D16/0029546

Teacher Development Schools

STEM Innovation Partnerships

Expression of Interest Form

A Department of Education Western Australia and

Innovation Unit Partnership

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Welcome to the TDS STEM Innovation Partnerships.

This program – a partnership between the Department of Education Western Australia and

Innovation Unit - brings together clusters of schools and other interested parties –

‘partnerships’ – to explore professional practices that increase student engagement in STEM

education.

The TDS STEM Innovation Partnerships aim to:

● increase the STEM capability, engagement, participation and aspirations of learners

in all Western Australian public schools;

● increase and illuminate the quality of teaching and capacity of teachers in STEM

areas;

● facilitate effective partnerships with tertiary education providers, industry and the

community in order to make STEM learning more relevant and meaningful and open

up new opportunities for both learners and teachers that might not otherwise be

possible;

● build networking, innovation and collaboration capability in WA schools; and

● provide schools with future focused innovative STEM resources that have been

co-developed with and for the teaching profession.

Over 2016, we will bring together up to 20 schools across four partnerships in a

design process that will see participants:

● interrogate their school-specific challenges with engaging students and fostering

success in STEM subjects through ethnographic-style research;

● refine the problem and create an enquiry question;

● use innovation methods to collaboratively design and test promising practices that

address challenges faced both within individual schools and across the partnership;

● learn about how best to collect evidence of impact through creating a theory of

change and exploring a range of data sources that might indicate whether new

practices are having the desired impact on learning and engagement; and

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● design and trial resources that can support the implementation, scaling and diffusion

of the partnership’s most promising practices.

High performing countries are characterised by a science, technology,

engineering and mathematics (STEM) literate population that celebrates

discovery and innovation. An exemplary STEM education offers a rich

context for developing skills, such as creativity, independent thinking,

critical analysis, problem solving, teamwork and communication –

essential for the success of individuals, emerging industries and

communities of the 21st Century.

The challenge

Nations around the world are turning their attention to science, technology,

engineering and mathematics education as a means of addressing the diverse

economic and social challenges they face in the 21st Century.

In a rapidly changing world, we need students who are equipped with the kinds of

capabilities that will enable them to thrive in an environment of both increasing diversity and

inequality: a world in which globalisation is altering the course of how, when and where we

live and work; where natural resources are quickly depleting; where global conflicts displace

large populations of people and where advancements in technology change the nature of

employment as we know it.

Our students must be able to not just solve known problems but identify future challenges

faced by future generations. They need to be curious, entrepreneurial and analytical whilst at

the same time being empathetic and ethical, and possess a high level of relevant knowledge

and skill to make a positive difference to their local and global communities.

In Australia, the need for graduates with the qualifications, skills and passion for

STEM roles is increasing.

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STEM skills jobs grew at about 1.5 times the rate of other jobs in recent years – by 14%

compared to 9% in other jobs between 2006 and 2011 - while at the same time around 44%

of employers report difficulties in recruiting workers with the necessary STEM qualifications1.

At the same time, advances with automation are seeing large numbers of low and medium-

skilled roles disappear, and significant growth in areas that demand both high mathematics

skills and high social skills2.

“40% of current jobs are considered at high risk of automation over the next 10-15

years…(and) more than half of young Australian students are currently getting

educated for dying jobs: nearly 60% of students are being trained in occupations

where the vast majority of jobs will be radically affected by automation in the next 10-

15 years”.3

However, despite the growing demand for STEM skills from employers, Australian

students are on the whole falling behind.

In the 2012 PISA results, Australia ranked 19th in the world on maths performance and 16th

in science. Australia's maths performance dropped the equivalent of half a year of schooling

between 2003 and 2012, with around a third of students not meeting the benchmark in

maths, science or technology.

