The great impact of the MIT STEAM Curriculum on BVIS students

As part of our collaboration with MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), the staff at BVIS have designed an engaging and stimulating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths) curriculum for BVIS students. The curriculum is designed to give students the opportunities to use their subject knowledge to create new inventions and solve real world problems through a hands-on and project-based approach. By taking part in this student-driven curriculum, the students are better equipped with the skills needed to become independent and creative thinkers.

In September, the school opened its very own STEAM room. This is a collaborative workspace set up for learning, creating and sharing. It is used to set challenges for children both during lesson times and after school. While during lessons the children are given challenges to complete, after school clubs provide children with the opportunities to carry out their own projects and ideas.

‘Super Natural’ was the name of one of the challenges that our Year 4 students have completed. The students had to design a superhero costume based on an animal adaption. The students used their knowledge of animal adaptations, which they had been learning about in Science, to create their ideas and then presented their creations through a catwalk.

In Year 2, the children were faced with a challenge named ‘Sustainable Cities’. The students had to collaborate with their peers and use their knowledge of buildings, transport and the environment to develop their city. They worked as a team to innovate ideas including garden rooftops, recycling facilities and public transport. It nurtured their ability to think creatively and draw on their prior knowledge to complete the project.

As part of Nord Anglia’s partnership with MIT, four students from BVIS travelled to MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, to participate in an annual STEAM week. The students had the opportunity to collaborate with their peers from all over the world and participated in exciting workshops and activities delivered by leading academics, as well as touring the campuses of two of the best universities in the world (MIT and Harvard University). The activities were co-created by Nord Anglia Education and MIT to increase students’ understanding of STEAM, while developing their interdisciplinary learning and practical problem-solving skills.

In addition to this, in October, some Secondary students went to Northbridge International School in Cambodia to join with eight other Nord Anglia schools from the region. Once there, they participated in the first STEAMfest of the region where they explored one of the MIT-NAE themes, ‘Super Natural’. The students used the idea of animal adaptations to create a superhero, collaborating with students from other schools for this project-based learning.

By providing our students with opportunities to carry out STEAM projects, they develop not only their subject knowledge but the confidence to bring together knowledge from all subject areas in an innovative, explorative way in order to solve real life problems.

Ms. Joana Mearing

Primary Teacher