SMaRTE Launch Friday 12 August 2005 Baroness Professor Susan Greenfield will give a presentation about her work with the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Program followed by a demonstration of the innovative SMaRTE website.

Welcome to SMaRTE

New Master of Education Programs in Science/Mathematics and Technology.

One of the major problems confronting schools both in Australia and overseas is the difficulty of attracting, and then retaining, science, mathematics and technology (SMT) teachers. The Australian Government has committed funds through the Backing Australia’s Ability Initiative, to provide support for a new programme to Boosting Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics teaching.

The University of Adelaide is committed to making a significant contribution to this programme, and demonstrated its commitment by recruiting three of the world's brightest young scientists to its Faculty of Sciences. The University of Adelaide's respected research capabilities have been significantly enhanced, and highlight the strengthening of the research-teaching nexus.

The SMaRTE portal is another extension of the University of Adelaide’s commitment to enhancing SMT education. The SMaRTE portal further highlights our drive towards making a broader contribution to both pre-service and in-service education. The contents for this portal recognise the dynamic development of contents, contexts and pedagogy, and seeks to build a useful and efficient Community of Practice.

We value the students and scholars who participate in our programs and collaborate in our research work. They bring to the School of Education and to the education community useful insights and experiences. The SMaRTE portal seeks to harness these synergies, and make available to the broader community and future scholars a repository of these knowledge and skills.

The ‘perpertual email’ available to students of the University of Adelaide, will be a catalyst for establishing and strengthening the Communities of Practice for science, mathematics and technology (SMT) education. Moreover, collaboration with, and making available on the portal relevant information from, DEST, DECS (including the Twinning Program, Science Media Centre), SASTA, MASA, CEGSA, and other SMT education bodies, will enable us to be proactive in addressing issues in these fields. The SMaRTE portal is a starting point for beginning teachers, and serve as a focal point for sharing and further professional development.

The SMaRTE portal will:

• Provide a repository for current information and research, as well as a network for a Community of Practice for SMT teachers and students
• Strengthen the nexus between theory, practice and research
• Initiate a closer partnership between the Science, Mathematics and Education disciplines and collaborative research in these areas
• Host video footage of monthly seminars in SMT teaching and research
• Host a new Journal, “e-SMARTE” for SMT educators, highlighting best practices both in Australia and internationally
• Enable better provision of professional development topics and programs for teachers (both locally and internationally)
• Promote both DECS (Baroness Susan Greenfield’s Twinning program and Implications of neuroscience for education). and DEST (Backing Australia’s Ability) initiatives
• Offer collaborative opportunities for SMT teachers and students