Shelley Peers, the Director of PrimaryConnections, the Australian Academy of Science’s primary science education program, won the Australian Innovation Challenge award for education last night.
The awards, run by The Australian in association with Shell and with support from the Australian Government, aim to drive innovation breakthroughs to commercialisation or adoption.
“The Academy is very proud to have developed a truly innovative and unique program that links science with literacy, making the excitement of science a regular part of a child’s day,” said Professor Jenny Graves, the Academy’s Secretary for Education and Public Awareness.
“The Academy recognises that improving the quality of science and maths education is critical for the future prosperity of Australia.”
“We are very concerned that Australia is still far behind in international rankings. We are putting a lot of effort into where science education all begins – in primary school.”
“We know that PrimaryConnections really works to foster real engagement with science.”
“It brings to life children's natural curiosity about how the world works.”
Used in more than half of all Australian primary schools, PrimaryConnections combines workshops to build teachers' confidence and competence with novel curriculum resources to engage students in hands-on, inquiry-based learning.
PrimaryConnections has already released 28 units fully aligned with the Australian Science Curriculum that take children on a fun and interactive learning journey.
More information: PrimaryConnections: http://primaryconnections.org.au/
Australian Innovation Challenge awards: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/innovationchallenge
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