depending on what best suits the subject matter.”
Some key concepts from The ABCs of STEM are:
A. Everything Is Connected Understanding that all STEM disciplines are intertwined is integral to creating spaces that promote cross-pollination and communication among different fields of study. Fluid connections between disciplines encourage students to make productive connections between subjects, increase the chance for faculty/student interactions, and encourage more productive student gatherings outside the classroom.
B. Anytime Is a Teaching Moment Learning doesn’t just happen in the
classroom. The most successful STEM facilities engage students through a variety of mediums and at all times of the school day. A building’s design can play an active role in this engagement by integrating the subjects that students are learning into their physical environments. The building itself can be a teaching tool, exposing its structure and systems to promote discussions around engineering, sustainability, and the relationship between the built and natural environments.
C. Learning Happens through Doing Successful STEM facilities encourage
Technically connected: The Innovation Centre features reliable and efficient connectivity to the outside world so that students can participate in an array of online educational events and activities.
an active, hands-on approach to learning and teaching. Rote learning is proving ineffective in efforts to engage students and convey complex concepts. This means more laboratory time and more experimentation. But it’s not just about labs. Hybrid spaces that adapt to changing needs and promote active engagement with the learning environment are key to successful and productive learning.
STEAM Infused Curriculum
While the Innovation Centre was being built, BHS was also implementing a STEAM curriculum in classrooms throughout the School. In 2016, BHS engaged the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES) to develop a comprehensive strategy and prepared the School’s teachers to utilise the Innovation Centre for STEAM pedagogy. From 2017-2019, TIES consultant, Julie Hasfjord, was on campus working directly with the staff to achieve this goal. Ms Hasfjord, who has helped institute STEAM in schools all over the world, delivered the strategy for BHS in June 2017 and spoke to Torchbearer about the some of its key features and how STEAM will impact learning across the School.
Perhaps the defining characteristic of STEAM education is that it is not a subject, or even a group of subjects, instead it is a specific approach to teaching and learning.
Practical application: Students have the opportunity to learn by doing and develop the real-world skills required to address real-world problems.
14 Torchbearer Spring 2021
“I like to tell teachers that STEAM is not one more thing on your plate, STEAM is the plate,” said Ms Hasfjord. “Its a way of teaching, an approach.” Some of the key components to that approach are developing collaboration and problem solving skills and connecting the subject areas in
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