Engineering Habits of Mind (EHoMs) were first introduced to a target group of Year 9 (age 14) students who the authors felt were disengaged with science, technology, and computing. These students were invited to take part in an engineering challenge with a school in Qatar. This involved making a bridge and rolling a marble over the bridge. The…

Not only is there a shortage of people pursuing STEM-related careers today, but few people are looking to acquire STEM jobs in the future. This places a huge responsibility on primary educators, not simply to foster a love of science from an early age, but also to encourage longer-term aspirations among children. Researchers have discovered that a…

Family learning means any learning that includes children and adult members of their family, and where there are outcomes for both child and adult. Learning activities may be formal or informal, and can take place in a range of contexts and venues. Good family learning experiences are characterised by well-planned programmes, with good or…

When the author took on the role of primary science advisory teacher at Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) she thought it would be a really interesting role that would give her room to develop her skills as a teacher, but she had not appreciated just how powerful the links to industry can be for children. One example of how such an…

The Beat the Flood challenge involves designing and building a model flood-proof home, which is then tested in "flood" conditions. It is set on the fictitious Watu Island. The children form teams, with each team member being assigned a responsibility for the duration of the task--team leader, chief recorder, and resource manager. This…

This article describes how a third grade class (ages 8-9) conducted a temperature-related science experiment. The goal of the experiment was to build on the following question: What would happen if you took three different thermometers, all reading the same temperature, wrapped them in three different socks, one woollen, one silk, and one cotton,…