“In the future, 75% of jobs will involve Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths

(STEM). Currently, 42% of 15 year olds are not proficient in maths, 35% are not

proficient in science, and 35% are not proficient in technology”.4

In addition to declining performance, students are also quickly opting out of STEM subjects –

and those who persevere are not necessarily being given the opportunity to explore the full

range of possibilities on offer for STEM graduates in Australia.

“Participation rates in science subjects at years 11 and 12 are at their lowest in 20

years, and more and more students are opting to take mathematics at a level below

their true ability. Students who do go on to study a science at a higher level are 1 The Australian Industry Group, Progressing STEM Skills in Australia, March 2015 2 David J Deming, The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market, August 2015 3 Foundation for Young Australians, The New Work Order, 2015 4 Foundation for Young Australians, How are Young People Faring in the Transition from School to Work?, 2015

report card

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encouraged to become research scientists — they are rarely given the same

encouragement to think about all the other roles where people who understand

science might be useful.” – Chief Scientist Ian Chubb5

The solution?

If we are to increase participation and performance in STEM, we must find new ways to

deeply engage students in STEM areas through the design of compelling new professional

practices.

Being engaged in learning means being meaningfully connected with it – cognitively and

emotionally. If students don’t feel engaged in what they are doing, they won’t value or care

about it and will be unlikely to succeed at it.

“Motivation and engagement can be regarded as the driving forces behind learning.

Given the importance of mathematics for students’ future lives, school systems need

to ensure that students have not only the knowledge that is necessary to continue

learning mathematics beyond formal schooling, but also the interest and motivation

that will make them want to do so”.6

The learning experiences we design must have relevance and meaning to the lives of

learners, utilising real-world contexts and connecting to contemporary issues in order for

students to see and experience the application of concepts to the world around them.

“Engagement in learning is both a robust predictor of increased academic and life

outcomes, and also closely associated with students’ orientation to new and

challenging experiences”.7

Learning experiences in STEM areas must excite students by connecting to or emerging

from their individual passions and interests, and be closely integrated so that it is seamless

and logical.

5 Prof Ian Chubb, We can adopt technology early and be an industry innovator, The Australian, 12 November

2015

6 OECD PISA, Students’ Drive and Motivation, 2012 7 Abbott-Chapman et al, The longitudinal association of childhood school engagement with adult educational

and occupational achievement: findings from an Australian national study , 2013

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“In order to make choice and freedom of action motivational, students should be

provided with options to engage in schoolwork that are relevant to personal goals and

interests”.8

However, teachers need not face this challenge alone.

Partnerships between schools, community, parents and industry are essential if we are to

capture students’ interest and imagination through STEM and increase both academic

performance and engagement.

“Employers indicated the importance of a range of candidate attributes when

assessing the suitability of STEM qualified applicants for their workplace. Over two

thirds responded that work experience in a relevant industry was important or very

important”.9

Local organisations, universities and individuals can offer a wealth of opportunities to

help schools expand their capacity to creatively meet the needs of students.

Partnerships with external organisations can provide students with opportunities for real

world STEM experiences through internships, intellectual resources through access to

professional experts, and physical resources or equipment that schools may not otherwise

be able to use. Partnerships such as these also provide incredible professional learning

opportunities for teachers and often lead to the collaborative development of mutually-

valuable, powerful new practices that may not have been possible in the past.

Finding new ways to engage students in STEM learning is no easy feat. But with the

right tools and support, schools can work together to gain a deep understanding

about the current barriers impeding participation and achievement, and

collaboratively design practices that meet the needs of students and have a

significant impact on engagement and motivation towards STEM areas.

Are you ready to accept the challenge?

8 Wang & Eccles, 2013 9 Roslyn Prinsley & Krisztian Baranyai, STEM Skills in the Workforce: What do Employers Want? March 2015

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Expression of Interest – TDS STEM Innovation Partnerships

Overview

The establishment of the TDS STEM Innovation Partnerships reflects a growing desire of

education systems around the world to provide opportunities for schools to collaborate on

the development and testing of innovative new practices, in order to understand and better

meet the learning needs of young people.

