“De La Salle students graduate with wide-ranging STEM skills, enabling them to contribute to Australia’s future economic development,” says principal, Peter Houlihan. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills will drive the potential of our future economies. De La Salle College is developing tomorrow’s STEM leaders by offering a range of opportunities to promote learning, engagement and innovation in this field.
STEM is deeply embedded in all levels of the curriculum, from junior Science and Mathematics studies to senior Systems Engineering courses. The philosophy at the foundation of teachings in this field is to enable students to recognise the relevance of this learning in their lives. This encourages students to think critically, reason, generalise, make connections and learn from their mistakes. Students develop competencies such as persistence, self-regulation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills; skills which will prepare them for the 21st century workforce.
The STEM approach provides a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration across subjects in response to issues such as climate change, population growth and increased reliance on technology and robotics.
Facilities include industry-standard machines and processes, such as laser cutting, 3D printing, 2D and 3D Computer-Aided Design, micro-controller coding, mechatronics and introductory Artificial Intelligence. The college is also moving to further expand its STEM facilities with the purchase of a 3D CNC (Computer Numerical Control) routing machine.
Putting these facilities to use, Year 10 Systems Technology students recently built Infrared Remote-Controlled vehicles. Students then tested their vehicles in a race, controlling them from the sidelines using controls they had borrowed from home. The vehicles use an Arduino microcontroller which is programmed by the students to follow commands sent using the remotes. The infrared sensor on the vehicles provide a way for the cars to receive signals from the remote control.
The project combines a number of real-world devices to demonstrate how various components can be used in an integrated electro-mechanical system. Students develop new skills when designing and making the vehicle such as learning how to code the microcontroller, 2D and 3D design, acrylic cutting using the Epilog Zing Laser and 3D printing using the CreatBot 3D printer.
A video of the vehicles in action is available here.
De La Salle College educates over 1,000 students across three campuses – Tiverton, Holy Eucharist and Kinnoull. Each campus is aligned for […]