STEAM diverse learning experiences to unleash potential in practice

Po Chiu Catholic Secondary School With the school motto of "Ending with Perfection", we are committed to inspiring the potential of our students and becoming a beacon for their growth. Principal Yuen Yuk Lan has set the focus of STEAM teaching in the next three years, with the goal of "providing diverse learning experiences, enhancing students' self-confidence, and assisting students in establishing goals." Through school-based courses, activities and competitions, the school will help students master STEAM skills, allowing them to develop their potential through trial and practice, broaden their horizons, broaden their knowledge, and lay the foundation for future achievements.

Professional teachers, cultural inheritance, understanding of development and establishing direction

Successful STEAM education not only relies on rich curriculum design, but also requires a team of professional teachers to stimulate students' interest in learning and guide them to explore and practice in interdisciplinary learning. Therefore, in terms of daily activities, interest classes and competitions, the school not only arranges for on-campus teachers to teach, but also invites former teachers and relevant industry alumni to participate and help promote teaching work. These professionals have rich knowledge and practical experience and work closely with on-campus teachers to promote the inheritance of knowledge. They also help students understand the latest developments in the industry and assist them in establishing career goals and directions.

Broaden your horizons, unleash your potential and create opportunities for success

The school is committed to providing students with potential in STEAM with opportunities to achieve success and a platform for them to showcase their achievements, such as arranging for them to participate in territory-wide extra-school competitions to inspire their talents and allow them to practice what they have learned and gain experience in the competitions. The students lived up to expectations, winning awards in multiple competitions and benefiting a lot. For example, in the "Love to Create Fun for the Elderly" challenge, some students won the third place in the Micro:bit secondary school category. Through the competition, they learned knowledge beyond the textbooks, and at the same time understood the importance of respect, communication and team spirit. They also demonstrated the spirit of never giving up through personal experience. In addition, in the Hong Kong Secondary School STEAM x BIM Construction Model Creative Design Competition 2024, some students won the championship in the junior high school category. The two award-winning students said that with the help of their teachers and seniors, they learned how to use different software, exercised their critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills, and got opportunities for public speaking, which improved their personal abilities. The school hopes to enhance students’ interest in STEAM through various types of competitions, unleash their potential and broaden their horizons.

Fun and diverse learning experiences to develop interests and unleash potential

Diverse learning experiences can help enrich students' learning horizons. Therefore, schools actively provide a variety of STEAM activities to provide students with opportunities to experience and practice, and to continue to develop their interests and potential. For example, the 3D printing model class is based on topic-based learning, allowing students to make their own works. Principal Yuen Yuk Lan said: "Extracurricular activities provide students with the freedom to present their works; alumni will also participate in teaching, passing on skills to juniors and sisters, embodying the spirit of inheritance and giving students more room to express their creativity." In addition, the school also holds regular events School-wide or class-wide STEAM activities, such as inviting science and technology companies to carry out workshops on campus, going out to visit science and technology companies, and cooperating with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to launch STEAM assistance programs, can open students' eyes, inspire their yearning for university, and promote their pursuit of progress.

Meet social needs and focus on information literacy

In the past few years, the school has increased the number of programming teaching hours and arranged on-campus services through QEF to teach students programming, allowing students more time to master programming skills in depth. This year, the school has added elements of artificial intelligence (AI) into the curriculum to meet the needs of social development and teach students to control technology. Teacher Zheng Zewei, Coordinating Director of STEAM, pointed out: "We hope that students can use technology ethically, so in addition to cultivating their technology usage skills, we also emphasize information literacy. For example, we cooperate with the Youth Association to organize lectures to teach students to identify AI forged images or information to avoid being deceived."

Infiltrate interdisciplinary elements to enrich STEAM learning

When schools implement STEAM education, they incorporate elements from other subjects through an interdisciplinary collaboration model to benefit students more. Taking the "Love and Creation" competition as an example, the school arranged for Mr. Russell, a foreign teacher who is good at STEAM, to join the competition team to discuss tactics with students so that students can communicate effectively in English during the competition. Mr. Russell said: "This competition stimulated students' English learning motivation. During the process, Teacher Zheng also assisted in translating special vocabulary. The overall communication was very smooth and the students had a great time learning."

In addition, academic societies will also cooperate with STEAM extracurricular activities. Recently, the 3D printing model class cooperated with the Chemical Society to hold a chemical plating workshop. Two alumni helped teach the principles of chemical plating and anti-rust, and guided students to design their own electroplated rings. This not only enriched STEAM learning, but also gave them a sense of success through continuous attempts and breakthroughs.