STEM Education in the Primary School A Teacher's Toolkit

Should cars be fuelled by petrol or electricity? Should houses use electricity sourced from a renewable resource such as solar panels, or from a coal-fired power station? Energy is a significant topic from both a global and local perspective, with topical election issues such as these polarising the community. Energy cannot be seen directly – we can only experience its effects as it interacts with living things and materials, In the F–6 energy learnng progression in the Australian Curriculum, there is a focus on sound energy in Years F–2, on heat energy in Years 3–4 and on electrical energy in Years 5–6. Investigating the properties of a range of energy forms such as light, sound, heat, movement and electrical energy, and how they interact with materials, provides students with entry points to identify solutions to real-life issues. This chapter presents some common alternative conceptions associated withenergy, then describes three integrated STEM projects for primary school children.