ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/20/2002 7 November 2002
Australia shares its zest for science education
As part of an ongoing drive to increase educational linkages between Australia and India, the Australian High Commission, in association with the Central Board of Secondary Education, is presenting a workshop for New Delhi's top secondary school science teachers, at the Delhi Police Public School on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 November.
The workshop "creative teaching with simple materials" is presented by two of Australia's most resourceful academics, Professor Michael Gore and Dr Susan Stocklmayer, both from the Australian National University's Centre for the Public Awareness of Science.
The event in Delhi is the second such workshop following on a highly successful one in Chennai last year, and is funded by the Australia-India Council as part of its wider Australian studies program.
Inaugurating the Delhi workshop on 6 November, in the presence of the Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education, Professor Ashok Ganguly, the Australian High Commissioner, Ms Penny Wensley AO, spoke of the critical role played by science education and science teachers in shaping the minds of students and equipping them to meet the challenges of our times:
"Our societies are being continually confronted, challenged and redirected by technologies and ideas arising from scientific processes …It is becoming increasingly important that students develop the skills and understanding that good science education can provide … for students to understand the present and be prepared for the future, learning science must be an active and engaging process."
Australians, the High Commissioner added, were resourceful people with a zest for education, a strong sense of the importance of science and a practical approach to solving problems. The fact that six of the seven Nobel prizes awarded to Australians had been given for scientific achievement underscored this reality.
Australia had made great strides in recent years in raising public awareness of science through interactive education and was keen to share its experience with India and Indian educators.
Attended by some 40 science teachers from public and government schools around Delhi, the workshop, entitled "Creative Teaching with Simple Materials," aims to demonstrate to the participants how to make science relevant for students, using simple, inexpensive materials drawn from everyday life.
Professor Gore will also make a presentation "Measuring Up" for students at the National Science Centre on Friday 8 November. The presentation will be in the form of a series of stories that will demonstrate some of the great scientific measurements that have been made over the centuries.
For further information, contact Shekhar Nambiar, Public Affairs Manager, tel.6888223, extension 460.