This research investigates whether aquaponics could serve as a teaching tool and contribute to STEM education in an elementary school. The aim is to integrate food literacy, and more specifically its sustainable agriculture aspect. STEM education usually centers around a problem that has the capability to connect students to the real world. Aquaponics can deal with all of these issues, therefore, it could provide a discussion of topics such as diminishing food-mile, dealing with water and soil scarcity, and providing food safety.
An aquaponics unit was set up in Herstedlund Skole, Albertslund in order to conduct a 6 weeks intervention. The 8th-grade students have been using the aquaponics in a biology class setting and learned about sustainable food production. During the classes, the students were measuring water quality of the aquaponics system with digital sensors. For data collection four observations have been conducted during the classes. After the six weeks, a focus group interview with the children and an interview with the teacher were organized to help to evaluate the intervention.
Three theories are used to conceptualize the results. First, Piaget’s constructivism was applied as the main teaching theory to understand the student’s developmental level and how aquaponics and the sensors could be implied in their age. Second, the co-creational theory is applied. Following the characteristics of the SEWDM model, the certain elements were identified and analyzed. Third, the attributes of an outreach activity for STEM education is examined for this specific case.
The intervention has run successfully for six weeks. This digital component highly contributed to the STEM disciplines, therefore the aquaponics system for teaching purposes could be advanced this way. The 8th grade seemed to be the right age to learn about aquaponics and food literacy, especially the sustainable aspect. Furthermore, it also fit into STEM education and by following the implications of constructivism and co-creation, the students’ engagement in scientific subjects could be highly enhanced with a hands-on project such as aquaponics.