Innovation is often seen as a high-risk activity due to the high-accountability environment in

which schools operate. Collaborative communities of practice (partnerships) help to calculate

and manage risk by creating a space where new practices can emerge from a diverse mix of

experiences, and can be tested and refined in controlled environments over a number of

learning contexts before being piloted and scaled. Schools participating in partnerships also

have the opportunity to develop a more robust evidence base about the impact of new

practices than individual schools can.

The focus of TDS STEM Innovation Partnerships is on the collaborative development of

practices that increase engagement, participation and achievement in STEM. These

partnerships are action-oriented and require participants to be prepared to learn and work

together in a collaborative endeavour, for the benefit of students in their school, other

schools in their hub, and every public school in Western Australia.

What will we do?

Schools who apply and are selected to participate will, over the course of the year, seek to

understand more about the experiences of their learners and use innovation methods in

order to design, test, evaluate and iterate engaging new STEM practices that are responsive

to learner needs.

The partnerships will meet face to face five times over 2016 to:

● Form the community (8 March 2016): begin to understand how we might learn and

work together through engaging in user-centred research about the challenges faced

by learners, and developing enquiry questions that will guide STEM-focused

explorations over the following months and beyond.

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● Explore design thinking and rapid prototyping (26 and 27 May 2016): discover

how disciplined innovation methods can support educators to generate and test

radical new practices that meet the needs of learners and result in improved

outcomes.

● Understand data and evidence (26 August 2016): design a theory of change and

gather compelling evidence from a range of sources to find out the extent to which

practices are having the desired impact on learning.

● Develop tools and resources (14 October 2016): collaboratively identify the most

promising STEM practices emerging from the partnership so far, and work through a

rapid design process to create tools that can support the implementation of these

practices in new contexts.

● Plan for scaling and diffusion (11 November 2016): explore common myths and

realities about how practices scale beyond their place of birth, and establish some

strategies for effective scaling of promising practices across and beyond your school.

In between workshops, participants will engage in a range of activities within and across

schools in order to build and strengthen their partnership, including:

● coaching conversations that address challenges and opportunities that arise from

reimagining teaching practices and developing productive and sustainable

partnerships;

● mini-enquiries and ethnographic-style research into students and their learning;

● sharing of insights, ideas and resources to stimulate discussion and debate amongst

participants;

● reflective journaling, resource sharing and blogging within the CONNECT community;

and

● local school expeditions and connections with national and international innovative

STEM learning environments.

In 2017, schools will continue to convene to share outcomes and learning and continue to

take promising practices to scale.

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How will partnerships be resourced?

Partnerships will have access to resources (up to $50 000 in the 2016 calendar year) to

support their enquiry and commensurate with the scale and aspiration of the challenge.

What might schools expect to see as a result of participating?

We will know if we have been successful when we can start to observe and measure the

following over time:

● increased participation in STEM areas of students who have been exposed to new

practices by participating teachers;

● improved academic achievement in STEM areas of students who have been

exposed to new practices by participating teachers;

● increased engagement in STEM learning – cognitive, behavioural and social;

● the establishment - and impact on learning and teaching - of partnerships with

external organisations and individuals;

● increased teacher confidence and capability in applying disciplined innovation

methods to solve problems; and

● the collaborative development of new practices (and associated resources) that

address real teaching and learning challenges faced by participating schools.

What are the expectations of participation?

Schools applying to be part of the STEM Innovation Partnerships should:

1. Have a strong belief that there is a case for exploring new practices that will increase

engagement, participation and achievement in STEM areas.

2. Have demonstrated high standard of performance or demonstrable improvement in

performance in STEM areas.

3. Be prepared to commit leadership time to supporting the program, and time for your

core project team to attend events and participate in community of practice activities.

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4. Have an interest in implementing a disciplined innovation process – perhaps initially

in a small team, but with an ambition to scaling successful processes and practices

across your school.

