Making a difference to school science
Dr Ng, right, with teachers and student teachers at a recent professional development day.
With help of more than $330,000 in funds from the Commonwealth government, La Trobe University's Faculty of Education has worked for the past two years to improve science and technology education in primary and secondary schools.
The funding was for four projects, part of the Australian Schools Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics initiative.
Co-ordinator Dr Wan Ng said the projects were aimed at reinvigorating science and technology teaching and have had a direct impact on nineteen participating schools. They involved about 80 teachers and 2,500 students and helped introduce basic concepts of biotechnology, nanotechnology and robotics into the critical middle years of schooling. One of the projects provided mentoring for primary school science teachers and was co-ordinated with Associate Professor Bernie Neville, also from the Faculty of Education.
Their impact is now reaching many more teachers and students – through professional development workshops for teachers and regular 'science days' for secondary school students held at the University. Teachers also have direct access to on-line curriculum materials via the Education Faculty website.
Two of the projects were conducted with staff from the Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, with head of Chemistry Professor Bob Brownlee as chief consultant and Dr Chee-Kai Chan from Genetics as consultant for the biotechnology component.
Dr Ng says one of the teachers involved, Pat McMahon from Diamond Valley Secondary College, won a Microsoft Innovative Teacher Award late last year which included a trip to Vietnam in April. There, at the Microsoft Asia Pacific Innovative Teachers Conference in Hanoi, he went on to become one of three regional finalists for the Outstanding Secondary Teacher Award.
His college was one of five schools taking part in a project that engaged students through 'mechatronics' – mechanical, electrical and electronic systems combined with information technology – co-ordinated with Dr Ng's colleague, Dr Howard Nicholas.
Mr McMahon says he is very pleased with the outcome of the robotics program. About 400 students at his school have already made microcontrollers using Picaxe chips, and he intends to continue this very successful program.
In June fifty year nine girls from Fintona Girls Grammar took part in a science day on the main Melbourne campus at Bundoora, dealing with nanotechnology and stressing the interdisciplinary nature of science. Their focus was on integrating nanotechnology with sun science, through activities using dye solar cells, sunscreen and ultra-violet sensitive beads and selfcleaning glass.
See: www.latrobe.edu.au/educationalstudies/projects-asistm/asistm