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Activities and ProgramsElsa program

Elsa program

The program began in 2016, when the STEM Education Research Centre (SERC) was awarded $5.6 million by the Australian Government to create the Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) Program.

Knox childcare

When children engaged with the ELSA program, researchers found, their STEM literacy skills improved at a rate three times higher than for children not in the ELSA Program. In numeracy, children improved at a rate twice that of children not in ELSA. WE have been using the ELS apps and books since 2020.

Educators also benefit from the program, with research showing that their understanding, interest and confidence in teaching STEM content improved when they engaged with ELSA. These results, STEM Education Research Centre Director Professor Tom Lowrie said, are “A heartening example of education research being utilised in the classroom to the benefit of educators and students.“ The ELSA program provides a tangible tool for our researchers to share the most up-to-date, evidence-informed STEM education approaches directly with practising educators. ELSA is now attracting considerable attention from overseas governments, with the program featuring a suite of play-based digital apps for children, as well as an Educator App and a Families App, and more than 100 classroom activities for children to engage in ensuring a healthy balance between digital play and physical play. Each app engages children in a different STEM skill. The program has 16 apps grouped into 4 bundles – Patterns and Relationships, Location and Arrangement, Representations, and Investigations. The app also includes 30+ lesson plans created by the SERC’s team of education specialists.