Building the Evidence Base for Improved STEM Learning
Australian Science & Mathematics School
A public senior secondary school (Years 10,
11 and 12) with a strong focus on science and
mathematics education located within the
Flinders University campus. The school was
established in 2003 to innovate science and
mathematics education in South Australia.
(Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2021, March 18).
-
TEACHING STAFF
37.0 -
SUPPORT STAFF
12.0 -
STUDENTS [in Years 10, 11 and 12]
365 (with over 30% of students having a language background other than English)
In addition to teaching school students, the Australian Science & Mathematics School (ASMS) provides STEM-focussed professional learning programs to other educators. The school has many strong local, national and international collaborative partnerships.
Students are offered places at the school on the basis of their interest in pursuing Science, Mathematics and Technologies-related career pathways, not academic success. Consideration is also given to how well applicants will engage with the unique self-directed teaching and learning environment. Some students have not had success in previous schools, but find that the empowerment of having more responsibility for their own learning works well for them.
Most teaching is conducted within a modern two-storey open-plan building. Additional teaching space in an adjacent university building is utilised. The school shares facilities, such as sports grounds and a cafeteria, with the university.
Students do not select their subjects they study until Year 12. A broad Year 10 and 11 curriculum is offered through interdisciplinary Central Studies units. In these units, subjects are integrated, rather than taught individually. For example, ‘Engineering a monster’ incorporates the novel Frankenstein (Shelley, 2017), Physics, Mathematics, Philosophy, Anatomy, Engineering, and World War Two History. Central Studies units are offered on a two-year cycle and prepare students to undertake any Year 12 course the school offers.
Students’ timetables also include Learning Studies with their ‘home room/care’ teacher and Adventure Space electives. Year 10 and 11 work together with no distinct year levels; rather, they cycle through the Central Studies units during those two years.
What is distinctive about the school in relation to pedagogy, assessment, curriculum and equity?
PEDAGOGY
Current practice and planned changes
The ASMS has a strong inquiry pedagogy focus, with teaching for effective learning (TfEL) the guiding pedagogical framework within which the school works. In addition, in 2019 the school developed and introduced its own learning design statement, which incorporates pedagogy. The key concepts of this approach are connection, coherence and agency.
How teachers teach integrated STEM within their lessons is largely predetermined by planning teams; however, teachers can adapt and deliver lesson plans according to their own pedagogies. Teachers of Central Studies teach interdisciplinary units and assess in all curriculum areas, including those outside their own specialisations. This can be initially challenging for teachers new to the school, but they are well supported during their transition, and beyond.
From a pedagogical perspective, the teaching styles and strategies used are congruent between teachers. This is consistent with the whole school approach at ASMS to STEM and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Most changes to teaching in recent times come from a school-wide approach to teaching in non-specialist areas through an interdisciplinary curriculum. This impacted many aspects of teachers’ work.
“It’s not just a cultural change, your own intellectual change or change in pedagogy. It’s a change in a whole range of things: mindset, pedagogy, timetabling, structures, physical structures” (Teacher).
Strong partnerships between teachers and students enable students to have agency in their learning. For example, rather than teaching the entire class, a teacher may invite students to opt into a ‘pop-up’ mini-teaching session. Being a learning community, students are freely able to approach other teachers for assistance and this is not seen by their class teacher as threatening. Students describe their teachers as very engaging and approachable, which motivates them to work harder and better.
ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING
Current practice and planned changes
“There’s a focus as much as possible on trying to make that assessment something which gives students an opportunity to demonstrate their learning... exploring well what can we do that stretches the edges a bit so that it isn’t just another test and so on, and it gives students a real opportunity to demonstrate that learning in a way that’s supportive to them” (Teacher).
The school has a consistent approach to assessment and reporting and is not currently experiencing any difficulties. Interdisciplinary Central Studies are assessed as individual subjects under both the Year 10 Australian Curriculum and Stage 1 South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE, n.d).frameworks. Assessment tasks are multifaceted and value the development of General Capabilities.
There are Learning Conversations with students midway through the semester and a report provided at the end of each semester. Learning Studies classes are timetabled daily to support ‘constant conversations’ about students learning, growth and goals. The online learning management system enables students and parents to view grades anytime.