5. See the value in and commit to collaborating within and across schools, including in

the online CONNECT platform.

6. Be prepared to engage the wider school community through sharing the processes

and outcomes of the work being undertaken.

7. Be open to developing partnerships with external organisations and individuals -

parents, community members, industry, universities - geared towards the creation of

new learning opportunities for students and teachers.

Practically, participating in the STEM Innovation Partnerships will require:

● the release of a nominated team of educators (ideally 3-5) to attend the five

workshops from March to November;

● the release of some or all team members to participate in between-workshop

activities: these may require 1-2 days of release time in order for team members to

intellectually engage with concepts and activities; and

● the collection of data about the extent to which students are engaged, and the extent

to which interventions are having the desired impact.

Selection Criteria

Schools applying to be a part of the STEM Innovation Partnerships are required to

demonstrate expertise, capacity and interest against the following criteria:

1. Active engagement and buy-in from the senior leadership team in sustained innovation

initiatives.

2. Demonstrable high standard of performance or improvement in performance in STEM

areas.

3. A context for developing STEM skills, such as creativity, independent thinking, critical

analysis, problem solving, teamwork and communication.

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4. Willingness and appetite of staff to engage in and evaluate innovation activities focused

on improving student learning.

5. Flexibility in timetables and school structures where possible.

6. Development of a pervasive and effective professional learning culture throughout the

school.

7. Experience in successful change management across the school.

8. Experience and/or interest in establishing external partnerships and collaborative

opportunities with other schools, parents, industry, higher education and community.

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Expression of Interest Form

This expression of interest (EOI) form provides schools with the opportunity to address the

areas of expertise, capacity and interest required for participation in STEM Innovation

Partnerships. The form has been divided into three parts:

PART A: Primary contact details

PART B: School statement

PART C: Areas of expertise, capacity and interest

Schools may receive a site visit as part of the selection process.

Pages 14 -16 of this application form must be submitted to

TDS.SS.Co@education.wa.edu.au before 4.00pm on Wednesday, 10 February 2016.

Late applications will not be considered.

Enquiries relating to the application process can be directed to:

Karen Webster Director Teaching and Learning Services T: 9402 6100 M: 0401 653 015 Karen.Webster@education.wa.edu.au

Lorraine Scorer A/Manager Learning Area Support T: 9402 6130 M: 0429 005 236 Lorraine.Scorer@education.wa.edu.au

Wendy Hewitt Principal Consultant Teaching and Learning Support T: 9402 6315 M: 0403 051 540 Wendy.Hewitt@education.wa.edu.au

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PART A: Primary contact details

School:

Contact name:

School position:

Email:

Phone:

School Address:

Any other information you believe is useful (we welcome any forms of supporting

information, including images and video files):

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PART B: School Statement

Please provide a brief outline of why your school would like to join STEM Innovation

Partnerships (up to 500 words). Your response may address, but not be limited to, the

following:

● What are the current challenges and opportunities for learning in STEM areas in your

school?

● What you would expect to gain from participation?

● What you would hope to contribute to a learning community?

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PART C: Areas of capacity, skill and interest

Please provide a brief outline of why your school would like to join STEM Innovation

Partnerships (up to 250 words per indicator area below). Please tell us about:

1. An innovation initiative developed at your school to improve student learning.

What was the challenge it sought to address? What was the role of leadership in

supporting the initiative? How did other members of the school community engage

with it? Did any adjustments need to be made to school processes and structures to

accommodate the innovation? What was the impact on learning and how this will

inform/support your involvement in the partnership

2. What steps has your school taken to build and sustain an effective

professional learning culture? What does an effective professional learning culture

look like to you?

3. Please describe an experience your school has had with collaborative

arrangements and partnerships. Why was the partnership established? What

processes were put in place to enable its success? What barriers did you face? What

was the result/impact for both parties?