Science

With ACER’s Research Conference 2021 fast approaching, at Teacher magazine, we’ve been catching up with some of the keynote speakers that are on the line-up for the five-day online conference. In today’s episode we’re going to get you up to speed on these exciting stories at Teacher, and also some more of our highlights.

Teachers at Kalkie State School have designed and delivered a pilot STEM program aimed at increasing student engagement in science and technologies and improving digital literacy for both staff and students. Digital Technologies teacher Samantha Ephraims shares the details in today’s reader submission.

Teachers can have a key influence on the career choices of young people, so knowing their attitudes towards STEM can help us understand how students are being influenced in the school environment. Here, we share results of a survey capturing teacher attitudes towards STEM.

Ahead of ACER’s Research Conference next month, we sat down with Professor Rich Lehrer from Vanderbilt University to discuss his research that explores science and mathematics education for elementary school students in the US. He also gives listeners a taste of what he’ll be sharing at the conference and why he decided to name his keynote address ‘Accountable Assessment’.

‘An important factor in improving enrolments in STEM is ensuring the development of positive attitudes towards mathematics and science.’ In her new column for Teacher, Dr Sue Thomson discusses the results of the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), students’ general attitudes to mathematics and science, and their aspirations post-school.

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has today published new analyses of questionnaire data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019, examining the home, school and classroom contexts in which learning and achievement occur, and student attitudes.

Integrating Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum has seen these Queensland students conduct a hands-on inquiry into the science of the woomera – an Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device. Find out more about the project and curriculum links in today’s article.

A report from Education Services Australia has outlined a range of strategies for creating a gender inclusive STEM learning environment. In this video, we outline some of the recommendations on creating a gender-neutral learning environment.

Staff at Bowen Road Primary School have been working with a local electrical engineer for a few years now to teach students about coding. In this podcast, we speak with educator Lynne Hanlon and electrical engineer Robbie Bell about how the partnership is broadening students’ understanding of careers in STEM.

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) measures how well Year 4 and Year 8 students perform in maths and science. The latest study data from Australia compares student performance with the number of books in their home. Here, we look at how the number of books correlates with performance.