Looking ahead: science

Overview of Science initiatives
The Ministry of Education has recently initiated a number of Science initiatives in response to the Gluckman report, Looking Ahead: Science Education for the Twenty-First Century (2011), to examine raising student achievement in Science (years 1-13) through focussing on five project areas.

These initiatives will focus on:

1. Curriculum support for Science – Improving curriculum resources, both in print and online. These resources currently support teachers and students in the Nature of Science strand, and literacy and numeracy teaching within the Science learning area.
2. Science community engagement – Developing best practice and ways in which schools engage with the wider science community, particularly at secondary level, to make learning more relevant. It will also explore what works to engage the science community and why it works.
3. E-Learning in Science – Using technologies to support student and teacher engagement and learning, particularly in the Nature of Science strand.
4. Building teacher capability through ongoing teacher professional learning and development (PLD).
5. Examining the flexibility of the curriculum and the qualifications framework, especially at secondary level, to support good programme design.

Available from http://www.edrsr.co.nz/site/glennvallender/files//Gluckman%20Science-education-in%20NZ.pdf

update: try http://www.pmcsa.org.nz/science-education-for-the-twenty-first-century/