Background
This month, we have a special portfolio feature on another one of our portfolio companies: eduSTEM. Why is this special? Well two reasons really. The first is that this isn’t just an investment. eduSTEM is a company that we have incubated within Elevate, as opposed to being an outside investment. Secondly, it’s special because we have a guest author! We thought there was no-one better than the GM of the business to write its review, so without further ado I will hand over to Elevate and eduSTEM’s one and only Ayrto:
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I've been involved at Elevate for a while now, starting as a presenter in the VIC team in 2011 and moving into Aus HQ in 2015. I spent a year as a BDM for the seminar business and have, for the last 3 years, been the Head of eduSTEM. It took us some time to understand the market, the needs of schools and teachers, and the pain-points and roadblocks that they ran into when trying to deliver innovative and engaging 21st Century learning to students. Having tested a few different solutions, we have found one which we believe can have a lasting impact on the future of education globally.
Problem
As you have read in previous editions of Notes from Elevate HQ, education systems around the world are going through two major challenges:
1. Student engagement is low, with 60% of students disengaged at any point in time. This translates to academic underperformance and massive losses of human potential. This low engagement is also a contributing factor in high levels of attrition in the teacher profession
2. More than ever, the education system does not prepare students for life after school. Schools are still heavily content based, whilst very little (if any) time is spent teaching students how to think critically or creatively, solve problems, or to work with others. The problem, of course, is that these skills are at a premium in today's workforce, with many jobs requiring pure information recall or application now being automated
In a previous edition, you will have seen that Elevate now part-owns the Luminaria chain of schools in Australia, who are seeking to tackle these problems through what and how the students are taught. Their focus is to build a new curriculum, drawing heavily on project-based learning, to help make curriculum content more engaging and skills-based for students.
However, whilst this works well for Luminaria, there are 2000 high schools around Australia who have operated for decades using a structure and method of teaching which is rapidly becoming outdated. Faculties often don't communicate with each other, and teachers might not have been trained in delivering content in ways which maximise engagement and hands-on learning. So, for many of these schools, trying to change the way they run and teach is a bit like trying to re-build a plane mid-flight. It would be painstakingly slow and might not happen at all.
Solution
This is where eduSTEM comes in. Across both the primary and secondary sector, eduSTEM is helping schools change how curriculum is delivered to improve student outcomes and increase teacher satisfaction. eduSTEM works with schools to re-design curriculum for core subjects (like Science, Geography, or English) into project-based units of work which are built around real-world problems. This has a few key benefits:
This increases student engagement in the curriculum content – students now understand why they are learning something and what it can be used for – and helps them increase their awareness of important global issues facing their generation.
· As every project is hands-on and requires the delivery of an end product or solution, students get to be creative in the solution they come up with and can explore how their own passions can be integrated with what they are studying.
· Perhaps most importantly, every project is student-driven and requires students to self-manage, problem-solve, and work effectively as part of team; ensuring the development of the critical skills needed to thrive when they leave school.
What does this look like practically? Imagine that, in Yr. 8 Science, you are learning about geology and the formation of different types of rocks and minerals. You read the textbook, copy some notes off PowerPoint slides, and maybe watch a video or two before the test. Does this sound gripping? You might be forgiven for not thinking so, and you wouldn't be alone. Teachers tell us that this is the topic which consistently ranks lowest for both student and teacher engagement. Most teachers try and push through the content as quickly as possible and hope the students don't check out completely.
But what if there was a better way of teaching that unit? What if the content was taught in the context of analysing a contentious mine site, which is in the news all the time, where students must make a recommendation on whether approval for mining to proceed should be given? What if, in doing so, students had to apply their understanding of curriculum content on geology but were given the chance to be creative in how they apply it? What if, across the unit, students had to look at a wide range of factors (like environmental and economic considerations) and were then taught to negotiate so that, as a team, they can try and balance all these competing interests? And what if other subjects were introduced to the project; perhaps Media, so that students could learn how to create a persuasive social media campaign to raise awareness and support for their position.
Some of the global issues that students solve in the eduSTEM curriculum
Sound a little more interesting and relevant? This is exactly what eduSTEM is doing in schools right now. Across multiple subjects and multiple year levels, eduSTEM is playing a catalytic role in shaping the future of education.
Want to design the future?
Do you love education and helping students realise their full potential? Are you finished or nearing the end of a university degree and are looking for an awesome job with great people? And do you want a job with a sense of purpose and the chance to make lasting social change? Look no further – we have the role for you.
eduSTEM is growing rapidly and over the next six months will be building a crack team, initially in Australia but (hopefully soon) all over the Elevate empire. The roles will involve working with schools, designing programs for them, and working with teachers to ensure the maximum effectiveness of those programs on student learning outcomes.
If you're interested in finding more about these roles – or if you'd love to learn more about the work eduSTEM is doing – get in touch with Ayrton at ayrton@elevateeducation.com
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