In 2018 Early Learning Centres in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn commenced a two year STEM program funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.

The Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) Pilot program focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics through real-world play in the preschool years and includes valuable professional learning for educators.

Our eight Early Learning Centres will participate in hands-on play-led experiences using specifically designed iPad applications. The apps encourage active learning and inspire children to explore and interact with their natural world.

It is expected that through the use of the program the children will become fluent in and promote STEM Practices, ideas, methods and values using the Experience, Represent, Apply (ERA) model. This will be achieved through a focus on logical thinking, patterns and relationships, location and arrangement, representations and investigation.

The program provides each child with a solid foundation for STEM that will evolve through their primary and secondary years.

All centres attended a two day Professional Development session on the Gold Coast earlier this month to assist with implementation with the program in their Preschools.