Building Educational Capacities for STEM Success

The project consisted of developing end of term assessments in line with Australian Curriculum standards. This was achieved by a rigorous process of auditing, mapping, designing and evaluating each assessment task across the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects right through from Prep to Year 12.

Ultimately, the project had two key components – the educational aspect and engagement to showcase the work being done to parents, teachers and the community.

Auditing

• Analysis and understanding of the Australian Curriculum (AC) achievement standards
• Investigation into what materials currently exist and what is currently being using in schools
• Determine whether all AC achievement standards are being met and to what level

Mapping

• Map the achievement standards endpoint and work back to ensure all learning requirements are met at each level to meet the standards
• Determine whether the achievement standards line up each year and if there were any gaps in the learning materials
• Assess if the incremental steps within each achievement standard throughout the year were aligned
• Check that the AC standards at the end of Year 12 were aligned to first year university studies

Assessment design

• The knowledge gained from the rigorous auditing and mapping process was then used to design of summative and formative assessments for each term
• The assessment activities were adapted to build knowledge and skills using local to global knowledge frameworks using content that was familiar and appropriate to students

Evaluating Results

• The final step in the process was to evaluate the student results data, pre and post the implementation of the project

What influenced the contents of the summative assessments?

• The outcomes of the audit
• The trial of materials across Tagai State College, Yarrabah State School, Bentley Park College and feedback from teachers
• The Torres Strait complexities (i.e., remoteness, limited outside exposure, English as a second language or dialect, etc.)
• Research from the broader literature
• A desire to create independent learners

What’s different about the new assessments?

• The language of the questions was completely stripped back (i.e., a mathematics assessment is now tested on mathematics skills, not literacy)
• Use of local context and educational hooks
• Oral and activity based questions for Prep to Year 3
• Longer tasks in both mathematics and science to aid long term embedding of knowledge

Over the past few years, the Project has included engagement activities in the Torres Strait Islands and greater Cairns region.

The STEM Roadshow travels to the primary and secondary schools on Thursday Island in an attempt to engage students in a variety of fun and educational science experiments. The learning concepts from these experiments led straight back to the classroom and were linked to the Australian Curriculum achievement standards.

The Traditional Astronomical Knowledges Evening encouraged the sharing of knowledge from the Elders down the generations on how Islanders base their lives off the sky. From fishing and gardening to their artwork, they look to the skies for answers.

Parent Program

We understand the difficulty some parents have assisting their children with homework and keeping them engaged in learning. This program was designed for parents and community members to help engage their children in the STEM areas when they get home from school.

The information shared at the Parent Program provided tips on how to further encourage children to talk about what they’ve learnt at school. Parents do not have to be teachers or scientists to help their children, but encouraging continued interest and engagement was key. In fact, this program encouraged ways to let children be the ‘teachers’ at home.

Teacher Conferences

All Teacher Conference

Tagai State College coordinated a biennial All Teacher Conference where all teachers within the College travel to Thursday Island. In 2019 the STEM Project team were invited to present on a general overview of the project, the gap between secondary and tertiary education for Indigenous students, and a secondary school mathematics session that was focused on how to mark assessments and use graphics calculators.

Indigenous Teacher Conference

The College also organised a two-day Indigenous Teacher Conference for all Indigenous teachers and teacher aids on Thursday Island. The Project team attended this conference in 2019, with Chief Investigator, Professor Nakata presenting a keynote address.

Leaders Conference

All three partner schools have regular Leader conferences, including the Heads of Campus, Heads of Departments and Executive Team. The Project team was invited to present at some of these events, and were in attendance at others to answer any questions or queries and participate as required.  Professional development was also provided where needed with leaders and teaching staff.

Commencing in 2017, the STEM Project was a partnership between the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), the Indigenous Education and Research Centre at James Cook University and Tagai State College. The project later expanded to include Yarrabah State School and Bentley Park College, with collaborative work beginning in semester 2, 2022, primarily focusing on mathematics and science curriculum development with school leaders and curriculum heads. The refined and redesigned assessment tasks developed through this collaboration were successfully rolled out across these partner schools in 2023.

