Science and technology

Students develop and apply skills in:

·    scientific inquiry through the process of working scientifically.

·    design product and production process is in the development of solutions.

·    design and production of digital solutions.

Students develop knowledge and understanding of:

·    the natural world including living things, materials, forces, energy, and earth and space.

·    the built environment including engineering and material technologies.

·    digital technologies including digital systems and how digital technologies represent data.

Students:

·    value the importance and contribution of science and technology in developing solutions for current and future personal, social, and global issues and in shaping A sustainable future.

·    appreciate the importance of using evidence and reason to engage with and respond to scientific and technological ideas as informed, reflective citizens.

·    value developing solutions to problems and meeting challenges through the application of working scientifically, and design and production skills.

Computational thinking is the thought process involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solutions in such a way that a computer minus human or machine minus can effectively carry out.¹

In response to the need for a higher level of literacy around computer programming (coding), the federal government initiated an increased focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and innovation in Australian schools. STEM aims to provide students with the coding and computational thinking skills that will be essential for their future careers.

The K10 curriculum documents refer to working mathematically, working scientifically, working technologically, historical inquiry, geographical inquiry skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, and design processes. These thinking processes are similar to computational thinking and develop students’ ability to think abstractly - a key aspect of computational thinking. All of the K-6 subjects have technology embedded in them.

At Nuwarra we begin coding in Kindergarten - using Bee Bots while reinforcing sequencing skills, sight words, and basic maths computation. As coding becomes increasingly more complex, we employ the company, Scope IT, to engage our Stage 2 and 3 students. STEM activities occur in classrooms, while STEM activities requiring more specialised equipment happens in the Tech Hub.

Reference

1. JM Wing, ‘Computational thinking benefits society’, Social issues in computing, blog entry,   http://socialissues.cs.toronto.edu/2014/01

/computational-thinking/,10 Januay 2014.