Lead academy: Chilean Academy of Sciences

IAP seeks to reform science education on a global scale by encouraging hands-on enquiry-based learning, especially in primary and secondary schools. An interactive electronic portal has been created in cooperation with the International Council for Science (ICSU) highlighting national curricula in science education. Contact: jallende@abello.dic.uchile.cl
 

Recent developments in 2008 ...

- SCIENCE vol 319 of 21 March 2008: Bruce Alberts, the new Editor-in-Chief, illustrates in the Editorial why he considers science education critical to science and society, and refers to the inquiry-based science education methods, an integral part of the IAP Programme on Science Education, currently being implemented in many countries worldwide, to gradually change the approach of science teaching. Download the Editorial here.

- Professor Jorge Allende, Coordinator of IAP's Science Education Programme at the Chilean Academy of Sciences, as been awarded, together with Professor Jokic (Serbia) the "puRkwa" Prize in 2007. The "puRkwa" Prize's goal is to encourage the best innovative practices in general science education for children under 16 years of age in the school curriculum. The Prize is addressed to "pioneers" in innovation: people in charge of innovative programmes or people who have succeeded in motivating professors in innovation. The Prize is awarded jointly by the French Academy of Science and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines of Saint-Etienne. For information on the Prize, see www.emse.fr/en/news/purkwa.html

Resource materials for teaching science in school have also been produced La main à la pâte and the French Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia with the aim of promoting and disseminating the inquiry-based science education programme to countries in the Southeast Asian region.  The document is available for download in French or English at: www.inrp.fr/lamap/index.php?Page_Id=1179

Activities in 2007:

- The Programme carried our many activities at a regional level. These included an international conference on science education in Asia and the Pacific, 28-29 November 2007, in Bangkok, hosted by the Thailand Academy of Science and Technology (TAST). Two regional networks of academies, FASAS and AASA, organized a special session on the IAP science educatiohn programme. The objectives of this special session were to promote the participation and collaboration of national science academies in the Asia Pacific region in science education, and to generate a regional programme to integrate with other regional activities already operating in Africa and the Americas.

- The second meeting of the Evaluation of IBSE International Oversight Committee (IOC) took place in London on 22 October, hosted by The Royal Society. The Committee reviewed areas of cooperation and joint activity in the IAP programme including global activities and the evaluation project. Mention was made of the various networks carrying out activities at a regional level, including IANAS which had recently held a meeting of focal points. For more information on the meeting, contact: jallende@abello.dic.uchile.cl.
 
- IANAS - InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences: The IANAS Science Education Program held the IV Meeting of its National Focal Points in Mexico City on July 2-3, 2007. Key issues in the agenda were the discussion of the IANAS/OAS Science Education project, the national science education activities developed by the Academies in 2007 and the proposed action for 2008.
For more information, see: http://www.ianas.org/meetings_science_education_en.asp

2001-2006: Link to an outline of activities which took place from 2001-2006.