INTER-AMERICAN NETWORK OF ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES

IANAS Academy Members

IANAS is proud to announce that October 2012 marks the tenth anniversary of the Mexican Academy of Sciences’ “Science at Your School” Program.

The main purpose of this Program is to bring scientists into contact with elementary and secondary school teachers and thereby improve their training so that together they can find new forms of teaching closer to students’ interests. The Program seeks to change teachers’ and their students’ attitude towards science and mathematics.

In Mexico, this Program is taught through both classroom-based and on-line learning modalities. Since 2009, the program has shared its experience and materials with Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela and Panama, giving workshops and conferences. It has sent them teaching kits and invited teachers from these countries to complete the program in the on-line learning modality and to attend summer camps in Mexico.

“Science at Your School” was initially based on similar programs established in other countries such as the USA, France and Sweden, adapting them to Mexican needs. It soon went its own way, however, as this Program is essentially designed to help teachers since they are the cornerstone of education.

The Program includes complementary activities such as monthly conferences, summer camps, pedagogical robotics courses and materials design. In addition, both internal assessments conducted by the Mexican Academy of Sciences and external evaluations (by independent experts) are carried out.

Two years ago, the Mexican Academy of Sciences, through the “Science at Your School” Program, reactivated the teaching portal Indágala to disseminate and share working materials. Together with IANAS, this portal will soon offer different activities that we ask the Academy of your country to support.

IANAS congratulates “Science at Your School” and appreciates the support it has provided for other Academies in this region.

Sincerely

Michael Clegg         Juan Pedro Laclette

IANAS Co-Chairs     IANAS Co-Chairs