Torres Strait Islanders who live and work in the remote Torres Strait are invested in the sustainability of their natural environments, which have provided for their needs over millennia. Environmental and species management and regional infrastructure solutions are important sources of future employment and of interest to many Islanders. Although Islanders have their traditional knowledge to draw on, STEM education is essential if Torres Strait Islanders are to gain the qualification to participate in employment and decision-making in these areas.

The STEM Project began as a collaborative project to improve the capacity of Torres Strait schools to deliver parity student outcomes in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This challenge extended beyond the Torres Strait to other Indigenous communities in North Queensland. Bentley Park College, located on the outskirts of Cairns, serves approximately 2,000 students from Prep to Year 12, with 40% Indigenous enrollment and a very high English as a second language background, drawing from fairly low socioeconomic communities. Similarly, Yarrabah State School, situated in an Aboriginal community south of Cairns, educates about 450 Indigenous students from Prep to Year 10, with all students being Indigenous. Like Tagai State College students, these students have English as their 2nd or 3rd language and are significantly disadvantaged by the English-based curricula and the pace of the curricula delivery.

Under these conditions, it is difficult to improve student progress through the STEM curricula from Prep to Year 12. The outcome is that after 13 years of schooling, few students from the remote Torres Strait region have the necessary requisites for entry into university courses in the STEM areas, despite having aspirations to careers in those areas.

Tagai State College reached out to the IERC at JCU for assistance that would ensure their students developed the confidence and capability they need to succeed in the STEM areas from year to year.

The IERC team combined their knowledge, experience and passion for providing real opportunities to Indigenous students and applying this to assist remote Torres Strait Islander students. They contributed to the project by reviewing, designing and implementing appropriate assessment tasks within the STEM subjects at Tagai State College (and later Bentley Park College and Yarrabah State School) so that they meet the relevant Australian Curriculum standards for progression through the Prep to Year 12 years. The team consisted of maths and science experts and includes Torres Strait Islanders with experience of education in the Torres Strait.

This seven-year project was dedicated to ensuring all students have the same opportunities to undertake tertiary studies as other Australian students.

The project undertook a comprehensive analysis of over 450 achievement standards and 550 content descriptors across the mathematics and science curriculum. This process identified critical gaps in curriculum sequencing that had historically impeded student progress. Based on these insights, the team developed more accurate prerequisite learning pathways for key mathematics and science concepts.

A systematic review and refinement of more than 5,000 assessment questions was conducted to align assessment tasks with curriculum standards. Nuanced marking guides were developed, comprising approximately 2,700 lines and 13,500 individual entries. A three-tier complexity framework was implemented to provide detailed insights into student capabilities and levels of conceptual understanding.

A comprehensive digital analytics system was deployed to track student achievement against specific curriculum elements. The platform supported electronic marking of assessments and enabled detailed tracking of individual student progress. Class-level and cohort-level analytics provided teachers with unprecedented insight into learning trajectories and instructional effectiveness.

The project employed random forest algorithms to uncover hidden relationships within educational data. This approach enabled the identification of prerequisite skills most predictive of student success in mathematical concepts. These findings challenged assumptions embedded in curriculum documents and teaching practice, informing a more evidence-based approach to curriculum implementation.

Professor Martin Nakata

Chief Investigator

Chief Investigator Professor Martin Nakata AM, Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Education & Strategy), Indigenous Education and Research Centre at James Cook University (JCU) leads the STEM Project.

Professor Nakata has worked in the field of Indigenous education in Australia for over thirty-six years and continues to challenge the established ways of understanding the contemporary position and possibilities for Indigenous Australians. His areas of focus have included higher education curriculum areas, the academic preparation of Indigenous students, and Indigenous knowledge systems. He is an internationally recognized published scholar for learning, teaching and research.

