Australia’s national science agency has launched an innovative new education program celebrating First Nations Peoples as the country’s first scientists, mathematicians and engineers, Emily Campbell reports.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s (CSIRO) Living STEM program supports remote Australian primary and secondary schools to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scientific knowledge in communities and classrooms.
Living STEM aims to increase students’ engagement with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and allows schools and local communities to collaborate to develop hands-on lessons linking local First Nations knowledge with the Australian science curriculum.
Community engagement
CSIRO Program Lead David Broun says Living STEM draws on community engagement principles of Two-way Science, developed with Aboriginal desert schools, which connects the cultural knowledge of the local community with Western science and the Australian curriculum.
“The Two-way Science model allows students to explore STEM subjects that value and connect with their cultural identity, leading to increased engagement and enthusiasm for learning,” Mr Broun says.
Broun described Two-Way Science as a pedagogy that connects the traditional ecological knowledge of First Nations Peoples – including the cultural understanding of people, animals and the environment – with Western science inquiry and links that to the Australian Curriculum in a learning program.
“This approach also promotes First Nations leadership in education and fosters positive partnerships between schools, communities, First Nations ranger programs and scientists,” he says.
Previous evaluation of the Two-way Science approach demonstrates the benefit of culturally relevant and tailored lessons, not only for students but also their families and communities, who may otherwise experience barriers to engaging with their children’s education.
Broun says Living STEM benefits First Nations students’ wellbeing, engagement and achievement because they see local culture reflected in the school learning program.
“Living STEM builds on CSIRO’s strengths in working with communities to design and deliver STEM education programs that embed First Nations knowledge,” he says.
In August 2023, the Living STEM program was offered to the first intake of schools in the Karratha network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The plan is to expand Living STEM. The initial intake program was delivered in July to the first cohort of schools, and included online and face-to-face learning activities.
Broun says the name Living STEM was chosen to reflect that First Nations knowledge is shaping the future of STEM education as a living network intertwined with the Australian STEM curriculum and knowledge systems.
Sharing First Nations knowledge
In July 2023, CSIRO held the first Living STEM knowledge-sharing and curriculum planning workshop with West Pilbara primary and secondary school educators and rangers from Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC).
Jade Churnside, a local First Nations ranger from Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC), says rangers co-designed and delivered a workshop for teachers as part of the Living STEM program.
“We had all the teachers and principals coming out, and we brought them down to Ngajarli and gave them the rock art tour, told them about the different meanings and interpretations behind the rock art,” Jade says.
“We gave them a good, in-depth talk about the local medicinal plants, food plants and general-use plants.
“It’s good to bring the teachers out because we get to show them hands-on and one-on-one what goes on and how it relates to what they do in the classroom,” she says.
Another MAC ranger, Sarah Hicks, says she enjoyed developing classroom activities in the workshop, such as showing local school educators how to use a grindstone to make flour from native seeds.
She also appreciated the close attention paid by the attendees to the information the rangers shared about Murujuga’s seasonal plants, ancient rock art depicting extinct megafauna and other things.
“The two-way learning is good,” Hicks says.
“When I was at school, two-way learning mostly just happened during NAIDOC Week.
“Some of my old teachers were at the workshop, and it felt strange because when I was at school, I was very quiet, and I didn’t like presenting at all, but in the workshop, I was presenting to them,” she says.
Inaugural Living STEM showcase
More recently, the CSIRO hosted a unique gathering of over 80 Pilbara educators, elders, scientists and students for the inaugural Living STEM program showcase in November 2023.
Attendees described the inaugural event as a vibrant and culturally rich showcase of hands-on Two-Way Science.
Irene Hayes, a Yindijibarndi educator at Onslow Primary School, demonstrated her dedication to bridging the gap between Western science and First Nations knowledge.
She worked closely with teacher Rebecca Mackin, and together, they created a learning program around water filtration techniques taught to Irene as a child.
Scientists from Curtin University and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation also shared their work, combining engineering and technology with traditional owners knowledge.
This approach allows them to monitor the Murujuga petroglyphs as part of the current application for Murujuga worked heritage listing.
Students from local schools in the Pilbara region are also engaged in this project, supported by the Living STEM program.
Broun says the hands-on demonstrations allowed attendees to visualise and see first hand how integration of traditional knowledge is applicable to today’s STEM curriculum.
“The event celebrated the collaborative efforts of local educators and First Nations Leaders, demonstrating how First Nations knowledge can be respectfully integrated into STEM education, no matter where classrooms are,” he says.
The CSIRO reported that feedback on the program so far has been positive.
“The schools involved have made good progress in developing STEM education partnerships with their communities,” Broun says.
“For example, Dampier Primary School has partnered with a local Elder who is sharing Ngarluma knowledge around Spinifex resin glue.
“Karratha Senior High School has established a partnership with MAC, where they will be learning about the ancient cultural encyclopaedia represented in petroglyphs in the cultural landscape of Murujuga, Western Australia.
“As part of this, students will engage with Elders alongside scientists using cutting-edge STEM technologies for monitoring the impact of industrial emissions on the world heritage pending rock art sites in the region,” he says.
