Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar is one of several schools taking part in an Australian-first program designed to ignite students’ passion for of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) from an early age through play. The new program, run by ...
More »Getting serious about fun: Australian-first study into play-based education
Playtime can be dismissed as a frivolous activity; something kids do in between the arduous slog of ‘legitimate’ learning. In an Australian-first, researchers at Monash University are launching a comprehensive project to see whether we should be taking fun more ...
More »Girls better than boys at ICT, but possibly less interested in it
Remember the infamous 'Google memo'? In July 2017, Google engineer James Damore circulated an email to his colleagues, critiquing the company's diversity policy vis-à-vis hiring more women. "I value diversity and inclusion, am not denying that sexism exists, and don’t ...
More »Students, particularly girls, ‘switch off’ in maths, but there’s hope yet
If you're a teacher or parent of a high school girl, or know one, have you noticed that they seem disinterested in maths compared to a similar-aged boy? If so, there's truth in your observation. A new, joint UNSW-USYD study has ...
More »Highlighting the ‘E’ in STEM: Why engineering should be taught in our schools
As the Morandi Bridge collapse in Genoa demonstrated, ageing infrastructure is an alarming problem facing the developed world. We need engineers to maintain this infrastructure, largely built in the post-war period and coming to the end of their design lifespans. ...
More »Are ‘poop hands & green lizards’ the future of STEM engagement? #NationalScienceWeek
If 'poop hands & green lizards' or 'dino dandruff & asteroids' don't intrigue you, what will? These episodes illustrate the premise of Up & Atom, a radio show for young listeners. Broadcast on Sydney-based independent youth radio station FBi (94.5 FM), the 15-20 minute show aims ...
More »NSW government earmarks tougher prerequisites for state’s teachers
Specialist teachers in NSW will need to have extensively studied their subjects at university before they can teach in high schools, the state's education minister says. Rob Stokes is expected to announce a toughening of the prerequisites for educators today so ...
More »Birmingham pushes for STEM teacher workforce strategy
Every high school in Australia will have at least one specialist STEM teacher if a workforce strategy floated by Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham was to come to fruition and meet its goals. In a speech in Sydney, ...
More »Opinion: How studying STEM subjects in senior years opens doors
Choosing final-year school subjects is a challenging time for students – students may be tempted simply to avoid Maths or Science and therefore miss out on the foundation for many future opportunities. According to a recent SEEK Employment Report, the ...
More »Maths and the real world: students calculate novel solutions to actual problems
If you've ever heard a student ask, 'how does this maths equation relate to real life?', 12 fellow students have answers. Hailing from Canberra’s Radford College and Baulkham Hills High School in Sydney’s north-east, based on this ability, they were selected from ...
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