The Australian Government regards high-quality STEM education as critically important for our current and future productivity, as well as for informed personal decision making and effective community, national and global citizenship. There can be misunderstandings around STEM education, believing it to be only about the subject areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. But STEM education is about much more than subjects. It is an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling the development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy.

While we don’t call our approach to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths “STEM” at Living Faith, our project-based learning approach to these subjects through PBL and Mindset Maths ensures that our students:

are engaged and learning about real-world, authentic problems and context
focus on preparing students for life after school by encouraging them to practice solving complex problems
can make connections across the subjects through an interdisciplinary approach, where they can see that real world challenges are rarely connected to one subject area
develop the skills to flourish in a changing world, both professionally and personally
I have recently been in Singapore, sharing Living Faith’s project-based learning approach to STEM Education at EduTECH Asia. This conference had over 5,000 attendees from around the world and has a clear focus on STEM education. Given the calibre of presenters, it was a privilege to share the work of Living Faith’s expert teachers and what they have achieved around quality, engaging and authentic learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

- Rebecca McConnell, Director of Learning & Innovation