Primary Innovation
Carrie-Anne Thomas
Moving into the role of Innovation Leader (K-6) has been a wonderful opportunity to increase my involvement and fully appreciate all the integrated STEM opportunities that we offer here in the Primary School. The level of engagement from staff and students is incredible and I am thrilled to be building on such a strong foundation as we develop our focus on innovation at Emanuel School. In the coming terms, I will be further collaborating with class teachers to develop our transdisciplinary programs and providing greater opportunities for students to develop their knowledge and skills in innovation.
Below is a short summary of just some of the exciting units of work that students have been busy completing this term.
In the Year 6 ‘Beyond Earth’ unit, students investigated the Solar System with a focus on scientific technologies and discoveries. Using critical and creative thinking skills, students followed the engineering design process to develop a solution to address an identified need to sustain life in space. Working in teams, students designed and tested a hypothetical community based on Mars, following a clear set of expectations and budgetary requirements. This unit concluded with students collaboratively creating a 3D digital design using Minecraft. The finished products were quite remarkable, with students enthusiastic to share their reasoning for design specifics and finished designs.
“The Year 6 students demonstrated true collaboration during the mission to Mars Minecraft challenge. Their ability to communicate effectively when working with others has shown significant growth and it was so fantastic to see the mentoring between groups.” Ms Kepitis Year 6 Teacher
In Year 5, students used the GROK coding website, to develop and build on their previous programming knowledge, designing and coding simple programs that included branching, iteration and user input. As students gained confidence in using
blocks to code, they were introduced to a general-purpose coding language, to assist their transition from visual drag-and-drop to more advanced coding.
The Good Design project was a great success again this year! Students from Year 4 applied the design thinking process to identify a need or problem, ideate and create prototypes of their proposed solutions. Well done to all students, your prototypes and pitches blew the judges away!
Students from Year 3 used the Dash Bots to code the routes taken by explorers and adventurers alike. Students enjoyed the opportunity to take their learning outdoors and utilise the world map located in the Triguboff play area.
In Kindergarten, students were introduced to the foundational skills of using an iPad in an educational setting and the importance of following the Emanuel ‘Golden Rules’ for safe use of technology. They explored the skills required to take a photograph for use on Seesaw, our online learning platform. Students also began to experiment with annotation and voice over tools, including additional information to their work samples.
Lunchtimes are a busy time at the Imaginarium! I have been so impressed with the level of engagement and support that the Year 6 ICT and Innovation Leaders have offered their peers. They have successfully facilitated Coding and Maker Space clubs for students in Years K-6 and have shone as leaders, sharing their knowledge and encouraging others to follow in their area of passion. They often have upwards of 25 students turning up to join in with their sessions, which they lead with confidence and enthusiasm.
Our new ‘Think Outside the Box’ lunchtime activity has been a huge hit with students! Each week we come together to take the opportunity to look differently at objects and products, developing our creative and critical thinking skills.
Next semester promises to offer more projects from all year groups, with many units of work planned that provide meaningful ways for students to identify problems and generate solutions. There will also be new clubs and activities for students to come to during lunchtimes. Another exciting term of innovation to look forward to!
