What our clients say about OpenSTEM Pty Ltd and the OpenSTEM® resources and workshops
Principal Cheryl Rowe of Seville Road State School writes:
We have been working with OpenSTEM this year because we were searching for a program that was relevant, engaging, allowed for higher order thinking and age appropriate pedagogies and provided greater opportunities for inquiry than the C2C units. It certainly provides opportunities for this.
As with anything, it depends on the teacher, but we are very happy with this program – vertical and horizontal alignment, support from OpenSTEM, the curiosity it develops and the sense of community and humanity that is embedded in the units. There are opportunities for “add ons” – an example is the “archaeological dig” our classes participated in. This was a wonderful learning experience that invoked excitement, questioning skills and problem solving.
The more I see our teachers and students work with the program, the more convinced I am that we have a great partnership and are doing the right thing by the kids.
— Cheryl Rowe, Primary School Principal
The material is much more interesting. When I discussed a topic later in the term, I found that the students were remembering more.
History and Geography are no longer boring and dry, and the material provides a wide variety of topics.
— Laura Davidson, Year 2-3 Teacher
The program has been very well received and I believe that we have begun a really innovative and progressive educational program which will open up many future opportunities for our students.
— K.M., Teacher
The units have allowed students to engage in exciting content and learn new information and utilise thinking skills for various learning areas.
The activities embedded in the programs make the subjects more engaging for the students as well as the teacher.
The program reduces my planning time as I only have to plan and research for one integrated unit.
Since implementing this program I’ve really noticed how the students are improving.
— Trent Perry, Year 5-6 Teacher
Aunt Madge’s Suitcase was a really fun activity! The children were really interested in all the places she travelled to, and some even asked to use their spare time to do some extra research on various parts of the world included in the activity.
It was a great way to begin the day and fostered some very interesting discussions in class.
I’d definitely recommend it and will be using it again this year at my new school!
— Indi Alford, Year 4-6 Teacher
Thank you for bringing the robotics program into Grovely. We have all LOVED the program.
!Thank-You!
— Caitlin (yr6)
Our class created ginger beer with the help of the ginger beer kit. The children were really engaged with the content, and the project was very authentic. It was great to see how much they remembered about the life cycle of yeast, and the process behind the fermentation of the ginger. We sold our finished product to help raise money to buy another kit, and the children were so pleased to have ownership of such an interesting project with real-life applications!
The science, English and maths built in to the project also helped save time with our multi-age class.
Thanks a million! Great resource ?
— Indi Alford, Year 4-6 Teacher
[OpenSTEM] has developed a very well structured robotic program. They supplied all of the necessary equipment: soldering irons, safety stands, safety goggles, instruction booklets for both the soldering procedure and the assembly of the robot; and a work booklet for each of the five groups.
— K.M., Teacher
My 9 year old son fell in love with all the aspects of this program – the simple but still challenging method to construct the robot, the opportunity to solder, the electronic aspects, the ability to easily programme and then see it all work! OpenSTEM provided this kit at our school, where a range of ages (8 to 12) had the opportunity to work hands on with all the elements of putting this Mirobot together. Even soldering – which was a big hit. Highly recommend the product and the program but also the support that is required if you run into any difficulties. Thank you!
— Cara, Parent
The [Mirobot robotics] kit was easy while still fun to build (except maybe for fitting the wires in). This was a fun way to start learning about programming. We are starting to think about new ways to use it! Thank you!
— Florence (15) and Keito (14), students at Hakusan International School
Since implementing this program I've really noticed how the students are improving.
Trent Perry, Teacher