The value of STEM education lies in its capacity to link disparate educational streams together to bring academic coherence and career relevance in support of the transition of students to the world of work.
STEM is not just more Mathematics or more Science. It is about what you do with what you know, and if you don’t know, come to that realisation quickly and find the knowledge you need from wherever it resides.
Industry is the driver for STEM-based education. Many of the activities currently masquerading as STEM are little more than games/activities designed to amuse students or branding designed to keep educational fiefdoms on-trend with the current fad status of STEM, changing the meaning and intent of STEM to match their agendas.
Students who participate in F1 in Schools, SUBS in Schools or SPACE in Schools will engage with the majority of areas of the curriculum in a way that links their subject knowledge together and helps them bring relevance to what they do at school. Along the way, building resilience as they often experience and learn from failures and miscalculations while unleashing their creativity.
The following diagram maps the educational outcomes of REA’s STEM programs against the Australian Curriculum, highlighting where our programs interface with the Curriculum and where Industry employability skills are founded.
REA Curriculum Mapping
All REA STEM Programs facilitate a truly cross-curricular learning experience.
Australian Curriculum Target Outcomes
Addressed by REA programs
At a time of rapid technological advancement, it’s crucial to provide approaches to help deliver STEM-based education and technologies in the classroom. Technologies that facilitate students’ development of the employability skills industry seek and aid their transition to the world of work.
The attached documentation highlights the linkages between the Australian Curriculum components and students’ skills in REA’s programs and highlights those areas of the Curriculum directly linked to employability skills.
The following table lists those components of the Australian Curriculum (Victorian Curriculum model) that students who participate in REA’s STEM programs achieve.
