iTeachSTEM makes resources available

The NSW Department of Education’s STEM Industry School Partnerships Program (SISP) has launched iTeachSTEM – a free, online STEM Curriculum Resource Portal for teachers.

Developed in partnership with the Institute of Technology Education and Engineers Australia – Newcastle Division, iTeachSTEM offers Australian teachers free access to world-class, contextualized STEM learning and teaching resources for delivering STEM curriculum.

Consisting of an ever-increasing library of STEM learning and teaching resources, the iTeachSTEM web portal is designed to provide a home for gold standard STEM resources that can be easily searched and accessed. The SISP program and its partners are currently developing a large array of innovative, industry-focused programs, units of work and practical tasks that teachers can implement in their classrooms.

According to SISP Project Leader, Dr Scott Sleap, finding suitable STEM based learning and teaching resources is a major challenge for teachers.

“iTeachSTEM has been designed to assist primary and secondary teachers to find contextualized, authentic and real-world STEM teaching resources. Although there are many international STEM resource sites, they are not designed for the NSW and Australian context. iTeachSTEM resources are curriculum orientated and relate to NSW and Australian curriculum. I am proud to have worked with such a dedicated team of curriculum, education and industry experts to develop a site that every Australian STEM teacher will find useful,” he said.

With the aim of providing teachers with access to the best STEM learning and teaching resources, iTeachSTEM is operated as a collaboration with leading Australian companies, universities, government agencies as well as industry and educator associations such as BlueScope, ANU, Engineers Australia and the Department of Primary Industries.

iTeachSTEM has a strong future focus and is continually evolving it’s content to ensure it remains relevant to the STEM industry.

Well known comedian and mathematician, Adam Spencer has thrown his support behind the initiative as an iTeachSTEM Hero, thanks to the future-proofing goals of the initiative.

“We’re at this incredible time where society is developing at such a pace and so much of that is being carried by STEM. Computing, big data and applied technology is where the future is being built,” Adam said.

“We have to educate our youth about the opportunities that STEM presents and create a society that can harness that potential. That’s why the teaching of STEM and the allocation of resources to STEM is so important,” he said.

The SISP team is also encouraging Australian companies, education institutions, schools, government agencies, teachers and other STEM experts to get involved in the program by contributing relevant materials that can be incorporated into the iTeachSTEM curriculum.

The STEM Industry School Partnerships (SISP) is an initiative of the NSW Department of Education’s Educational Standards Directorate and through collaboration, provides an educational model, which engages and inspires students, to study STEM while preparing them for a career in STEM.

For more information on iTeachSTEM, visit www.iteachstem.com.au