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PROmOtinG Science teAchinG
rewarding the youngest generation
9
the Foundation
La main à la pâte
- Pour l’éducation à la science
carries on its initiatives in continuity with the hands-on science
operation La main à la pâte
®
, launched in 1995 at the initiative of
Académie members Georges charpak, 1992 nobel Prize in Physics,
Pierre Léna and Yves Quéré. it gives first priority to inquiry-based
science teaching, using exploration, experimentation and discussion.
First developed at primary school level,
La main à la pâte
has now
been successfully implemented in middle schools with great success.
the annual La main à la pâte awards ceremony, in the Great hall
of conferences, is a reminder of this commitment, whose 20
th
anniversary will be celebrated in 2015:
Since 1997, the
Prix Écoles primaires [Primary Schools Awards]
of
La main à la Pâte
are awarded every year under the auspices of
the Académie des Sciences. they single out classes from public or private primary schools for having carried out, over the previous
year, experimental scientific initiatives which reflect particularly well the spirit and investigation method endorsed by
La main à la pâte;
created in 2009, the
Prix Que faire dans le monde ?... un métier (“What to do?...a job!” Award)
of
La main à la pâte
highlights the
extent and quality of a partnership that links together a school and one or more companies sharing a common project. it singles
out experimental scientific initiatives from middle school classes which carry out integrated science and technology education in
partnership with a company during the 2012-2013 academic year;
created in 2007, the biennial
CAFIPEMF Award
singles out one of the laureates from the cAFiPemF (certificat d’aptitude aux fonctions
d’instituteur ou de professeur des écoles maître formateur), a qualification exam which demonstrates primary school teaching &
master training qualification. Such laureate is rewarded for the dissertation on the renewal of science teaching which he/she would
have written and defended in an attempt to be admitted;
the
Prix Master enseignement et formation (Master of Education in Teaching and Training Award)
, which replaced in 2011 the
Prix
Mémoires professionnels (Vocational Dissertation Award)
of
La main à la pâte
, rewards two dissertations written by students in their
second and final year of the master’s Degree (master 2), in fields of study that prepare them for teaching/training professions by
adopting, in the spirit of
La main à la pâte
, a renovated approach to the teaching of science and technology or by training science and
technology teachers at primary school levels (nursery school level included).
the 2013 Awards ceremony took place on 4
February 2014 in the Great hall of conferences
of the institut de France, in the presence of Jean-
Paul Delahaye, the managing director of school
education. the 2014 awards have been bestowed
in the presence of najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the
minister of national education, higher education
and Research.
Young laureates welcomed to the Académie des sciences (10 March 2015)
Bernard Meunier, President of the Académie
des Sciences, and Najat Vallaud-Belkacem,
French Minister of National Education,
Higher Education and Research
The Member of the Académie des Sciences
Daniel Rouan, President of the Foundation La
Main à la pâte-Pour l’éducation à la science
© Brigitte eymann
© Brigitte eymann
© Brigitte eymann
The initiatives of the Académie on science teaching are grounded on two pillars of action: the
Delegation for Education
and Training
, directed by Académie Member Christian Amatore, is in charge of keeping a watch on topical issues of science
teaching, all scientific, administrative and legal dimensions being considered; the
Standing Committee for Science Education,
chaired by Académie Member Étienne Ghys, delves into the major science education issues the Académie wishes to take hold of,
most often with long term vision as a goal.
In close cooperation with the Foundation for Scientific Cooperation
La main à la pâte - Pour l’Éducation à la science
8
, which is chaired
by Académie Member Daniel Rouan and of which the Académie is a founding member, the Académie des Sciences continuously
promotes, through its initiatives, science teaching at primary and middle school.