• STEM Professional Learning Plan for Secondary Teachers

    ​​Enhance your practice with Cool.org's STEM Professional Learning Pathway. This year-long plan is designed to build your skills and capabilities in Teaching STEM, ultimately transforming you into a STEM Innovator.

We’ve mapped out a staged pathway that will prepare you to integrate STEM education effectively, adapt to technological advancements and inspire students to succeed in a rapidly evolving world.

Stage 1: The Foundation Zone

The Foundation Zone is where you establish your basic understanding and knowledge of STEM principles. The courses in this zone focus on building a solid groundwork in essential STEM concepts and practices. It reflects a base level of knowledge, forming a strong foundation for further learning.

Stage 2: The Proficiency Zone

The Proficiency Zone is where you apply your foundational knowledge of STEM to the real-world. The courses in this zone highlight developing the practical skills in STEM and the ability to break down information and apply it effectively. This zone emphasises the practical application and analysis of skills.

Stage 3: The Mastery Zone

The Mastery Zone signifies advanced competence in STEM, where you deepen your expertise and critically evaluate processes and outcomes. The courses in this zone focus on advanced understanding, the ability to make informed judgments, and the refinement of practices and methodologies.

Stage 4: The Innovation Zone

The Innovation Zone signifies top proficiency in STEM, where new and original work showcases expert understanding. These courses help you leverage your knowledge and skills to foster creativity and innovation in STEM teaching and learning, creating new ideas or solutions.

How it works

The professional learning plan is designed to scaffold your learning through the four stages above to the level of STEM Innovator by completing at least 8 STEM Professional Learning courses over a year (or longer if you need to - you make your own rules!).

Level Category Course
1 Foundation Introduction to Secondary STEM
Practical Steps for STEM Inquiry
2 Proficiency Digital Tech for STEM
How to Teach Critical Thinking
3 Mastery Advocating for STEM
Save the World with STEM
4 Innovation Integrating STEM Through Project-Based Learning
How to Teach Sustainability with Hope

Scaffolding your learning and development

The pathway builds on an adapted Zones of Learning model and everyone's favourite, Bloom's Taxonomy, to create a structured, year-long professional development plan for STEM educators to become STEM Innovators. By progressively building on each stage, you can enhance your STEM teaching skills and develop critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving abilities in your students while also addressing your own individual learning needs and goals, ensuring continuous growth.

Stage Zone of Learning Bloom’s Taxonomy Level Description
1 Foundation Remembering Reflects a base level of knowledge and comprehension, establishing a solid groundwork.
Define, Duplicate, List, Memorise, Repeat, State, classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognise, report, select, translate
Understanding
2 Proficiency Applying Highlights the development of practical skills and the ability to break down information and apply it effectively.
Execute, implement, solve, use, demonstrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, differentiate, organise, relate, compare, contrast, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test
Analysing
3 Mastery Evaluating Signifies advanced competence, where the ability to critically assess and make judgments is emphasized.
Appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, critique, weigh
Evaluating
4 Innovation Creating Indicates the highest level of proficiency, where the creation of new and original work demonstrates expert understanding and capability.
Design, assemble, construct, conjecture, develop, formulate, author, investigate
Creating

Creating Your Plan

Use the information on this page and the Cool.org planning document to assess your skills, set your goals, choose the courses that interest you and track your learnings across the stages.

Download plan.pdf

What is STEM?

STEM integrates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into learning. It is incorporated into the Australian Curriculum in various learning areas and general capabilities.

Technological advancements are transforming how students learn and connect. Skills acquired through STEM education provide a foundation for success in school and beyond. International research shows 75% of the fastest-growing occupations now require STEM skills. Therefore, it is crucial to equip young people with the skills to thrive as successful, engaged citizens in our complex, dynamic society. (Source)

Why Become a STEM Innovator?

• Strengthening your STEM teaching capabilities enhances educational outcomes, and
• Teaching these key STEM skills through hands-on real-world applications is crucial for preparing students for future careers and a rapidly changing world

Teaching STEM

The STEM Connections research project by ACARA found that STEM understanding, knowledge and skills are strengthened when connections between learning areas are emphasised and when learning areas combine to find authentic learning opportunities for students in answer to an identified problem or in the creation of a solution.

Goals for Teaching STEM

When teaching STEM skills and projects it is also important to:

  • Emphasise the value of knowledge and skills across STEM subjects.
  • Boost students' confidence and ability to apply STEM knowledge and skills in various contexts.
  • Highlight connections between classroom STEM learning and future career opportunities.
  • Encourage strategies to keep girls engaged in STEM subjects.
  • Develop guidelines for school-industry STEM partnerships.
  • Promote collaboration on integrated STEM programs.

