In a time where ChatGPT enables students of secondary and tertiary levels to create assignments with just a single click, a pertinent question arises: how do we cultivate critical skills and authenticate their work? Design Thinking offers solutions to these challenges. This article explores the impact of Design Thinking in addressing the issues…

Teaching and learning of integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is a rapidly growing field of research with implications for both teachers and students. This qualitative research paper explores the lived experiences of STEM teachers in order to generate a model of engaging STEM tasks. Surveys and interviews with primary…

When most people think "King Island," they think of a place synonymous with premium Australian dairy products. But hidden away from the lush, green pastures of grazing cows is an island teeming with invertebrate and plant species. You could probably eat some of those too, but that wasn't the intent of the Bush Blitzers who set off to…

Integration of content areas allows students to deepen and transfer knowledge. An area that allows for an organic integration of STEM content is through combining mathematics with science instruction. This paper describes how we integrated a lesson coupling flower structure with data representation in a Year 3 classroom. The lesson occurred over…

Coping with a virtual and abstract reality has become part of everyday life. Therefore, perceptions of what will constitute everyday life experiences for future generations are next to impossible to predict. One way of preparing young children for such a future is the implementation of teaching towards digital competence in curricula around the…

Limited empirical research has investigated the impact of interdisciplinary STEM approaches on students' learning with a particular dearth in the area of assessment. A lack of alignment between interdisciplinary approaches in STEM teaching and its assessment strategies is notable. In this study, we adopt an inquiry approach to the ways in which…

Life would not be possible without plants. Plants supply food to many organisms (including people), produce oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide from the air, provide products for human use, and homes for many other living things. It is not surprising, therefore, that plant growth is a familiar topic in the primary school science curriculum. This paper…

At the end of the 1915 Gallipoli campaign during World War 1, Lance Corporal William Scurry saved thousands of lives with his one simple invention. As the ANZAC soldiers prepared to withdraw from the disastrous 9-monthlong Gallipoli campaign, Scurry came up with the idea of setting up a large battery of rifles that would discharge automatically…

This article provides insights into the experiences of two teachers who were part of a project centred on inquiry approaches to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. The project required teachers (from a range of different schools) to develop integrated STEM inquiry projects for their students. It brought together…

The implementation of student-centred learning programs can improve student outcomes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) domains. The required approaches to teaching and learning in such programs, however, are only slowly being adopted in the Asia-Pacific region. This article focuses on a STEM module, 'Water in the 21st…

In this paper, the authors introduce a research instrument (Draw a STEM Learning Environment: D-STEM) and its accompanying rubric (the D-STEM Rubric), both of which were developed based upon relevant research studies. The authors describe their usefulness to school principals in commencing conversations with their school's STEM [Science,…

Contemporary curricula are increasingly focused on broader framings of student outcomes such as 'competencies', 'capabilities' and '21st century skills', as we realise that declarative disciplinary knowledge no longer, on its own, confers the capacity to deal with the complex and fast-changing world that students are now entering. In mathematics,…

At Lockyer District High School, the inquiry-based learning undertaken by the STEM Signature Program is complementary to the general capabilities, particularly: critical and creative thinking; information and communication technology; and personal and social capability. In this STEM program, numerous different digital technologies were used to…

As the number of jobs in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) workforce grows exponentially, there has never been a more important time to provide students with real-world learning opportunities that have 21st century implications. Measuring things that matter is a fundamental skill that formulates the backbone of many concepts…

Papua New Guinea is a developing country in the Southwestern Pacific. The nation comprises the eastern half of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Bougainville, Buka, and some six hundred smaller islands and atolls. It has a population of nearly nine million, and the citizens speak more than 715 different languages (Rena, 2011). The country's…