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The paper by Liston explains that STEM education is not simply teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics alongside one another. Interestingly it emphasises that engineering serves as the integrating element, enabling students to apply science, mathematics, and technology to solve meaningful real-world problems. I think this is very relevant to us as teachers.
The engineering element of STEM in the primary school day often requires more time and planning and therefore can be very challenging for STEM planning and roll out in the busy primary classroom.
In my classroom I have tried to integrate many engineering experiences into play activities. We do lots of Lego and block building, ramps, junk constructions and in art experiences of working with a wide variety of fabrics, materials, clay, negative space are all used as opportunities to brainstorm and problem solve. Discussion and ‘brainstorming’ during this work is mostly informal but never haphazard. It’s almost always guided with EDP in mind. Ready to go, age and classroom appropriate Resources such as the climate and weather ones in the module are always welcome. Teachers have such a busy schedule and have so many demands in every area of the curriculum that ‘ready to go , well researched resources are vital to make STEM teaching enjoyable an enriching for all..Hi Irene
I love your idea of describing trees as “hotels” or roots as “big straws,” . we have a huge sycamore in our school grounds and have built bug hotels with logs and twigs under it but I’m thinking now that the children may not infact realise that the tree itself is a huge animal hotel in itself. Thank you! My class love to do bark rubbings on the tree and also to collect fallen leaves for leaf prints in clay. This makes the learning multisensory and helps them connect tangibly with their living environment.My 2 research questions would be:
How much rain falls at our school over one month?
Does it rain the same amount every week?My class are only 9 years old so to hook the children and to build understanding I would begin with a presentation on the water cycle and follow it up with a fun art activity to create a water cycle diorama using egg cartons.
I would follow this learning with a talk and discussion session on the importance of water in our daily lives. The children would be encouraged to explore ‘What if scenarios..’ where the children compose questions for the group (or use cue cards)- what if there was no water in the local reservoir, what if there was too much water in the local river..
We would look at just one section of the local council’s climate action plan (dunlaoghaire ) and discuss the graphs comparing average rainfall for Dublin 1960 vs 2010. What do these graphs tell us? Why is it important to collect and keep records?
Next the class would conduct their own rain tracking in the school grounds
Make a rain gauge and take daily recordings over a month
They could present their findings in graphs.
The findings would be kept and recordings made during the same dates the following year(s). These could form a school data base and be used for comparison each year.Finally, The children would be asked to find ways in which the school and their families could save water and present their ideas as posters for an awareness campaign around the school.
Hi Elaine
Like you I was amazed at how many satellites are passing over us all day long. I think the children would be fascinated by this resource too. You mentioned the Starlink satellites of which there are so many. The class would be particularly interested in these, I think, when they see how they are key to high-speed internet and connectivity in remote areas and for ships and aircraft. The role of satellite information in search and rescue and managing natural disasters would also be a good topic for discussion and research in class.I visited the website satfleetlive.com. It’s an excellent resource for the classroom and very easy to use. The visuals are very clear. They use a 3d image of the world and every dot representing a satellite is colour coded.
These are the satellites I recorded passing Ireland yesterday morning between 7.30 and 8 am.IRIDIUM 136
This satellite provides global satellite communications for voice, text, and data.
It enables satellite phones to work almost anywhere on Earth, including oceans, deserts, and polar regions where cellular coverage doesn’t exist.
It Supports devices, allowing remote sensors, trackers, and industrial equipment to send data.
It Is used by:
Ships and aircraft
Emergency responders
Military organizations
Scientific expeditions
Remote workers (mining, oil & gas, etc.)COSMOS 2531 (RODNIK-S 17)
This is a Russian military communications satellite.
Its primary role is:
– Secure military communications for the Russian Armed Forces.
– Providing communications in remote areas where there are no terrestrial radio or cellular networks.
-Acting as a store-and-forward communications satellite: it receives digital messages, stores them while out of range of a ground station, and forwards them when it passes over the intended recipient.BEIDOU-3 M22
This is a satellite in China’s global navigation satellite system. It is China’s equivalent of the U.S. GPS, Europe’s Galileo, and Russia’s GLONASS.Its job is to provide:
Positioning (determining your location)
Navigation (guiding vehicles, ships, aircraft, smartphones, etc.)
