An overview of Stile, Australia’s #1 science resource provider EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR SCHOOL LEADERS Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 2 Table of contents Welcome letter 3 How we are rethinking science education > Our principles 5 > Our pedagogy 7 > Our approach 9 A simple solution > Stile Classroom 12 > Squiz 14 > Professional learning 15 > Stile Concierge 16 Key benefits 17 The Stile community of schools 19 The rest is easy 24 Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 3 It’s time to rethink science at school I’m continuously awestruck by the sheer power of science. In a mere 500 years, a tiny fraction of humanity’s long history, science – and the technological advances that have stemmed from it – has completely transformed every part of our lives. The scale of humanity’s scientific transformation in such a short period is so immense it’s hard to grasp. My grandmother was alive when one of the world’s oldest airlines, Qantas, was born. In her lifetime, flight has become as routine as daily roll call. Disease, famine and the toll of manual labour that once ravaged the world’s population have also been dramatically reduced. Science is at the heart of this progress. Given such incredible advancement, it’s tempting to think that science education must be in pretty good shape. Sadly, it isn’t. We could talk about falling PISA rankings, or declining STEM enrolments. But instead, and perhaps more importantly, let’s consider the world to which our students will graduate. A world of “fake news” and “alternative facts”. A world where automation is rapidly and radically reshaping the workforce. A world where science and technology is increasingly pervasive in our lives. For our students to prosper, we must ensure they leave school confident to tackle tomorrow’s problems. Confident to participate in public discourse around the ethics of scientific issues such as artificial intelligence, vaccination or genetically modified food. Confident in their ability to continually learn and adapt through a multitude of careers. Stile is rethinking science, and more broadly, STEM education. We’re here, at your service, to help ensure your students graduate with the brightest possible future. Regards, BYRON SCAF, WITH DANNY PIKLER CO-FOUNDERS How we are rethinking science education Our principles Our pedagogy Our approach Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 5 Our principles Countless questions arise when creating science resources; questions such as “How can we truly enhance learning in the classroom?” and “How do we most clearly explain this concept?”. To help us best answer these questions, and more, we are constantly guided by our principles. Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 6 Our principles Teachers are of the utmost importance, we need to support them We believe that teachers are the single most important part of a student’s education. We want to help teachers perform at their best, and believe that a great learning resource should both save teachers time and provide them with powerful learning tools. Prepare students for life, not just exams A great education extends beyond the curriculum. We believe that it is our duty to provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to prosper in life, not just to pass their exams. One size doesn’t fit all Every school is different, every teacher is different, and every student is different. We believe that learning resources should cater to a wide range of students and should be easy for teachers to customise for their students, as needed. Technology should empower teachers, not replace them Some classroom apps cut teachers out of the loop and encourage lazy teaching. These “set and forget” resources make poor use of precious classroom time. We believe that classroom technology should empower teachers, helping to enhance their practice, not change it. Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 7 Our pedagogy Stile’s pedagogy is based on the research of John Hattie, Robert Marzano, Dylan Wiliam, and Jean Piaget. In class Set learning goals Engage students with real-world relevance Direct instruction Lower-order thinking Use data to inform next lessons and differentiate Higher-order thinking Self-paced formative Feedback assessment Metacognition Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 8 At home Introduce students to new concepts Spaced repetition and multiple Achieve mastery exposures build understanding of the concepts Personalised learning based on knowledge gaps Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 9 Our approach A relentless commitment to quality Stile’s commitment to quality sets us apart. Our curriculum design process ensures the highest production values, and more importantly, a pedagogically rigourous result that challenges students at their level, every time. Stile’s dedicated content team is singularly focused on making high quality resources for your students Teachers Writers Illustrators Scientists Engineers Videographers Photographers Interactive specialists In close collaboration with Teachers Students Subject matter Pedagogy experts experts Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 10 We go beyond simply covering the curriculum > Nurture informed, reflective young citizens We specifically craft our resources around relevant, real-world issues for students to discuss, analyse and debate. Learning about issues such as climate change, vaccination and genetically modified foods, help build students’ scientific literacy in a context that’s relevant to them. > Build the skills needed for tomorrow’s jobs We’ve analysed the research on which skills will be the most important for tomorrow’s jobs. These skills, such as critical thinking, creative problem solving and evidence-based reasoning, are carefully interwoven through all of our resources. > Keep it modern, relevant and always up-to-date Every month, Stile makes brand new science resources available to your teachers. This means that your teachers always have access to the very best resources, and your students are learning in the context of the news and events happening around them. Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 11 A simple solution Stile Classroom Squiz Professional learning Stile Concierge Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 12 Stile Classroom Cutting edge resources for direct instruction and self-paced learning Stile Classroom is a suite of professionally crafted digital science lessons covering the Australian and New Zealand curricula for Years 5–10. Stile Classroom is the ideal complement to your existing textbook, though many schools are now finding they can use it to replace their student textbooks and workbooks altogether. > The latest in science news Topics are taught in the context of recent science news, bringing real-world relevance to every lesson. > Make something unique to your school Eveything in Stile Classroom, from individual questions to entire lessons is entirely customisable. Take the parts that you love, add your own, and create something completely personalised for your students. Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 13 Stile Classroom Hundreds of curriculum-aligned science resources Formative Summative Experiments Projects Science news assessments assessments articles Videos Interactive Virtual reality STEM Engineering simulations activities career profiles challenges Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 14 Squiz The ultimate science homework app Designed to complement Stile Classroom, Squiz is the perfect way for students to quickly learn, consolidate and master the fundamentals of science outside of the classroom. The app can help students learn every concept and scientific term in the Years 7–10 curriculum. This allows teachers to optimise classroom time: applying their students’ knowledge through higher-order questions and hands-on investigations, rather than simply learning the facts. The true magic of Squiz is that it personalises learning for every student. As students answer questions, Squiz learns what they do and don’t know, and teaches them what they don’t know until they’ve mastered a topic. Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 15 Professional learning Science teaching expertise from around the world Stile provides a range of professional learning opportunities for your staff. We have worked closely with hundreds of schools and dozens of experts from around the world to synthesise the best ideas into fun and engaging professional learning workshops. Whether you want to upskill your teachers to make better use of classroom technology, or you are keen to shift teaching practice to more open-ended, inquiry-based learning, our team of professionals are here to coach and guide your staff. Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 16 Stile Concierge Let our teachers help yours Stile Concierge is our dedicated teacher support service available by phone, live chat and email. Beyond providing technical support, our team of Stile experts and science teachers are always on hand to help your teachers do brilliant work: from providing scope and sequence advice, right through to helping teachers tailor lessons for particular groups of students. Stile | Executive summary for school leaders 17 You’ll see the difference Here are some key benefits of adopting Stile: More classroom discussions around real-world science issues Every unit of work in Stile Classroom is set in the context of real-world science discoveries and events, helping spark conversation and debate in the classroom. Teachers differentiating their instruction more frequently Every lesson can be customised, allowing teachers to quickly tailor content to the needs of individual students. Students pondering hard problems Every lesson is scaffolded from lower- to higher-order thinking, helping to ensure that every student is challenged at their level. Students receiving better feedback, more often Stile provides teachers with the ability to see their students’ work at any time, allowing them to provide more feedback, and in a more timely manner. Improved uptake of STEM subjects in Years 11 and 12 Schools have told us that Stile has been a key factor in boosting the uptake of STEM subjects in Years 11 and 12, both for boys and girls.