Ali Farmer: Teaching science to be stronger and smarter

Teachers of STEM™ graduate Ali Farmer first discovered her passion for science when she was a teenager. 

'I remember being inspired in high school by my teachers, they showed interest in me learning about science and I was hooked from there,' Ali said. 

Ali spent her younger schooling years in Port Hedland, Western Australia, and is a proud Meriam Mir woman and a descendent of the Gudang and Wuthathi language groups.

As a mature age student, Ali went on to university to study an Environmental Science Degree at Southern Cross University in New South Wales which she thoroughly enjoyed. 

After some overseas travel, Ali and her family returned to Adelaide where she then enrolled in a Masters of Teaching part-time at Flinders University. 

Being the primary carer for her young children meant that Ali could juggle parenting with study, which she enjoyed. She continued her learnings and thrived with excellent grades. 

Once Ali started teaching full time, she was offered a scholarship to participate in the Stronger Smarter Institute’s Teachers of STEM™ Initiative for her Graduate Diploma in STEM Education. 

The Teachers of STEM™ program allowed Ali to continue studying while refining her teaching skills. She was able to learn practical skills and then apply them directly into her Year 7 classroom. 

'I managed to come away with so much knowledge from the program, that I was able to share with my school community and I still share constantly when we do planning sessions,' Ali said. 

Ali is now teaching Year 5 at Belair Primary School in the Adelaide Hills.

'It’s been really good to be able to use that support from Stronger Smarter to build on my knowledge and to share that knowledge not just with my children and my students, but with the whole community,' Ali said.

Ali wants to see Indigenous kids be able to share the science knowledge they know so others can grow and learn even more. 

'There’s not enough of us doing it and we are the first caretakers and custodians of this land, and we have so much knowledge. We can build on the knowledge we know with more science knowledge,' Ali said.

She will continue to encourage her students to be anything they want to be and even to further develop their knowledge by going to university. 

'We need to make sure that we're keeping those kids who have a science interest in primary school, continue their interest within high school through STEM programs that connect with them,' Ali said.

The Teachers of STEM Initiative™ is an innovative response to support Indigenous women to succeed in STEM. The program was developed by The Stronger Smarter Institute, which is supported by the National Indigenous Australians Agency.