Education Perfect And Science Alive Join Forces To Equip Students For STEM Jobs Of The Future

Leading education technology provider Education Perfect (EP) has announced a new partnership with New Zealand Charitable Trust, Science Alive, in a project designed to encourage student engagement in the areas of science, technology and innovation – through a Mātauranga Māori lens. 

With lesson content being offered without charge to all schools in New Zealand, the first unit in the course will be available for teaching from the start of Term 1, 2021.

Science Alive Mātauranga is a multi purpose resource that can be easily integrated in curriculum areas such as literacy and numeracy as well as standing on its own as a rich inquiry experience for students.

The content is New Zealand curriculum-aligned for Level 4 learners with a strong relevance from Level 3 and will provide a unique online science resource designed to inspire the next generation of students of Aotearoa. Recognising the Māori worldview of connectedness and environmental protection for generations to come, scaffolded learning and exposure to tikanga and te reo are interwoven throughout the course.

The course will enable students to explore new scientific concepts, important moments in history, key players in relevant fields, and apply their knowledge to take action. Over the next two years, multiple modules will be released covering a range of topics and strands of the New Zealand Science Curriculum.

The first modules in development cover contexts of science, human impact, environmental change and Aotearoa’s close connection with Antarctica. This is followed by ‘Flying Kiwis’ showcasing incredible New Zealanders in the fields of science, technology and innovation.

EP’s Partnerships Director, Anna Redmile, welcomed the partnership and pointed out the value that this collaboration will bring to New Zealand’s students.

"It is fantastic to be working with a strategic partner like Science Alive - from the start we have been united by a vision to inspire young learners around STEM and leverage our respective platforms to drive change.

Together we hope to equip young learners with the skills they need for the jobs of the future. We are extremely excited to see the content come to life."

“Teachers know that contextual science and inquiry learning is powerful for learners and this resource strengthens not only knowledge and skills, but a curiosity towards career paths and opportunities of the future,” said EP teacher consultant, Lauren Pugh.

“Creating this taonga (treasure) is truly special. We are creating an authentically ‘kiwi’ science resource that is incredibly versatile for a busy curriculum” Pugh said.

Science Alive board member Claire Turner said how excited she was to be working with EP to create unique content, which could be delivered via EP’s learning platform to engage schools throughout NZ.

“Our mission as a charitable trust is to inspire youth to engage and explore areas of science and technology, and as such we are thrilled to partner with EP,” said Turner.

“Through the partnership with Education Perfect we will be able to share knowledge in new formats as a gift, with free access, to all NZ children."

“We are driven to reach as many children as we can, and do our bit to contribute to more equitable learning opportunities."

“If we can inspire and empower children to explore fields and subjects of science that they may not have otherwise considered, then we will be fulfilling our mission, and we believe that this new partnership with Education Perfect will help us do that,” she said.

Science Alive’s first module, ‘Antarctic Adventures – See It, Love It, Save It’, is a collaboration with the International Antarctic Centre to provide interactive lessons covering three distinct topics.

‘See it’ allows students to discover the history and technological advances in Antarctica; ‘Love it’ lets them explore the changing Antarctic climate and environmental impacts of global warming, and ‘Save it’, inspiring children to take action through a project based learning approach.

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