Author: Joanne Burke

The Summit and this report have signalled urgent actions and recommendations for responding to the teaching out of field phenomenon. The actions and recommendations call for a cultural shift in the way teaching out-of-field is acknowledged and responded to.

Report Downloads:

Executive Summary LINK
PART A. Report LINK
PART B. Summaries LINK
Actions and Recommendations LINK 

For further information: Linda Hobbs l.hobbs@deakin.edu.au, Anna Du Plessis a.duplessis@griffith.edu.au 
https://ooftas-collective.org/toofsummit

Applications Close Sunday 31 July 2022

Details are here: https://usyd.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/USYD_EXTERNAL_CAREER_SITE/details/Lecturer--Science-and-Technology-K-6-Curriculum_0094589

The University of Queensland’s School of Education has an exciting opportunity for a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer (three positions available) to teach in the School’s Initial Primary Teacher Education programs (undergraduate and postgraduate), as well as perform administrative, service and leadership roles commensurate with their level of appointment. The successful appointees will have the capacity to pursue a strong and productive program of research relevant to the School’s existing and emerging research priorities and to supervise research students.

Our priority areas of expertise are:

• Primary Mathematics and/or STEM Education
• Primary English/Literacy Education
• Primary Science Education

Applications close: 17 July 2022

More information can be found here.

2.7.1940 - 12.12.2021

Darrell Fisher passed away on 12 December 2021 after a long illness. His funeral at St George’s Cathedral in St George’s Terrace Perth on 21 December 2021 was attended by his family, friends and former colleagues and students. The large attendance was testament to how he was held in high regard for his calm and personable nature, friendship, and scholarship. A year before, on Saturday 4 July 2020, several of his close colleagues celebrated Darrell’s 80^th birthday with his family at his home in Bull Creek.

Darrell’s career began in Devonport in north-west Tasmania as a secondary school science teacher. He was chosen as an exemplary teacher to be sent to Melbourne for several years as a curriculum writer for Australia’s first national curriculum, the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP). Next, he was appointed to what now is the Launceston campus of the University of Tasmania, where he rose through the ranks to become Head of Education.

Darrell completed his doctoral studies with Barry Fraser who was then in the School of Education at Macquarie University in Sydney. As a part-time student, Darrell spent most of his time in Tasmania where he researched the learning environment in local ASEP classrooms.

By the early 1990s, Darrell was invited to an appointment as Associate Professor at the Science and Mathematics Education Centre (SMEC) and the National Key Centre for School Science and Mathematics in the School of Science at Curtin University, where he taught masters and doctoral students and conducted research. Later he was promoted to Professor.

When SMEC developed innovative part-time off-campus doctoral programs in Thailand and South Africa, Darrell was closely involved in their teaching and leadership and was a regular visitor to those countries when students were back teaching in their universities and collecting their research data. He played a significant leadership role in establishing very large off-campus doctoral programs in New Zealand and Tasmania, as well as traveling regularly to several NZ cities to supervise and support these students. This design, involving research students making short visits to Curtin for classes and research consultancy, was familiar to Darrell from his own research studies at Macquarie.

Darrell was a very effective and efficient researcher and supervisor who has 105 publications in ResearchGate, primarily on learning environment research, and has successfully supervised over 100 doctoral students from most states in Australia and the overseas countries listed above.

Darrell was very active in the National Association for Research in Science Teaching and American Educational Research Association, two of the major research organisations in education. Darrell was a NARST strand leader with responsibility for managing proposals for the forthcoming conferences. He initiated the International Conference on Science, Mathematics and Technology Education and organised many of its successful conferences in numerous countries.  Darrell was a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators (ACE) and national President of the National Council of Independent Schools (NCIS).

In 2014, Darrell was awarded an honorary doctorate from the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden, in recognition of his collaboration during 21 years as a Visiting Professor.                                                                                             

Darrell is survived by his wife Gail, daughter Marianne and sons Mark, Ian, Gavin and Ross.

