STEM education and the development of critical STEM skills are essential for Australia’s future of economic success, particularly when faced with unknown working conditions due to innovation and technology (Caplan et al., 2016 Honey et al., 2014 Marginson et al., 2013 Timms et al., 2018).
( 2016) explain that, whereas studies have been conducted within high schools, research indicates the need to engage students prior to the ages of 11–14 years to ensure longterm interest in pursuing these disciplines. One of the key reasons for this drive is the decline in enrolments and performance within STEM education (Education Council, 2015 Education Services Australia, 2018). Research evidence suggests there is a need to advance STEM education across Australia in order to ensure international economic competitiveness (Education Services Australia, 2018 Hudson et al., 2015 Office of the Chief Scientist, 2013).
#STEM LEARNING FULL#
Implications from this research include the importance of considering student perceptions when measuring the quality of STEM learning environments, as well as how facets of these environments can impact student attitudes towards STEM.Įducation frequently refers to the STEM acronym as the partial or full integration of the separate disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, including a focus on twenty-first Century competencies (Koul et al., 2018 Timms et al., 2018). Three focus groups with a total of 12 students identified suggestions for improving STEM learning environments.
Overall, the students expressed positive perceptions about their STEM learning environment, with Student Freedom, Peer Collaboration, Problem Solving, Communication and Time appearing to impact their perceptions of STEM education. 33 out of possible 40 correlations between scales were statistically significant, but eta 2 values were considered low (0.12–0.37). Several key factors were identified through student responses, including Student Freedom, Peer Collaboration, Problem Solving, Communication, Time, and Preferred Environments. The questionnaire comprised of scales from three different instruments: Classroom Emotional Climate, Test of Science Related Attitudes, and Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction. Students provided their perceptions of their STEM learning environment and their interactions with their teacher to identify factors influencing their engagement for pursuing these disciplines. This study utilised a mixed-methods approach involving a pre-validated quantitative questionnaire together with qualitative semi-structured focus groups with students across four Year 5 classrooms. Our STEM Fund has funded everything from 3D printer materials for a high school STEM lab to LEGO Education kits for elementary schoolers: Your classroom could be next! Click here to register your classroom and be the first to hear about our grant opportunities.Australia’s economic need for innovation has led to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education becoming an essential investment for the future. Resources from Teacher Leaders are provided by our Spotlight Funds, which support areas/school subjects of greater need.ĭid you know? offers grants as part of our STEM Fund to help teachers access STEM resources for their classrooms.
#STEM LEARNING FREE#
We just launched this program, so you can now access these free resources from fellow educators by logging in to your account and clicking over to “teacher resources.” After scrolling down, you’ll see several STEM education resources. Free Teacher Leader Resources Now Available!Ī’s Teacher Leaders include educators from across the country who share their expertise and teaching experience with the wider educational community.
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