Science & STEM
STEM teaching at the Academy aims to provide a solid scientific education in a way that is practical, enjoyable, interesting and challenging. We are keen to promote a passion for science and enquiry by developing good learning habits that will equip students with the confidence to adapt to future challenges.
Our learning journey in science involves developing
- The acquisition of scientific knowledge and core concepts.
- Describing wider experiences accurately and then explaining them using scientific knowledge.
- Learning to take accurate measurements and identify errors
- Applying scientific methods to various aspects.
- Identifying scientific variables and using formula.
- To recall memorable scientific experiences and experiments
- To be able to present information in different formats (diagrams, tables, graphs)
- To be able to write instructions, explanations and experimental write ups
As students become more competent, we see students’ progress by …
- The use of ever more abstract ideas and the application of these to new settings
- Having a large scientific knowledge to explain the world around them.
- Moving from describing to explaining
- Calculating using formulae
- Devising experiments that test a hypothesis.
Exciting STEM projects have included Astronomy, where a former NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox visited the Academy; building a Greenpower race car; working in partnership with Groundwork South to develop an outdoor Shakespeare Garden and amphitheatre; and working with Ardingly College on their solar powered car project that was raced across Australia. By working in partnership with other institutions the PACA students get a much richer school experience as far more opportunities open up to them. Please see the Year 7 STEM curriculum map here.
You can view more details of our science curriculum here and see an overview of the topics covered in chemistry, biology and physics in Years 7 and 8 group here and Year 9 here.
You can also see our teachers' open evening presentations below:
