In recognition of the strong influence that school teacher can have on their students, it was the intention of the Education Program to develop a working relationship with secondary school science teachers throughout the communities in which CSRP is involved. The hope was that by better educating these teachers, their students would have greater opportunity to learn of career options in sustainable resource processing and find out about the relevant university courses available.
CSRP partnered with Murdoch University Extractive Metallurgy to offer a series of expanded educational events organised for secondary science teachers in Western Australia with the aim being to enhance teacher attitudes towards the mineral processing industry.
CSRP, Murdoch University and GAMSET (Gladstone Area Mathematics, Science and Engineering Teachers) collaborated in offering a teacher professional development series in Queensland.
CSRP partnered with the Metallurgy Department at the University of Ballarat to further expand the teacher professional development courses to Victoria.
CSRP ceased operations on 31 October 2010 and will no longer be offering the School Teacher program.
About the Courses |
Past Courses |
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Awards |
CSRP Teacher Program wins an Award for Excellence in Innovation in Education and Training (27 May 2008)
SCIps: School, Community and Industry Partnerships in Science (SCIps) Program (2005)
Motivation behind the Teacher Program |
When one speaks of "sustainability issues" within the minerals resource sector, it would be both short-sighted and counterproductive to ignore the importance that an ample supply of human capital has on the long term survival of the industry. Within CSRP, it was acknowledged that there can be no research without researchers, nor can there be any employer without employees.
There is ample evidence that the mining and mineral resource sector in Australia has experienced a decline in the number of young people interested in choosing careers within the industry. This impacted the industry partners of CSRP in a negative way, in that it became more and more difficult to get qualified employees at any level.
Work done by Nichols, Churach & Fisher ("Industry-Funded, Content-Rich Professional Development: Influences on Attitudes Towards Applied Science") indicates that a strong, on-going professional development program for secondary science teachers may result in: