Revitalising Science, Technology and Maths Teaching -- a Faltering Step. (April 11, 2006)

    Last week the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop, announced the designation of $7.5 million to fund 99 new projects in the 7 year, $33 million Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM) initiative.

Ms Bishop says the project, begun last year by the then minister Brendan Nelson,

...aims to bring about real and permanent improvements to the ways in which science, technology and mathematics are taught in our schools. Over the seven-year life of the ASISTM Project the Australian Government will fund an estimated 500 school cluster initiatives involving approximately 1,300 Teacher Associates.

 

Project activities will enable schools to come together with industry, science organisations, universities and others to explore ways to encourage a culture of innovation, attract greater numbers of quality students into teaching, improve coordination between primary and high school curricula and provide positive role models for students.

In July 2005 102 projects were awarded funds and a further 99 have received funding this year.

A reader of TFW knowledgeable as to the functioning of the ASISTM Project contributes the following observations:

Positives

 

- it targets the age groups who are currently missing out on  much science promotion in the schools and it addresses in part the  fact that primary school teachers are expected to inspire students  about science and technology even though they themselves do not have  a background.

 

- it provides resources to resourceful teachers to  facilitate science promotion in a focussed manner.

 

Negatives

 

- it does not address the lack of skills that the teachers have.

 

- it is school based, so it is difficult for major schemes already underway to get into the process as a school or collection of schools have to apply. This can involve to some extent reinventing the wheel.

 

- it is a  cheap solution to look like the government is addressing the problem of inadequate numbers of qualified teachers of science and mathematics as well as providing adequate resources for properly teaching the subjects.

It will become evident during the remainder of this year whether Julie Bishop will have an interest as well as being effective in addressing the fundamental inadequacies in the teaching of science, mathematics in our primary and secondary public schools. She might even start by consulting working scientists and mathematicians, and perhaps even read the general bits in Nature and Science.