Partnerships in education

Maintaining strong links between families and schools is important to staff at Westgarth Primary School in Melbourne, which is why they work collaboratively with parents and carers to share the latest evidenced-based approaches to teaching and learning.

In this episode we visit Western Port Secondary College – one of 21 government schools involved in the Australian initiative The Paradigm Shifters: Entrepreneurial learning in schools – to talk to assistant principal Hannah Lewis and student Harry Hainsworth.

A key initiative of the Science of Learning Research Centre (SLRC) in 2017 has been the establishment of the SLRC Partner Schools project, involving six schools in south-east Queensland, grouped in two networked clusters.

In today’s podcast special we speak with Neil Bramsen and Brett McKay who were named winners of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching – one for primary and one for secondary.

If schools want to promote entrepreneurial thinking and action it’s students who need to be in the driver’s seat. That’s one of the findings from a year-long Australian initiative.

Can computers think? What is intelligence? Can we build a robot that learns from its past experiences? These are some of the tricky questions Year 6 students have tackled as they explore the role of robots and machine technology in society while learning to code.

A two-year research project aimed at improving student participation in STEM-related disciplines, and encouraging them to consider further study and careers in STEM, involved schools partnering with industry professionals.

Queensland science teacher Sarah Chapman is passionate about engaging youngsters in STEM education and has travelled the world gathering evidence of international best practice.

'Sitting down with our children to watch programs that demonstrate and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being, such as Little J & Big Cuz, is one small ‘next step’ that each of us can take on the journey towards reconciliation.'

The STEAMpunk Girls project involves researchers from UTS working with high school students and teachers to co-design a project-based learning program.