Earth to Roger...
Photonics, Biomimetics, Nanotechnology, Robotics, Cryptography... These are the leading edge areas of science and mathematics that years 10-12 students and teachers study at a senior secondary school in South Australia.I have just returned from the International iNET Conference in Melbourne and my head is still somewhere on another planet! When I do come back to Earth I have decided that I need to go to the Australian Science & Mathematics School (ASMS) in Adelaide.
In this school the students and teachers learn together about leading edge science and mathematics that is going to transform all our lives over the next 20 years (according to an Australian Government Report). Just briefly some features of the school are:
- Years 10-12 and teachers work together on interdisciplinary inquiry.
- Compulsory 'Central Studies' include study Mathematics and Abstract Thinking, Sustainable Futures, Nanotechnology, The Earth and Cosmos and Biotechnology.
- University modules to be studied include Robotics, ICT, Bioinformatics, The Politics of Energy and Electronics.
- Students go home at noon on Tuesdays so teachers can participate in professional inquiry and research with Flinders University.
- Year 12 students finish with Certificated Accreditation for University entrance.
According to ex-students now at university they are far better prepared for learning that students from other schools.
I wonder if all Tasmanian Colleges can teach science and mathematics in the same way? When I think back to my days at uni what I remember best is the work I did on leading edge science such as holograms - I still have the 3D holograms I made of chess pieces...
More on other conference sessions soon.
Labels: transdisciplinary
posted by Roger Stack @ 8:15 AM
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