At Taylors Lakes Primary School students from grades 2 to 6 participate in a one hour per week STEM lesson with a specialist STEM teacher. This program focuses on the Victorian Curriculum areas of Design and Technology and Science.
STEM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics as access points for guiding collaborative learning, problem solving and critical thinking. The end results are students who take thoughtful risks, engage in experimental learning, build resilience, embrace challenges, and work through the creative process.
At Taylors Lakes Primary School students employ problem solving skills to create, design and make end products in the form of mini projects that pose questions and problems. We use a hands on approach to the teaching and learning which provides our students with real-world skills and experiences.
The program aims to provide our students with the skills necessary for the 21st century and beyond. The STEM program consists of two core curriculum focuses, Science and Technology. In Science, we focus on scientific thinking and the processes associated with conducting experiments, collecting data and evaluating our results. Whilst in Technology, we have a strong focus on coding and robotics. We teach coding through a variety of programs and these skills are utilised in our robotics. Our students are proficient in the use of: Scratch, Microbit, Lego Robotics, Sphero, Dash and Minecraft Education.
The Key Learning Areas in the STEM program are:
