In line with recent trends in education, schools make great efforts in promoting STEM education. Apart from cultivating students’ interest in Science, Technology and Mathematics, and helping them build a solid knowledge base, schools aspire to strengthen students’ abilities in integrating and applying knowledge and skills from different subjects, as well as foster their creativity, collaboration and problem-solving skills.
A special committee has been formed in a number of schools to plan and promote STEM education. Its main responsibility is to set directions for development and formulate implementation strategies. In some cases, it focuses on advancing teachers’ professional development, including arranging for teachers to collaborate with colleagues from partner schools on lesson planning, encouraging teachers to attend workshops or seminars, and enlisting school-based professional support services. The rationale is to provide teachers with the opportunity to learn from fellow schools their successful experience in developing STEM education, promote professional exchange across schools, and strengthen teachers’
grasp of the concepts and beliefs underlying STEM education. Individual schools organise visits to companies specialising in technological research, engaging teachers in sharing sessions conducted by professionals. This assists teachers in understanding the latest developments in STEM-related businesses and the qualities of the most sought-after talents in the field. However, schools still need to work on the overall planning of STEM education, systematically integrating STEM elements into the curriculum, and offering students more opportunities to participate in STEM-related activities or external competitions. Also, some primary school teachers do not seem to have adequate scientific knowledge. Schools should take this matter into consideration and provide them with ample professional development and support.
Most often, schools use General Studies, Science, or school-based computer lessons as entry points for promoting STEM education. With the added inclusion of scientific investigation activities and experiments in the curriculum, students gain hands-on experience, applying relevant knowledge and skills they have learnt from different subjects.
For example, engaging students in building environmentally friendly cars and maglev trains have heightened their interest in scientific investigation. Schools are also gradually incorporating coding elements into the curriculum so as to develop students’ computational thinking and problem-solving skills.
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To encourage collaboration among KLAs, some schools design theme-based or cross-curricular learning activities to encourage students to integrate and apply knowledge from different subjects. For example, various subjects, including Mathematics, Science, Computer and Design and Technology, work together in one particular school to offer their Secondary 3 students the opportunity to learn about how “3D projectors” can be applied in real life and to participate in a “rocket car contest”. As a result, students gain a deepened understanding of knowledge such as geometry and velocity, and also enhance their skills in taking measurements accurately. On the other hand, the learning activities provided in some schools do not adequately allow students to integrate and apply relevant knowledge and skills, nor do they sufficiently promote enquiry-based learning, giving little room for students to exercise their creativity and problem-solving abilities.
Quite a number of schools host STEM Days to generate interest in these subjects. For example, they design theme-based activities during the post-examination period for students to flexibly apply what they have learnt from different subjects to resolve the problems they encounter in their daily life. Project Learning Presentation Days are held in some schools to give students the opportunity to share the results of their scientific investigation projects, and promote peer learning. Post-school interest classes or enrichment programmes also provide a platform for interested students to advance their learning and research in the field of science, which helps boost their capacity for scientific investigation. When engaging in STEM activities, most students demonstrate great attentiveness and a rich spirit of enquiry. They are often able to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills from relevant subjects, as evident in the activities they perform in designing and producing parachutes. They test different variables such as the shape and size of the parachute and examine how they affect its speed of descent, using their knowledge of Mathematics and Science. The process not only enables them to consolidate their knowledge but also enhances their interest in these subjects.
On the whole, schools have made greater progress in promoting STEM education than the year before. With the increase in the number of STEM activities, however, schools need to evaluate their effectiveness more thoroughly. By doing this, students are empowered in the learning process to master relevant knowledge and how to apply it, exercise their creativity and problem-solving skills, and nurture a spirit of scientific enquiry. In addition to monitoring the safety of STEM activities and the management of special rooms, primary schools need to provide adequate professional development and support for their teachers.