Precise timing for telecommunications, power grids, banking, and scientific systems
Support for search-and-rescue servicesCOSMOS 2504
This is one of Russia’s more secretive military satellites. Its exact mission has never been officially disclosed.Its likely capabilities include:
Inspecting other satellites at close range.
Testing technologies for satellite servicing or rendezvous.
Conducting military space technology experiments.
Performing orbital maneuvers that are unusual for ordinary communications or navigation satellitesCHUANGXIN-3 (CX-3)
This is a Chinese experimental satellite. Officially, it was described as being used for scientific experiments and space maintenance technologies.Its mission includes
-Testing satellite servicing technologies,
-Demonstrating technologies that could one day be used for:
repairing satellites, refuelling them,removing space debris,
or assembling spacecraft in orbit.
– Some sources also describe it as carrying store-and-forward communications equipment, allowing it to receive and later relay digital messageHi Katie
I agree with using the film Home in bite size pieces. I also think the video Ireland’s Climate Action Plan would be a useful resource for this. I would encourage the children to work collaboratively to create a large wall collage summarising the main actions outlined in the plan, which could be displayed for the whole school. They could also work in pairs to create and present simple graphs to partner classes comparing climate action measures “now” with the targets for 2050.
The film Home conveys a powerful and thought-provoking message about the state of our planet. It highlights a range of environmental challenges, including poverty and rapid population growth, the devastating effects of pollution and land exploitation in the barren landscapes of Haiti and the Canadian tar sands, and the cautionary story of Easter Island. Through its stunning visuals and clear, narration, the film brings these global issues to life in a way that is both accessible and emotionally impactful for teachers and students alike.
In my view, Home is a far more compelling educational resource than graphs, charts, or textbooks , as it enables children to see and connect with the real-life consequences of environmental change. Rather than showing the entire film, I would use carefully selected sections that are appropriate for the age and understanding of my class. Focusing on individual themes or case studies would encourage meaningful discussion without overwhelming the children, while helping them develop a deeper appreciation of the importance of caring for our environment.
Hi Rachel I agree that the PAXI video would be very useful and relevant to the green school work in the school. We have a new garden and the children love propagating plants in the seed propagator. This video explains the process very visually and helps them recognise the various gasses that are in the balance. The failures also help them appreciate how keeping the balance right is crucial. This video could also be used to inspire an awareness poster campagain for the Green School Committee!
The PAX video is very clear and accessible for primary pupils and would appeal to my class of 9 year olds with dyslexia. It provides a very good introduction to the greenhouse effect and would help build the background knowledge needed before beginning this activity. For my class, I would use the video as a stimulus for discussion and brainstorming, encouraging pupils to come up with practical ideas about how they can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their everyday lives and around the school.Ot could equally be used to inform the Green School Committee. We could follow up with a poster campaign or even stories or audio posters on Book Creator. We have a newly developed school garden and this would link well with our seedling growing in the propagator and understanding the importance of getting the balance right. In the coming term the teachers could use the Paxi video along with the curiousminds ESERO framework to plan some simple engaging lessons around greenhouse gases.
The TEAL resource, while an excellent tool, would be too challenging for my class of nine-year-olds, particularly for pupils with dyslexia. To make the activity accessible, I would use it to provide an opportunity for collaborative learning with the senior classes. Older pupils could support younger learners in interpreting the TEAL data and discussing future climate scenarios. This cross-age learning would benefit both groups by promoting teamwork, communication and peer mentoring.
Dolores
I completely agree with your post and Liston’s paper putting the emphasis on STEM being much more than simply teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics alongside one another.
In my classroom of nine-year-olds, the children love building with Lego, wooden blocks and junk materials. I regularly provide opportunities for free exploration, construction and design challenges, and these activities encourage creativity, collaboration and problem-solving. However, after completing this module, I realise that while these experiences develop valuable skills, they are not always authentic STEM learning. I need to plan more structured activities that begin with a meaningful problem, encourage children to design, test and improve their ideas, and explicitly integrate science, mathematics and technology. This approach will make our construction activities more purposeful and better reflect the characteristics of authentic STEM education described by Liston.