Aspects of STEM education and teacher skills to consider:

  • Give consideration to learning across the curriculum and having high expectations for all students.
  • Be willing to give students significant autonomy and responsibility for their own learning, including:
    • Choosing their projects
    • Selecting modes of communication
    • Determining findings and solution materials
    • Planning and conducting investigations and strategies
  • Length of allocated class time needs to sustain deep thinking, investigation and an integrated approach
  • The value of working across learning areas and with digital technologies
  • Collaborating with colleagues in planning, preparation and teaching
  • Developing rich assessment task that cross learning areas
  • Being prepared to manage long-term student group work, including the provision of direct guidelines about working in groups.

The professional learning courses

Foundation Zone

  • Professional learning
  • Free
  • ...

Introduction to Secondary STEM

  • Secondary
  • Year 7 - 12
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Professional learning
  • Free
  • ...

Practical Steps for STEM Inquiry

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Inquiry Skills
  • Technology
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Economic
  • Design Thinking
  • Professional learning
  • Cool+
  • ...

How to Teach Science More Effectively

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Science
  • Inquiry Skills

Proficiency Zone

  • Professional learning
  • Cool+
  • ...

Digital Technologies For STEM Classrooms

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Digital Technologies
  • Economic
  • Design Thinking
  • Technology
  • Professional learning
  • Cool+
  • ...

How to Teach Creative Thinking for STEM

  • Primary
  • English
  • Creative writing
  • Informative writing
  • Persuasive writing
  • Grammar and Spelling
  • Reading
  • Mathematics
  • Numbers
  • Science
  • The Arts
  • Drama
  • Media Arts
  • Visual Arts
  • Music
  • Technology
  • Design and Technologies
  • Professional learning
  • Cool+
  • ...

How to Teach Critical Thinking General Capability - Secondary

  • Secondary
  • Year 6 - 10
  • English
  • Science

Mastery Zone

  • Professional learning
  • Cool+
  • ...

Advocating for STEM

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Design and Technologies
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Environmental
  • Economic
  • Design Thinking
  • Systems Thinking
  • Technology
  • Professional learning
  • Free
  • ...

Save The World With STEM

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Environmental
  • Social
  • Economic
  • Design Thinking

Innovation Zone

  • Professional learning
  • Cool+
  • ...

Integrating STEM Through Project-Based Learning

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Design and Technologies
  • Environmental
  • Social
  • Economic
  • Design Thinking
  • Enterprise Learning
  • Professional learning
  • Cool+
  • ...

How To Teach Sustainability With Hope

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Foundation
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Geography
  • Health and Physical Education
  • The Arts
  • Technology
  • Languages
  • Work Studies
  • Environmental
  • Climate Change
  • Sustainability
  • Social
  • Economic

Can I log this PD with my State's teaching authority?

Yes! Our courses are mapped to the Australian Professional Teacher Standards (AITSL), and your completion can be logged as elective PD hours with your state's teaching regulatory authority. To do this, grab your certificates of completion from your personal dashboard once each individual course is complete.

How long will this take to complete?

This sequence is designed to be undertaken over the course of a year. 16 hours over 8 Professional learning courses.

Will I get proof of completion?

You will get a cool.org certificate of completion for each individual course you complete.You can access this certificate (and your course progress!) anytime via your personal dashboard. We also offer a certificate for those who reach the innovation level of this pathway. Please email us at info@cool.org

Is this course accredited?

This course is mapped to the Professional Standards for Teachers. It is accredited for teacher professional development hours in the following states and territories:

Proficient Teacher - all states and territories (except NSW and ACT)

  • 2.1 Apply knowledge of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area to develop engaging teaching activities.
  • 2.2 Organise content into coherent, well-sequenced learning and teaching program
  • 3.2 Plan and implement well-structured learning and teaching programs or lesson sequences that engage students and promote learning.
  • 3.3 Select and use relevant teaching strategies to develop knowledge, skills, problem solving and critical and creative thinking.
  • 3.4 Select and/or create and use a range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning.
  • 6.1 Use the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and advice from colleagues to identify and plan professional learning needs.
  • 6.2 Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.
  • 6.4 Undertake professional learning programs designed to address identified student learning needs.

Who are the instructors?

The courses in this sequence have been designed by Cool.org's team of education specialists, in consultation with teachers, principals, psychologists, counsellors, and scientists.

Our team continually reviews and refines our resources to align with changes to the Australian Curriculum and best educational practices, so you can be sure your learning is at the cutting edge of education theory.