our Energy needs?

• Biodiversity: Can we maintain species diversity?

• Or your groups choice…

Put your starting point in

here

Ignoring school context for now…

In table groups brainstorm around your central idea:

– Themes

– Topics

– Concepts

– Challenges

– Activities

– Experiments

– Technologies

– Industries

Or any other thoughts related to your central idea

Flesh out the STEM-ness

• Critical & Creative

• Intercultural

• Ethical

• Literacy

• Numeracy

• ICT

• Personal & Social

It’s about more than a discipline

• Capabilities focussed

• Developing a Self-Directed Learner

• Inquiry driven

Targeting the important bits

• What are the important bits?

– Capabilities

– ID Outcomes

– ‘Big ideas’

• What are the important bits for your group?

Designing for Capabilities

Testing and Assessment

• ID learning needs ID tasks that allow ID outcomes

• SACE Stage 1

• Physics

• Chemistry

• Biology

• Mathematics

• English/ESL

• etc

• SACSA Standard 5

2003-2010

• SACE Stage 1

• Scientific Studies

• Mathematics

• English/ESL

• etc

• SACSA Standard 5 AC 10

• 10A Maths

2011-2016 • SACE Stage 1

• Scientific Studies

• EssentialMathematics

• English/EAL

• Australian Curriculum 10

• 10A Maths

2017-Beyond?

THE CHANGING NATURE OF ASSESSMENT…

STEM Assessment opportunities

What next? Learning Design UbD

Thinking, Mindset and Culture

• Evidence-based innovation and risk-taking

• Teachers and students and parents

– Growth vs fixed

– What is learning?

• What are the outcomes?

• How valuable are grades?

– What is my role as a teacher?

• Supporting student learning not discipline based

Why do we do it?

This way I have a deeper understanding and more than one perspective of the topic. This is a very good thing I think that a lot of people enjoy to have in this community design.

We have a thing also, called team teaching and where two or more teachers can work together and they can give us a deeper insight in to what we are trying to do and it really helps and students really like it.

Nick, Year 11 student

The Road to Wisdom?

The road to wisdom? — Well, it's plainand simple to express:Errand errand err againbut lessand lessand less.

By Piet Hein