Students of Deeragun’s Northern Beaches State High School have recently been delivered a hugely entertaining and educational STEM Day, promoting analytical thinking and processes among their student base.
Held on Thursday, the 21st of June, the STEM Day included around 60 students, working under the guidance of the RAAF’s Flight Lieutenant Brendan Wethery, and Mr Greg Leslie, franchise owner of Battery World and entrepreneur. Students were given two activities to take part in; developing parachutes which would allow eggs to be safely ejected from planes, and establishing and managing their own small businesses within the school.
Susan Stevens, Head of Department, Mathematics for Northern Beaches State High School, felt that the activities were an excellent wat of drawing links between mathematical method, collaboration and achieving real-world outcomes.
“Students now have a greater awareness of how scientists, engineers and business professionals use Maths in the real world to solve problems. Students were not allowed to use trial and error but rather mathematical modelling to calculate the forces involved and had to present their designs to an engineer before they could proceed.”
This process of work reflected the true design-construct-evaluate reality of the engineering world, rather than trial and error. This meant rigorous testing of potential materials, calculating the forces involved, and presenting their designs to Lt Wethery. Only when proposed design had been accepted were students allowed to begin construction.
Lt Brendan Wethery, who ran the parachute workshop, felt that the day was very effective introducing students to STEM topics and processes.
“I felt the day was a great success. STEM subjects support critical thinking, creativity, innovation and problem solving; important skills for a rapidly changing work force. Especially whilst in school, it is difficult to understand that the lessons learnt in a classroom can be applied practically and be so important in determining our future development and career paths. The students were all very engaged and became increasingly excited as they constructed their parachutes based on the measurements derived from the graphs they had completed beforehand. Although few eggs survived on the day, I think the day was a great success proving to be a fun and interactive way of introducing the students to the fundamental STEM skills essential for them to move forward in an ever changing world" Lt Wethery said.
Students managing their own small business were presented with a business opportunity to develop from scratch. They designed their premises, considered marketing programs, employed staff and set prices. As game time passed they inspected their accounts and corrected any poor decisions. This enforced the principles of cause and effect on which STEM subject are based, and also encouraged teamwork and collaboration.
The objectives of the STEM Day revolved around the importance and usefulness of physics and maths studies for senior secondary students, as well as showing these students what is involved in the engineering profession. Hopefully, this will encourage more potential engineering professionals to pursue a discipline as a career field.
The day was managed by The Engineering Link Group, an independent educational charity, and was set up and operated by the Northern Beaches State High School Science faculty. The Engineering Link Group has been running similar courses since 1994, originating in Townsville, and expanding across the east coast.