The marking of Central Studies units is shared between teaching teams. Whether teachers appraise their own students, or mark across classes, is somewhat dependent on the actual task and level of competence. For example, subject specialists may lead the marking of maths or science components so that students receive effective feedback. However, over time, non-specialist teachers become more confident in assessing work outside their own subject expertise. Given the team approach to teaching, students are never at risk of not having access to a specialist subject teacher, nor having their work assessed by a non-specialist teacher.
This collaborative approach of a team of specialist teachers enables students to develop a depth of understanding in each of the disciplines. Assessment formats are quite varied and negotiable by students, and include poster presentations in a conference format. Summative assignments/folios demonstrating achievement of expected outcomes are mostly relied on to assess learning and achievement. Electronic portfolios, or ‘scrapbooks’ of formative tasks, may also be included in reporting. Teachers assess integrated STEM according to individual subject requirements. Throughout the year, individual subject assessments are planned into Central Studies units. Years 10 and 11 have similar assignment tasks with slight variations in the marking rubric to account for different year level requirements. Year 12 subjects are taught and assessed individually.
Some initial benchmarking of rubrics is done during Central Studies team meetings prior to tasks been given to students. There is further benchmarking and moderation by teams after the initial marking of assignments. The SACE Stage II is used for Year 12 assessments. Teachers of the same subject work together to benchmark and moderate Year 12 assessments.
CURRICULUM
Current practice and planned changes
“We’ve come so far that the students don’t actually know what subject they are being delivered, which is pretty cool” (Teacher).
Over time, the teaching and leadership staff at ASMS have worked collaboratively to improve the conduciveness of the curriculum to interdisciplinary STEM teaching. The curriculum is taught on a two-year cycle. Usually, Years 10 and 11 are taught together; but, on occasion, year levels are split to cover differences in year level requirements.
The ASMS does not refer to subjects as STEM; rather, it has an ‘interdisciplinary curriculum’ delivered via Central Studies units, in which science, technology, maths, English and history are embedded. At times, teachers draw upon and jointly teach with experts from the field, including university STEM experts. In part, this curriculum approach reflects problem-based learning (PBL), whereby students learn what they need to know to address important problems. In doing this, they strongly reflect the STEM inquiry model.
Curriculum planning is undertaken in teams. Central Studies units are collegially planned by an interdisciplinary team of teachers and leaders, with teachers providing input into their own specialisations and non-specialist subjects. All aspects of Central Studies units, including individual lessons and assessments, are considered. Year 12 subject planning is conducted by teachers of the same subject
Teachers have a good understanding of what they are required to teach in all disciplines, not just their specialist subjects and interdisciplinary teaching. The role of the teacher is to facilitate the students, learning, rather than being the teacher of content or a subject. This knowledge has been gained over time; for example, weekly Central Studies planning meetings, ongoing professional learning opportunities and mentoring. All teachers have access to a shared drive of resources, including lesson plans and PowerPoint slides with full instructions, so that they can be taught by anyone in the teaching team. Teachers consider themselves to be learners. Students are supported in seeking guidance from specialist teachers.
Students are provided with many opportunities to share their research findings with the extended community within Australia, and internationally. Every year representatives from the school have been invited to present at international STEM conferences, and students have won many awards. They are engaged in real problems and know they are contributing in meaningful ways.
Although the school’s focus is on STEM, some students at the school are not planning a STEM career. These could be students attending the school because of the way the school teaches or even students who have decided that STEM is no longer for them: “I do think that the school can cater for people like me who aren’t so into maths and science” (Student). Such students find success through engagement with the inquiry-based learning of a STEM methodology. All students are empowered to make choices about what they learn, how they learn, and how they provide evidence of their learning.
The strong supportive trusting relationships between teachers and students enable the school to provide a variety of strategies to holistically support underachieving students and maximise their level of success.
EQUITY
Current practice and planned changes
“Equity is an absolute cornerstone of all work for all educators” (Principal).
The authentic contexts used in the school’s learning and assessment design aims to connect with student interests, passions and experiences, enabling agency through co-design of learning and assessment. Student cohorts typically under-represented in senior secondary STEM, Science and Mathematics are supported to engage in learning that connects with their interests and provides opportunities for them to be challenged and stretched based on their background knowledge and experiences.
