STEM is science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
As these subjects are closely related they are often taught together.
STEM approach to teaching
The STEM approach to teaching and learning gives students the opportunity to work on challenging problems and projects. Hands-on practical activities help learners:
- experiment
- use new technologies
- test ideas
- make and create innovative solutions to real, complex problems through the Engineering Design Process .
Relationships with local industries and communities are also important to both teacher and student learning.
What STEM students learn
In Primary we learn:
- designing and building prototypes like windmills, solar cars and water sampling technologies
- designing solutions to problems
- investigating systms
- coding and robotics
- agri-science and agricultural engineering
- robotics
- developing technical and engineering skills to troubleshoot the source of a problem, repair a machine or debug an operating system.
Department for Education STEM Strategy
Primary STEM Videos
Primary STEM News
Reception STEM | Royal Crowns!
The Receptions investigated crowns this week in STEM and decided they were most useful for telling if someone was a …...
1 STEM | Alpaca Enclosures
We revisited the Ag Block this week to see what else is in the alpaca enclosure to help keep them …...
4/5 STEM Semaphore Flags
In 4/5 STEM we’ve been studying signals and codes. We have made our own Semaphore flags and will be trying …...
2/3 STEM | Fossil Casts
The 2/3 students have been learning about fossils in STEM. We created our own fossil casts by filling fossil shaped …...
R/1 STEM | Transparent & Opaque Materials
The R/1 students are learning about transparent, translucent and opaque materials. Last week they made their own opaque shadow puppets...
2/3 STEM | Breadboarding
The 2/3 Class were introduced to ‘breadboarding’ this week to make the assembly of their LED circuits simpler. The breadboard …...
R-1 STEM | Transparency Toys
The JP STEM students are investigating transparent, translucent and opaque materials. This week we made Halloween and underwater scenes by …...
2/3 STEM | BeeBot Treasure Hunts
Our Year 2/3 students are now creating their own Beebot programs and recording the steps using flashcards. They are looking …...
2/3 STEM | BeeBot Programming
How good are Eva and Charlotte – they programmed their BeeBot to deliver toy cars to every one of the …...
4/5 STEM | 3D Models
The Year 4/5 classes 3D designs have been printed and are now on display at the Moonta Mines Museum. During …...
R/1 STEM | Billy Goats Gruff
The R/1 students made their own Billy Goat Gruff diorama models in STEM to demonstrate the sequence of steps the …...
2/3 STEM | BeeBots
The Year 2/3 students have been experimenting with the BeeBots in STEM. They are learning skills in programming, spatial awareness …...
R/1 STEM | Grandpa’s Slippers
The R-1 classes have made their own slippers using corrugated card, felt and hot glue guns. The students made templates …...
2/3 STEM | Helicopters
The 2/3 STEM class is investigating different kinds of flying machines. Last week we made flying-seed inspired helicopters from card …...
R/1 STEM | Grandpa’s Slippers
The R/1 classes have read the story of Grandpa’s Slippers and are making their own comfy slippers from recyclable materials. …...
4/5 STEM | Binary Bracelets
The Year 4/5 classes have been investigating binary numbers. We changed our initials into binary code, converted the zeroes and …...
2/3 STEM | Tunnels
The 2/3 STEM class are investigating tunnels. We looked at famous tunnels around the world then made simple tubular tunnels …...
2/3 STEM | Wire Work
Year 2/3 STEM students are learning how to cut, bend, wrap and twist wire safely. Last week we played with …...
4/5 STEM | Kites
The 4/5 classes are investigating kites in their STEM lessons. Last week we made a paper kite that used origami …...
R/1 STEM | Gingerbread Men
The R-1 students made Gingerbread Men from templates and added a movable wheel using a split pin so he could …...
3/4 STEM | Paper Chains
The 3/4 Class had just one sheet of paper, a short piece of sticky and 10 minutes to construct the …...
3 STEM | Christmas Crackers
The Year 3 students made their first snap-enabled crackers this week using card tubes, crepe paper and tinsel. Next week …...
R/1 & Point Pearce STEM | Christmas Hats
The R/1 and Point Pearce STEM class are learning about different elements of Christmas. Last week we made Christmas maps. …...
Moon Diary Awards
Our Year 2, 3/4 and 5/6 STEM Classes were encouraged to keep a Moon Diary as part of our space …...
Term 3 Student Success
Term 3 has seen students achieve academic, sporting, creative and scientific success both at school and in the wider community. …...
2W STEM | Stand up aliens
As part of their STEM investigations into space, the Year 2 class made their own ‘stand up aliens’. The students …...
R/1 STEM Cars
The R/1 class investigated wheels, axles and ways to attach the two together. We learned how to make axles revolve …...
3 STEM | Hinges and Doors
The Year 3 STEM Class are investigating how doors, hinges and locks work. They have made a building with a …...
5/6 STEM | Electric Buggies
The 5/6 STEM Class are building their own electric buggies. We constructed the chassis using timber strips, corflute strengthening and …...
2 STEM | Pop-up Book Mechanisms
The Year 2 STEM Class really enjoyed the Strega Nona pop up book so we had a go at making …...
R/1 STEM | Toast Cafe
We’ve investigated how toast is made and made our own using different toasters, including the giant toast machine in the …...
3/4 STEM – Paper Towers
The Year 3/4 STEM class has been investigating paper towers and ways in which we can make paper strong enough …...
5/6 STEM – QR Codes
The Year 5/6 Class have been investigating QR codes and the types of data they can contain. They’ve completed a …...
2 STEM – Pasta Towers
The Year 2 STEM class have begun adding towers to their pasta & straw bridges. Check out tall Annie’s tower …...
5/6 STEM – Electric Vehicles (1)
The 5/6 STEM class is investigating electric vehicle design. Today we built experimental models in Lego Mindstorms kits and tested …...
2 STEM – Pop-Up Books
The Year 2 class started their new STEM unit today examining books with pop-up pictures and moving parts. We then …...
3/4 STEM – Tunnels
Last week the 3/4 Class made cardboard tunnels. This week they tested the tunnels in the sandpit and programmed the …...
3/4 STEM – Tunnel Challenge
The Year 3/4 STEM class were challenged to build tunnels wide enough for a BeeBot to travel through, then program …...
Primary STEM round up
R/1 STEM | Animal Enclosures We watched videos of how super-zoos set up their animal enclosures. We decided animals needed …...
3/4 STEM – Building tunnels
The Year 3/4 STEM class are building tunnels. We looked at video of the Heysen Tunnel in the Adelaide Hills …...
1/2 Design & Technology
The Year 1/2 Class have been investigating rolling toys this term. We started by making simple rolling vehicles then looked …...