Students at Redeemer study Science from Foundation through to Year 6. In accordance with the Australian Curriculum, students’ Science learning is organised under three strands: Science Understanding, Science as Human Endeavour and Science Inquiry Skills.
Science Understanding incorporates Biological sciences; Physical sciences; and Earth and space sciences in all year levels. This ensures students grow in their knowledge in all areas of Science throughout their whole schooling.
Science as Human Endeavour explores the importance of science in decision-making and problem solving while acknowledging that ethical and social implications must be taken into account. This strand also recognises that science advances through the contributions of many different people from different cultures and that there are many rewarding science-based career paths.
Through students’ learning in the Science Inquiry Skills strand, they develop the tools they need to achieve a deeper understanding of scientific concepts. There are five main groups of Science Inquiry Skills students learn: Questioning and predicting; Planning and conducting; Processing and analysing data and information; Evaluating; and Communicating.
At Redeemer, Science is taught through our ‘Units of Inquiry’ as well as within one of specialist subjects called STEM.
Research shows that students learn and retain information best, when they can make connections with prior knowledge and experiences and build upon this with new learning. With this in mind, PYP Units of Inquiry as well as specialist subject units, deliberately combine learning from different ‘traditional’ subjects to reveal connections between areas and to explore conceptual ideas that promote a greater depth of thinking and analysis.
Our innovative STEM program prepares Redeemer students for the 21st Century world by giving them opportunities to engage in learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics from Foundation. In their weekly STEM lessons, your child will question, plan, design, test, refine and evaluate to create experiments, products, coding programs, digital systems and more.
In these lessons, students are involved in hands-on learning and activities, Children participate in science experiments, creativity and engineering challenges, design thinking and problem solving.
The students use recycled materials, timber, 3D printing, laser cutting materials and vaquforming with plastic. Inquiries include the opportunity to learn woodworking skills, construction and joining techniques, the design process and the scientific process. Students have built insect hotels, chocolate moulds, compost bins, tiny house floorplans, permaculture garden designs and innovative new concepts for astronauts on Mars.