Partners for Science

Making learning a hands-on experience

Partners for Science is a unique partnership in Alberta, enabling hands-on science learning for elementary and junior high students in Elk Island Public Schools and Elk Island Catholic Schools. The program was founded on the belief that students enjoy science more when they can see it in action. To accomplish this, Partners for Science moves learning away from textbook-only methods and puts it into the hands of students—literally.

A scientifically literate population is fundamental to a world that is increasingly dependent on science and technology. By fostering students’ interest and understanding at a young age, Partners for Science is building a generation that understands and appreciates all the ways science and technology intersect with our lives.

A Successful Program

Our centralized resource centre serves as the key innovation in the program. At the elementary level, science kits are refurbished centrally and circulated out to schools so teachers can focus on teaching students, confident that they’ll get the resources they need. At the junior high level, resource materials remain at the schools while refurbishment packages of consumables are updated annually. All resources are curriculum-aligned and teacher-selected.

Does the program really make a difference? Yes. Students in the Elk Island school divisions consistently achieve success, meeting provincial standards and often outperforming their peers on science exams. Enthusiastic students, grateful teachers and higher-than-average provincial achievement results all add up to a very healthy report card for the program.

A Sustainable Future

Partners for Science is a unique offering in Alberta: a curriculum-focused program enhancement funded by industry, school districts, and individual school budgets. While the Alberta Education curriculum calls for a hands-on learning approach, this takes extra time, effort, and financial resources and funding is usually only available for a quick demonstration. 

Our goal is to ensure sustainable funding is in place without compromising the program’s content or results, and to keep the cost to schools at a reasonable level. 

Improving the quality of science education in Alberta is a responsibility that lies not only with educators, but also with government and industry. Improvement must be a collaborative effort to prepare students for the opportunities that lie ahead in a science-dominated world. The more partners on the Partners for Science team, the more dynamic the program becomes. 

Partners

Recognizing the importance of building a science-literate community for a science-dominated future, Elk Island Public Schools and Elk Island Catholic Schools, in partnership with Dow Canada, initiated the Partners for Science program in 1993. The program is founded on the proven principle that students learn best by doing.

Dow Canada provided the start-up funds to enable full implementation of the program in grades 1 to 6. A junior high component is also now available to support a broader number of students.

Today, the partnership includes a diverse group of industry sponsors, and a steering team concentrates its efforts on continued development and sustainability. The team’s objective is to ensure students in the Elk Island region benefit from this program over the long term and that those benefits are extended to the partners and to the community at large.

Our partners’ commitment reflects an investment in the future and in educating the next generation. The benefits of this program extend far beyond the classroom to the partners who help fund it and to the community at large.