Exemplars
Flexibly utilising external resources and actively promoting STEM education
The school adopts an active stance in promoting STEM education. It sets clear goals and provides opportunities for students to integrate and apply learned knowledge and skills, demonstrate their creativity, and exercise their collaboration and problem-solving skills. A special committee for STEM education planning and implementation has been set up.
School-based professional development activities are also held regularly so that teachers can have a firm mastery of the theories and concepts.
The school also collaborates with external professional institutions, infusing scientific elements into General Studies, notably “super parachutes” in Primary 4 and “maglev
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trains” in Primary 5. Students undertake repeated tests and revisions before constructing the final product, putting the theory of the design cycle into practice. Coding elements are also incorporated into the General Studies curriculum, and upper primary students are encouraged to design smart home devices so that they can apply coding skills to address problems in everyday life.
The school greatly values cross-school collaboration. It co-organises a range of LWL activities and projects with fellow schools within the same district. For example, students take part in a study tour to Korea on agricultural technology with the aim of widening their horizons and learning about farming. Subsequently, through joint-school projects on agricultural technology, students apply the insights they have gained from the tour, workshops and seminars into different themes such as hydroponic farming, and discuss ways of improving agricultural farming. In addition, partnership is formed with a secondary school under the same school sponsoring body to organise “aerial armour”
activities. Under the guidance of teachers and students of that secondary school, students design devices for protecting drones and test their effectiveness. Such experiences allow students to apply systematically the subject knowledge and skills of Science, Technology and Mathematics, as well as raising their problem-solving capacity.
Comprehensively promoting STEM education, conducting detailed overall planning, and yielding effective results
The school plays an active role in promoting STEM education. Besides tapping into the rich community resources, it designs learning activities which link together the content of related subjects and other learning experiences, demonstrating meticulous and holistic planning. At junior secondary level, close ties are seen between the Science curriculum and the school’s major development focuses. The topic of “Sensing the Environment” is strategically combined with robot coding, so that students can perform hands-on experiments related to robot sensors, immersing themselves in a learning process that deepens their learning. The learning tasks designed by the Science subject panel are also enriched with STEM elements. For example, scientific and engineering learning elements have been folded into a range of summer assignments for students. The latter are required to conduct web research, read up on relevant materials, study the design concepts and technology of the school premises, and apply the knowledge and skills they have assimilated in order to formulate their own green building designs. Other subjects such as Chinese Language also contribute to the implementation of STEM education. Relevant library materials are recommended to students, increasing their interest in STEM-related subjects and widening their scope of reading.
The school offers a diverse range of learning experiences including competitions and exchange programmes to students, on top of thematic workshops related to Mathematics, Science and IT. Students also actively participate in the experience camps and exchange programmes organised by local and overseas universities to gain insight into the latest technological developments in different areas.
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Building on traditional strengths, and developing school-based curriculum at junior secondary level to effectively promote STEM education
To complement the development of STEM education in recent years, the school integrates the subjects of Science and school-based Technology into one single subject at junior secondary level. Robotics, a topic which in the past was meant for more able students, is now incorporated into the school-based curriculum for all students. A special committee has also been set up to promote close collaboration among related subjects, and to lead and advance the development of STEM education. In the process of making robots, students need to make use of components such as sensors, motors and gears, as well as their coding skills, to ensure the robot performs the specified action in accordance with the set instructions. During this process, students integrate and apply the knowledge of different subjects, such as Physics, Chemistry and Computer Programming, an experience which not only serves to deepen what they have learnt but also helps develop their generic skills.
The school-based Science and Technology curriculum also comprises various learning activities such as the design of remote controlled model cars and electronic clothing, which offer opportunities for students to apply relevant subject knowledge and skills, and through hands-on practices, to develop their creativity, as well as collaboration and problem-solving skills. Likewise, the school attaches great value to external competitions. Through small group contests, members engage in discussions and work closely to complete their task. Altogether this helps develop their communication, collaboration and problem-solving abilities.
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