- Tuesday 27 February 2024
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If there’s one thing we love about the teaching resources we create here at R.I.C. Publications, it’s that they’re written by teachers (for fellow teachers) and lovingly designed by our incredibly talented in-house artists!
That’s why we were stoked when, after bribing her with a mega-large almond flat white and dragging her away from an episode of Project Runway, in-house writer (and teacher) Michele Zupanov agreed to an interview to discuss her newest release, revised STEM projects.
Michele spilled the deets on what makes revised STEM projects such an incredible product and shared some unmissable nuggets, including:
- How her interest in tinkering and engineering landed her a rewarding career in teaching;
- The push for STEM learning in today’s society and the unique way she views the connection between STEM skills and student learning; and
- A surprising way that revised STEM projects can eventually empower students to come up with their own lesson ideas!
Interview:
R.I.C.: Thanks so much for joining us today Michele! For those who don’t know you, can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into teaching?
Michele: Hey, I’m Michele. I used to work in publishing, marketing, and advertising until I retrained as a teacher. I always thought I should have been an engineer because I am a tinkerer from way back, but instead I channel my inner engineer as a teacher.
I chose to be an Early Childhood Teacher because I was drawn to play-based learning and teaching children from an early age to think creatively.
R.I.C.: That makes so much sense given your background! How did you become interested in teaching STEM specifically and writing revised STEM projects?
Michele: I remember I had a Year 2 class and I challenged them to make a chair from newspaper. They literally drew a chair on the newspaper and cut it out.
R.I.C.: Oh no, they didn’t!
Michele: I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But I had found my mission – to encourage kids to think for themselves and provide them with opportunities to think differently and creatively. There is definitely a need for kids to be taught the skills of how to think like a designer. (A resource like the STEM projects probably would have come in handy for both me and the kids).
R.I.C.: Definitely, given that the STEM projects provides the roadmap for a consistent design process that students can follow! So tell us a bit more about the product – what do you think makes it unique?
Michele: It’s a simple approach to STEM learning and doing. Students are learning more about the design process, which as you mentioned is used consistently for all projects.
The projects themselves can be easily added onto to incorporate extra curriculum outcomes or just used as is. They are based on the revised Science Curriculum, but offer a more fun way to learn.
R.I.C.: We love that it can be used in different lesson settings, and we often hear that feedback from other teachers as well. Being a teacher yourself, what do you think teachers will love most about this product?
Michele: They are a grab-and-go resource and students can use them independently.
The Educator Guide offers some more in-depth explanations of how to use the product, and more details on the design process to explicitly teach and model to the students.
Incorporating The Technologies Curriculum is a bonus time-saver and a great link to deliver the content explicitly in another lesson if you so choose.
Also, as a teacher, I really love that the STEM projects are so flexible and can cater to different learning needs of children. The handy diversity suggestions that are now included give great ideas or ‘Ponder points’, of how to easily adapt the content, process, product, or environment.
R.I.C.: We totally agree, it’s honestly such a cool feature, and it makes it so unbelievably easy to differentiate a lesson based on student needs. Was there anything you struggled with while writing the revised STEM projects?
Michele: Finding ways to add in the Mathematics Curriculum was challenging but in general, children are measuring using mathematical thinking as a natural part of making something, it isn’t always an explicit link to the Mathematics Curriculum. I remember reading an article about STEM and that it is not the best way to teach Mathematics but just a way to practise Math skills, so I tried not to get too hung up on forcing the curriculum.
In general, it was a challenge to come up with ideas for projects that covered as much of the Science, Technologies, and Mathematics curricula, while still being simple enough to follow and appealing to kids.
R.I.C.: For sure, it’s definitely a fine line to walk and you did an amazing job! Speaking of appealing to kids, what do you think students will enjoy most about revised STEM projects?
Michele: Once they understand the process and thinking that needs to happen, they will enjoy directing their own learning. They can even come up with their own project ideas once they are familiar with how they need to identify a problem and provide a design solution.
R.I.C.: Wait, coming up with their own project ideas? Now THAT would be fun! No more drawing chairs on newspapers!
Michele: [laughs] Exactly! I think they will also enjoy the added projects that focus on using digital technologies.
R.I.C.: That reminds us, can you tell us a bit about why you chose a box set format for this teaching resource, especially since it covers so many sub-strands and cross-curriculum learning areas? Was it daunting to do a project-format?
Michele: We were initially going to write a more in-depth and specialised series of STEM projects, but thought that teachers would appreciate this more simple approach first so that they could build up their confidence in delivering the STEM projects.
R.I.C.: Of course, there’s a lot packed into the STEM projects so a simple approach is smart!
Michele: As time has passed, this product still seems the most ideal way to get STEM out there in the classrooms. If you want more, just let us know!
R.I.C.: We love hiring teachers like yourself to write our resources because each individual is specifically passionate about the subject matter they write about. So we’re curious – what’s something you personally love about STEM?
Michele: STEM isn’t about teaching Science, Mathematics, and Technologies. It’s about offering the students a purpose for finding out about the Science, Mathematics, and Technologies that they need to solve the problem presented to them.
R.I.C.: That’s such an amazing perspective for children to adopt!
Michele: It’s a more creative and fun way to connect learning, and can still be used to segway into explicit learning if necessary.
I really do believe that STEM offers students the opportunity to practise and learn ‘thinking’ skills, which is inclusive of all students. The way they express their ideas and learning, or the depth of their understanding is completely flexible and allows for the 100 languages and multiple intelligences of children.
R.I.C.: Incredible! We have one last question for you Michele – but don’t worry, it’s a fun one! If you could invent anything in the world, what would you invent and why?
Michele: A classroom that has at least two teachers, no more than 20 students and unlimited STEM supplies!
R.I.C.: [laughs]
Michele: [laughs] Other than that, I always struggle to put together an outfit so I would love a Digi Tech solution that catalogues all of my clothes and then generates an outfit every day. Bonus points if it can also suggest things to purchase to suit my style and automatically know which size will fit me.
R.I.C.: Uh, we’re sold – sign us up! [laughs] Thanks so much for your time today Michele, we loved having you on the blog!
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We hope you loved this interview with Michele. If you want to see more interviews from our writers and fellow teachers, let us know!
And, if you want to learn more or shop our revised STEM projects series, all seven boxes (Foundation - Year 6) are available now on our website!