Hi! My name is Marina,
I am an early career teacher, currently employed by the Department of Education at One Arm Point Remote Community School (OAPRCS) as a year 5/6 classroom teacher & STEM coordinator.
In order to understand my growing interest in STEM education & learning, you will need to understand the context in which I work in…
OAPRCS is a Level 4 (K-12) school catering to predominately Aboriginal students located in Ardyaloon (One Arm Point) Community, 220km north of Broome on the Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.
The beautiful clear saltwater, tropical islands & coral reefs play an integral part in local people’s daily lives here.
Since I have entered the classroom, I noticed a lot of my students (of indigenous backgrounds) did not perceive the STEM subjects as being particularly welcoming. Naturally, they were disengaged and often did not return on time (or at all) to attend class when these subject areas were timetabled to be taught.
Noticing a pattern amongst my students, my original plan was to appeal to their style of learning. I already knew this meant getting creative and providing them with a range of hands-on learning experiences. Noticing success with this approach, I began spending a lot of time researching STEM education & decided to trial some STEM-inspired project-based activities in my own classroom.
Within a few short weeks, there was a noticeable shift in my students’ attitudes towards learning challenging concepts in Maths and Science, their engagement levels had dramatically increased and my class was filled with students who couldn’t wait to come to class to continue with their projects.
Upon reviewing observational notes and collecting assessment data, I realized my students were making connections and linking information between the strands to engage with content at a much greater capacity, resulting in their increased participation and achievement!
Overall, I’m excited that I have found an approach that suited the needs of my students and a teaching style that certainly suited me!
If you have any questions or ideas you would like to share, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me via email at
marina.thomas@education.wa.edu.au