S.T.E.A.M. education is an acronym for programmes of learning that integrate of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics, as shown in the diagram below. It has become a popular approach in education as it promotes greater engagement in specific learning in science and technology (including engineering, as engineering sits within technology in our New Zealand Curriculum). This helps to address a decline in teaching of science and technology in previous decades, as well as provide engaging, future-focused contexts for learning and skills for our ākonga.
Here at Roslyn School, we ensure that two out of four of our major Rarangahia Ngā Whenu units of learning each year (our termly integrated learning units) are focused on STEAM, with one focusing more heavily on science and the other more heavily on technology.
Through these authentic contexts for learning that are based on our ngā uaratanga (school values), our tamariki are able to engage in developing S.T.E.A.M. based knowledge and skills to help support them to design real life solutions.
This year at Roslyn School, we have resumed implementation of specialist S.T.E.A.M. sessions within each team of learners each term. These are provided by Ana, our assistant principal, who spends up to two days a week each term in a different team to provide our ākonga with targeted teaching, either of new skills or knowledge through a separate context, or of new skills and knowledge to support what our learners are doing in their Rarangahia Ngā Whenu context for the term.
Our Year 7 and 8 ākonga attend specialist technology sessions at Queen Elizabeth College (Q.E.C.) once a week throughout the year. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to engage in a range of technology-based learning, developing key areas of the curriculum such as developing and designing material outcomes (working with hard materials), and developing and designing processed outcomes (working with food).
Our intermediate students thoroughly enjoy their weekly trips to Q.E.C., finding the opportunities to learn practical skills, alongside technological knowledge and practice, highly motivating... and a great challenge too!
Q.E.C. are extending the opportunities they provide so that our students will be able to develop and design digital outcomes that they can then make into real products.
