STEM

The winners of the annual Prime Minister’s Prizes for Excellence in Science Teaching in primary and secondary schools have been announced. Darren Hamley from Willetton Senior High School in Western Australia and Sarah Fletcher from Bonython Primary School in the ACT were awarded with the prizes, and they both join us in today’s episode.

We’ve collected the details of significant themes and events which might help inspire some of your upcoming lessons for 2021. Here, find out about STEM and literacy events that are scheduled, as well as themes of global significance which you might find relevant.

What should Australian schools and teachers focus on in order to improve students’ general understanding of mathematics and science? In her final Teacher column of the year, Dr Sue Thomson explores newly released TIMSS 2019 data to highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of Australian students at the national level.

Australian students have performed significantly better in the latest cycle of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in Year 8 mathematics and Year 4 and Year 8 science – but not in Year 4 mathematics – than they did in 2015. Here, we take a closer look at the results.

In this monthly series, we take a look at some further readings available on a particular topic, including open access research papers from various online catalogues. This month’s theme is science education.

At Tulliallan Primary School in Melbourne, teachers and students have been working with local Indigenous groups to create an immersive Acknowledgement of Country. STEM teacher Nick Pattison shares the story from different perspectives.

It’s well understood that highly effective school leaders promote the use of evidence-based teaching practices throughout their school. A new resource aims to support principals, learning leaders and teachers in thinking about their priorities and student needs in mathematics, and what the research says.

Which is more creative, the Arts or the sciences? Professor David Cropley from the University of South Australia joins Teacher for today’s podcast to discuss this question and to delve into his research into whether any specific differences exist between creativity in the Arts and creativity in STEM.

Queensland educator Chris Buswell is passionate about integrating technology into science. He’s partnered with local universities and schools overseas to improve student outcomes in STEM and joins us in today’s podcast episode to discuss his work.  

National Science Week is going to look a little different this year with pandemic restrictions still in place in various parts of the country. Here, we look at how three schools are celebrating science and technology in their communities.