06 May 2020
The STEM Industry Schools Partnerships (SISP) has been honoured this week in receiving its third STEM schools’ professional development grant from Google’s Computer Science (CS) Educator Professional Development (PD) Grants program.
Aimed at equipping STEM teachers through practical development workshops, the CS Educator PD Grants Program focuses on increasing teachers’ capabilities to inspire and engage students seeking excellence in computer sciences and STEM. For SISP, this grant success gives regional and remote students the same potential as their metro and urban peers.
“Providing teachers from diverse educator settings with an equitable toolkit for STEM teaching across our classrooms sits beautifully with the SISP ethos of inclusion and access for all students,” says SISP Program Leader Dr Scott Sleap.
He says Google has really stepped into the leadership role that comes with the grant program since it started in 2011.
“The workshops have a strong mentorship and outreach element. The trainers guide STEM teachers and organisations, like SISP, through invaluable, future-focused educational content that they can pay forward in mentoring students in technology and computer science.
“The professional development opportunity is second to none and the grant program has grown to meet education demands over time,” said Scott.
This year, Google are also assisting the SISP’s professional development agenda with on-demand virtual workshops in coming months.. SISP are excited about this round of funding which will allow teachers to access this opportunity regardless of where they are living and teaching.”
The Google CS Educator PD Grants Program has provided SISP with cumulative funding of $45,000 over three years to participate in this industry-led development and support initiative.
“This has enabled 100’s of regional, rural and remote educators to upskill in subject matter that more and more students are becoming passionate about.
“The CS Educator PD Grants Program becomes a two-way highway: teachers get excited to impart their new expertise onto students, who pick up the vibe and are eager to take full advantage of the skill-building opportunity. When students are all-in, teachers then draw on that energy and the learning relationship keeps expanding.”
The SISP will continue to seek and develop opportunities for innovative professional development of this calibre and ensure as many NSW schools can participate as funding allows.
Read more about the Google CS Educator PD Grants Program here