Students are not streamed in any of their classes; every student has a pathway to any of the year 12 Sciences and Mathematics, and they are supported to develop the knowledge, skills and understandings in preparation for their post school pathway. Teachers assist students to analyse a range of data sets related to their learning progress and achievement, identify areas for improvement and support them in setting their own learning goals. In 2019, 85% of the school’s graduate students were accepted into their first choice STEM-related university degree course.
Strategies to address equity issues are consistent with other public schools in South Australia. Information Technology is central, and accordingly, teachers have been upskilled to collect, access, and use data on students’ progress, engagement and participation. The school has a ‘wellbeing for learning’ model that guides how teachers work internally and with external organisations, when required. The school’s processes enable students to be flagged early and strategies put in place to help them succeed. Students of concern are identified weekly and followed up by a member of the wellbeing team.
There is a whole school approach to supporting students, with structures in place to prevent students ‘slipping through the cracks’. These strong supportive trusting relationships enable the school to provide a variety of strategies to holistically support underachieving students and maximise their level of success. For example, Learning Studies (home group) teachers continue with students as they progress through year levels, which builds strong relationships with students. An inclusion leader works with teachers to provide support. Students with negotiated learning plans are provided with required additional learning support and one-on-one support is available for students. The strong supportive trusting relationships between teachers and students enable the school to provide a variety of strategies to holistically support underachieving students and maximise their level of success.
Teachers are very supportive and will modify tasks and provide scaffolding to help students achieve. A variety of strategies are used to monitor learning and support underachieving students. As appropriate, teaching is differentiated. Students are given options of different assessment formats in which to deliver evidence of their learning.
During lessons, students have a lot of freedom to choose how and where they work. Teachers monitor student learning through observations and talking with them. Teachers also review students’ progress through online reports and data tracking software.
Students are explicitly taught learning strategies, attitudes and skills (such as a growth mindset, neuroscience and metacognition) in Learning Studies. An academic writing group and maths group are offered as electives in Adventure Space time. Additional tuition is freely available to students after school on Tuesday afternoons. The school strongly encourages peer support.
What role has leadership played in the school's STEM journey?
“It’s that openness, the culture of support, respect, and trust that we have in the school that we treasure.
And I’m not saying we take, we do not take this for granted. You have to work at it. So, as a school leader, constantly, that part of the job is to ensure that the culture is strong and is being looked after, being treasured” (Principal).
The school leadership is very supportive of STEM and there is a strong STEM culture across the school. Teachers are encouraged to be innovative and keep abreast of new developments, which could be incorporated into future classes. As one teacher remarked:
“I get a lot of freedoms, a lot of ownership, a lot of trust in my professionalism and my creativity in terms of doing experimental cool stuff” (Teacher).
Teachers are allocated sufficient time for weekly meetings and professional learning. Leaders have an approachable, open-door policy. STEM is fundamental to the school’s charter and vision.
Teachers concur about the effectiveness of STEM leadership at the school and the positive STEM culture where individuals’ interest in STEM is valued and respected. Teachers commented on the ‘yes, you can’ trusting attitude of leaders and encouragement to innovate and try new ideas. They are provided with sufficient funds to enable activities. Collaboration is encouraged, and both student and teacher voice is valued. The culture of the school values interdisciplinarity and learning structures support this.
Want to learn more about this school's STEM journey?
Download the complete case study report to read the full story.
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Licensed third-party content (images):
- Page banner image: Creolumen Photography © 2017 ASMS, Government of South Australia. CC BY 3.0
- Image 1. Student in the field looking through a telescope. ASMS Student © 2020 ASMS, Government of South Australia. CC BY 3.0
- Image 2. Students working collaboratively in a laboratory. Leeanne Storr © 2020 ASMS, Government of South Australia. CC BY 3.0
- Image 3. Students working collaboratively in an open-plan space. Mike Lim © 2014 ASMS, Government of South Australia. CC BY 3.0
- Image 4. Two teachers discussing a STEM activity. Mike Lim © 2014 ASMS, Government of South Australia. CC BY 3.0
References