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Despite the fast pace of technological change, many schools have managed to keep up by discovering new and innovative ways to blend STEM into their curriculum.
However, principals often face the challenge of accessing, and implementing, research-based STEM education within their schools in a way that leads to improved outcomes in their classrooms.
Enter Principals as STEM Leaders – Building the Evidence Base for Improved STEM Learning (PASL).
PASL, funded by the Federal Government and led by the University of Tasmania, responds to the need for a STEM skilled workforce to ensure Australia remains globally competitive.
The project will deliver a set of three high quality and accessible programs of professional learning for “developing the capabilities of principals for leading school-wide ongoing enhancement of STEM teaching and learning”.
These programs will draw from case studies of effective practice and will expand evidence-based approaches to STEM leadership and improving STEM capability of students.
Principals as STEM Leaders will involve around 200 primary and secondary schools in the government and non-government sectors, covering rural, regional, remote and metropolitan areas.
A suite of high quality professional learning and mentoring resources developed through the project will be made available for all Australian schools to use at the end of the project, alongside a research report detailing key findings.
Project co-Director, Professor Kim Beswick from the University of Tasmania, said the project also develops high quality and accessible resources, as well as a supporting mentoring model to be made available once the project concludes.
“This project allows principals to hone their leadership skills that will enable the development of high quality STEM learning in schools”, Professor Beswick said.
“Following the initial meetings, cluster groups of principals from across Australia will be invited to participate.”
Professor Beswick added that the broad involvement of principal associations and partner universities has enabled high-quality programs to be developed for principals in the variety of communities across Australia.
“These programs, the only Nationwide professional learning program for Principals leading STEM, will help Australian students to meet the ever-changing future with confidence”, she said.