HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

1. Argentina-Action Plan INTEL/ISEF Educator AcademyMay 2011ProgramaNacional de Ferias de Ciencias y TecnologiaDirecciónNacional de GestiónEducativaMinisterio de EducaciónRepública Argentina

2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF) will be celebrating its 35th Anniversary in 2011. The NSTF was organized by the scientific community up to the year 2008. Then, it became a program of the Ministerio de Educacion de la Republica Argentina—National Ministry of Education in 2009. This program is an integral part of the National Plan of the Teaching of Science. NSTF has been considered essential to reconsider and enhance the teaching and learning of science and technology at every level of the Argentine educational system—kindergarten, elementary school, high school, and tertiary levels. Moreover, there are NSTFs with the following modes in each of the levels stated above. For example, NSTFs for students’ with disabled needs, NSTFs for rural school students, NSTFs for students deprived of freedom, and NSFs for adults. The best school projects of the 24 provinces (states) of Argentina, in each of the modes and levels mentioned, are present in the NSTF. Secondary school research teams from other countries in South America are invited to take part in our NSTF.

3. Goals Long-term goals • Improve the teaching and learning of science and technology in every level of the education system, particularly in elementary and secondary schools • Highly increase the quality and quantity of school projects in all the fairs organized by the Ministry of Education • Strengthen the skills of technical teams who are involved in science fairs in all the provinces Short-term goals • Foster seminars, courses, e-learning courses for teachers who want to get involved in science fair school projects • Foster interaction between teachers, students, and researchers • Development of networks between teachers and teams, scientists and trainers among others • Promote the use of new technological tools for the teaching and learning of science • Improve the way in which information about the fairs is delivered within the education system and the whole community

4. Action Some Ways to Achieve Success • Carry out and introduce a renew NSTF model. The focus of this model will be on the introduction of the fair as part of the school curriculum. • Increase the number of awards in the NSTF for the distinguished school projects in each level and discipline through the involvement and compromise of different institutions • Achievement of an increase in the number of levels and modes in fairs in the provinces and in the NSTF. Therefore, the number of participants in the fairs will be expected to increase. • Teachers’ associations from different scholastic fields, teacher training institutes and universities, National technological-scientific organizations, Science and technology non-profit organizations, Cultural institutions, Private companies , the media

5. Action Some Ways to Achieve Success • Guarantee scholarships to study at university to the distinguished NSTF secondary school teams. • Guarantee the participation of the Argentine teams who were distinguished in the secondary NSTF in similar international fairs • There is an official document by our Ministry of Education which guarantees this action; this action has been put into practice since 2009. In 2010, in particular, because of the Bicentennial of Argentina, all the students who participated in the NSTF 2010 got a special scholarship to study at university (200 scholarships were given that year). • INTEL-ISEF,USA, and other fairs

6. Action Measure of Success • Increase the activities within the National Fair Program • Guarantee the improvement of the teaching of science at school • Interaction among scientists, students, and teachers through different school activities • Beginning of training for teachers in scientific and school research issues so that they can carry out different research with their students • Design of materials to improve school, state, and national fairs • Monitor the impact of the students´ process of work for the projects • Effect of the school fair projects in the students´ learning process • Increment of enrollment in scientific courses of study at university • Improvement in the international external evaluation tests of the quality of education

7. Action Some Ways to Measure Success • Guaranteefairs in theprovinces and anannualnationalfair • Consideration of new science fair experience s • Organization of state and national fairs on the schedule time according to the renew model. • Organization of educator meetings • Organization of scientific camps for students and teachers • Introduction of new technological tools to improve the performance of the fairs • A long-distance fair will be organized since 2011. This will be a virtual science fair among 1500 Argentine students of elementary and secondary school levels who live in other countries • Analysis and design of a particular fair based on school projects to link art/science, art/technology, art/communication, art/ popularisation

8. Action Some Ways to Measure Success • Generate different mechanisms to guarantee the improvement and performance of school projects in international fairs • Improve the way in which information about fairs is delivered • Introduction of new technological tools in school fair projects • Strengthening the links between the scientific community and teachers involved in fairs • Improvement of the logistics of the Argentine teams who take part in international fairs • The media—radio, local and national newspapers, official TV channels, the Internet, Facebook, blogs, official documents within the system, educational events in the communities