SILO is an acronym for Scientifically Integrated Learning Outcomes. It is also a play on words because education as a sector has often been criticised for teaching in silos where subjects are taught in isolation to each other. Historically, this has largely been the result of the institutional nature of education where students physically move from one class to the next. The SILO project takes a different approach by integrating the learning outcomes within the existing Australian Curriculum and NSW Syllabus which relate to STEM. The single, overarching learning intention of The SILO Project is as follows:
As a longitudinal research project, the two aims of the SILO project are:
The two research aims are further developed in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1
Research Aims
Although the SILO project attempts to address the international focus on improving STEM education, it also seeks to address translation of research which is about bridging the gap between theory and practice. The two research questions are depicted in Figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2
Research Questions
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There is variability within people, groups, and contexts which is why many of the activities in the SILO project are open ended. For example, design activities are intrinsically open ended as students are free to work at their own level and can often exceed expectations when given challenging opportunities with appropriate support. Some other tasks use differentiation to vary the task according to individual needs and/or available resources. In such instances the following differentiation icon provides additional information for extension on a case-by-case basis. |
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Investigations are activities where students are guided into
experiencing various STEM phenomena. There is often a guiding
question informing an investigation. |
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Challenges can vary in terms of complexity but they revolve around
a problem or scenario which involves problem solving. |
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Debriefing sessions are usually held after an investigation or
challenge to gain a shared understanding of the main learning
objectives. |
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Questions are posed to the class at various times to gauge
understanding or generate discussion. |
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Discussions are usually more open ended than questions. |
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The activities and experiments in the SILO project are not considered to be high risk. Whenever there are safety considerations due to working with sharp objects, water, soil, chemicals, mains electricity, or moving objects, risk assessment documentation provides additional information linked to the following icon on a case-by-case basis. None of the risk assessment information is contrary to common sense or basic duty of care. |
The chief investigator for the SILO project is Associate Professor Brendan Jacobs, Head of Department STEM Education, University of New England. Brendan can be contacted via email at bjacobs7@une.edu.au.
The SILO project underwent significant development during a four-month collaboration between Brendan Jacobs and Solina Quinton. Some highlights from this collaboration are detailed in the following blog post written by Hannah Collett for the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education at the University of New England (https://blog.une.edu.au/hasse/2024/08/26/for-the-love-of-stem/).
The SILO project has ethics approval from the University of New England (HE22-058). Ethics approval from the NSW Department of Education had been granted but is now in the process of being extended (SERAP 2022071). Classroom visits are currently on hold pending SERAP approval.
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