Joy of STEM Learning at Viitaniemi School
On Thursday, December 11, 2025, ILE members Maria Fisk and Mohd Zaidi, together with Professor Achmad Samsudin, organized a lesson utilizing STEM pedagogy in Merja Sinnemäki's 7th grade physics class at Viitaniemi School. Led by Maria Fisk and Mohd Zaidi, the lesson utilized lesson plans from the Stexperiments project to explore various phenomena related to light. The lesson delved into the mixing, diffraction, reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light, utilizing simulation pedagogy and phenomenon-based learning.
In the Lights and Colors: RGB color mixing and diffraction -module, students learned about RGB colors, color mixing, and light diffraction. Through illustrative experiments and digital simulations, students were able to explore how different colors are formed and how light behaves when passing through different materials.
In the How does a rainbow happen? -module, students learned about the formation of rainbows as a natural phenomenon. The students studied the reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light and understood how these phenomena together create a rainbow. The lesson combined physics, technology, and nature observation, and the students were able to explore the phenomena from both a theoretical and practical perspective.
The lesson utilized simulation pedagogy and phenomenon-based learning, which supported the students' active participation and inquiry-based approach. We hope that the lesson brought joy of learning, inspiration for natural sciences, and a pleasant change to the school day at Viitaniemi School.
For more information on the STEXperiments Project (Project number:2023-1-CZ01-KA220-SCH-000161648), please see: https://stexperiments.pedf.cuni.cz/about-the-project/
