Digital Technologies

Digital Technologies Leader - Lisa Geary

At St Bernard's, our STEM program brings together two Victorian Curriculum learning areas: Science and Design Technologies. The students first develop an understanding of a scientific concept before applying their knowledge through hands-on design and engineering challenges.

This term, each year level is exploring a different type of force. The Preps- Year 2  are investigating pushes and pulls, Year 3/4  gravity, friction and magnetism while looking at Newton's Laws, while Year 5/6 students are discovering how simple machines make work easier. 

Each lesson begins with exploring the science concept. The students make predictions, carry out investigations, record their findings, and discuss what they have discovered. Once they have an understanding of the science, they apply their learning to a design challenge, where they plan, build, test and improve their own creations.

A focus of the Design Technologies curriculum is the Engineering Design Process, which is introduced across every year level. Prep to Year 2 students use simple picture-based steps to guide their thinking, while students in Years 3–6 develop more detailed plans with labelled and annotated designs before building. Throughout the process, the students are encouraged to think creatively, work collaboratively, solve problems and continually improve their ideas.

Over the past few weeks, the students have completed a range of investigations and design challenges, including exploring friction and gravity, investigating pushes and pulls through toys, and designing and building catapults and pulley systems. It has been wonderful to see  the curiosity, creativity and problem-solving skills our students are already demonstrating, and we look forward to seeing the amazing innovations throughout the rest of the term.