Welcome to our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) Projects at St Paul the Apostle School.
St Paul the Apostle School is a new school in the growing suburb of Doreen. Our school has worked to establish a culture of thinking that is present in all aspects of our learning and teaching. Our association with Project Zero based at Harvard University allows us to have close links with Dr Ron Ritchhart who visits the school on a regular basis to guide us in establishing an environment conducive to our thinking culture, ongoing thinking routines and the 8 cultural forces that we as teachers need to be aware of. With the research around Cultures of Thinking informing our pedagogy, we are in a prime position to include STEAM in our teaching and learning program. Both encouraging an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving, creativity and thinking . As thinkers we are challenged by the provocations that are presented in real world problems. We draw upon the skills and understanding from all the domains to observe, question, experiment, create, demonstrate and solve; considering multiple perspectives and multiple resolutions.
At St Paul the Apostle School we are fortunate enough to have many opportunities for our students to learn in different ways. Our association with Catholic Education Melbourne has allowed us to be involved in the STEM MAD (Making a Difference) Showcase where schools present their STEM projects to other schools. Please click on this link for more information about our STEAM Projects.
Why STEAM?
Our STEM challenge also provides the opportunity to extend thinking in a way that has a mission and purpose. We have opted to include the Arts to STEM to provide another avenue for this thinking to present itself. In linking to our school’s core values, ‘Making a Difference’ and ‘STEM for Humanity’ provides the perfect scenario for our students to work in a way that not only integrates Science Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics but allow us to have ‘real life purpose’ attached to our learning.
Our ‘real life purpose’ presents many relevant links in Religious Education, where our core values are applied in the application of STEAM based projects. In particular, the impact of our lifestyles on our environment, respect for all life, creating solutions to problems where others are disadvantaged, being a Steward of Creation and treating others equally and with equity.