Professor Nakata has delivered invited keynote and plenary addresses at professional conferences in PNG, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Africa, Norway, Scotland, Greece, Iceland, Peru, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Thailand, Japan and throughout Australia.

Kerri Hill

Curriculum Development Officer

“Hard work beats natural talent when natural talent forgets to work hard”

With qualifications of a Bachelor of Science, a Diploma in Education and a Master of Science (Mathematics Education), Kerri’s experience plays an integral role to the team. Kerri has taught Mathematics in ACT, NT and QLD for over 40 years and was the Head of Faculty (Mathematics) at Townsville Grammar School for 23 years.

Kerri’s involvement in the team is to work collaboratively with the Mathematics staff at Tagai State College to write their Years 7-10 assessments and to provide feedback for the new QCE Year 11-12 assessments. With careful consideration of the Australian Curriculum content descriptors, Kerri ensures all required concepts are covered in assessments, giving students the exposure they need to study in Mathematics, Science and Engineering fields at university.

“These Tagai students deserve to have the same opportunities to reach their potential as every other Australian student” – Kerri Hill.

Danielle Vervenne

Curriculum Developer

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”

Hailing from Canberra, Dani moved to Townsville in 2013 to study at James Cook University – and to enjoy the sunshine. Since completing a Bachelor of Science (Environmental Management and Ecology Conservation), Dani has been involved in various aspects of the project including project support and filming, but is now heavily focused on curriculum development.

Dani’s role consists of the auditing, mapping and assessment development of Primary (Prep – Year 6) Maths, Science and Technology subjects, while working with the Tagai State College team to ensure their curriculum aligns with the Australian Curriculum achievement standards.

“The Tagai STEM Project is engaging students in the Torres Strait with the sciences, maths and technologies and broadening their skills for the future. The project aims to open up a whole new generation of professionals in the STEM areas” – Danielle Vervenne.

Jermaine Chong

Research Assistant

“If you knew better, you’d do better”

Originally from Mount Isa, Jermaine knows first-hand the challenges remote areas have on learning opportunities. His family moved to Townsville when Jermaine was young to expand his and his brother’s education prospects.

Since completing his schooling, Jermaine has worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Queensland and James Cook University, and has completed multiple internships with the Queensland Government’s Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation.

While simultaneously undertaking a Bachelor of Arts at James Cook University, Jermaine’s involvement in the project includes media production and the research and delivery of activities within the STEM Roadshow, held on Thursday Island.

Jermaine hopes that one day, this project will be implemented in other remote schools across Queensland.

“Inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to think big is where my passion lies. Whether it be through the media I create or being present in the classroom, I want to show our students that their futures can take them wherever they choose” – Jermaine Chong.

• Vicky Nakata  – Primary mathematics and science curriculum and language advice
• Lisa Loban -  Curriculum Developer
• Rikka Eastaughffe-Young - Curriculum Developer
• Adrian Jeloudev - Postgraduate Researcher
• Kevin Hemmett -  Director, WillowSoft Pty Ltd
• Eric Schwantler -  Director, WillowSoft Pty Ltd
• Dr Daniel Grainger – Audit and assessment development of Primary maths
• Dr Haidi Beard – Initial audit of science resources in the classroom
• Merwez Whaleboat – Preliminary science audit
• Lizzie Roche – STEM Roadshow development and implementation
• Jena Stephens – STEM Roadshow assistance

• Dr Leah Daniel – Secondary mathematics advice
• Associate Professor Shaun Belward – Secondary mathematics advice

• Kaylene Chippendale - Head of Department: Curriculum; Teaching and Learning
• Cherie Cefai – Curriculum Specialist; Teaching and Learning
• Toni Gorman – Head of Maths, Secondary
• Adrian Jeloudev – Head of Department Maths and Science
• Judy Ketchell – Executive Principal (retired 2019)
• Stephanie Savage – Executive Principal (current)