Barry Fraser, Rekha Koul and David Treagust

School of Education Curtin University

The Singapore International Science Teachers’ Conference 2022 will be held online from 22 – 24 November 2022. 

Abstracts are invited for individual paper presentations and workshops. The closing date for submission of abstracts is 1 July 2022.

Visit the Conference website https://stas-sistc.sg/

Project: Core concepts in pharmacology education – effective ways to teach core concepts

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Education, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Science

Are you interested in the combination of science, teaching and learning? Do you have a background in science education?

This project is part of an international project led by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University and endorsed by the International Union of Pharmacologists. The project aims to identify the core concepts of pharmacology and other pharmaceutical science disciplines that all students should attain before they graduate. The explosion of knowledge in pharmaceutical sciences has made the task of choosing what to learn almost impossible for students and for educators. An international team with leaders from Australia, the USA, United Kingdom, Africa and South America are working to identify those big ideas that are challenging and critical for students to understand and apply 3-5 years after they graduate.

We now have a list of core concepts of pharmacology education. The project will focus on how educators around the world connect their pedagogy with each of the core concepts we have identified, to support student learning, i.e., their pedagogical content knowledge.

The project will address a number of key research questions that will be critical to answer to help educators actually use the core concepts and for students to learn and understand them.

The final PhD project will evolve over time, but will include some of the following questions:

Are students currently being taught the core concepts, and if so, how?

• This will be answered by mapping of educator approaches to the core concepts – working with an international team to systematically determine the current state of teaching, applying and assessing each core concept of pharmacology education.

What are the most effective ways to teach core concepts to support student understanding?

• This will be answered using a systematic review of the literature and some controlled studies using a number of potential best practice approaches

The project will involve surveys, focus group work and related qualitative data analysis, and evaluation of teaching and learning activities. The project will provide a student with the skills and experience to move into a career as an education focused academic or educational designer.

The project will provide the successful candidate with a $35,000 annual stipend.

For information and enquiries, please contact Professor Paul White, paul.white@monash.edu

• A general board member position. Pauline Roberts has completed 3 years as a General Member.

The International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE) would like to invite scholars and practitioners around the world to attend this global gala event. The conference participants include policy makers, curriculum developers, scientists, science and university educators and researchers, science teacher association officers and members, and primary / secondary STEM teachers to share research results and engage in discussions about the latest developments in STEM education. 

Established in 1973 with support from UNESCO, the objectives of ICASE are to extend and enhance the work of its member organizations; provide and support activities and opportunities to enhance formal, non-formal, and informal STEM education at all levels worldwide; establish and maintain an international communication network; and encourage and support the establishment and development of professional STEM organizations, especially where none currently exists in a country / region. 

The ICASE 2023 world conference is also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of her establishment. It is a global event and is considered as a unique opportunity for all STEM researchers and educators to reach out, connect, and share their best practices. This is a conference that will reflect views and perspectives of STEM education globally, and aims to enable all attendees to use the ideas locally upon their return. For this reason, we urge all ICASE friends who have contributed to ICASE in the past, who still support ICASE today, and who will contribute in the future, to take part in this important conference by submitting their proposals (2,000 – 3,000 words) on or before 31 October, 2022. 

The conference will be held in the Gulf region at the British University in Dubai in collaboration with Amity University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 27 - 30 March 2023. 

We look forward to receiving you in Dubai, UAE. 

Conference Theme

STEM Education Solutions to Complex Global Challenges 

Conference Strands

A. STEM Education Policy

B. STEM Education Impact

C. STEM Teaching Practices

D. STEM Education Pedagogy and Projects

E. Others

We welcome creative topics that are relevant to the conference theme. 

Keynote speakers

Conference Webpage

Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles in Integrated STEM Education Through Research and Practice.

Prof. Gillian Roehrig and Assoc. Prof. Emily Dare

The focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education - commonly referred to as STEM education - has been lauded and critiqued since its inception in the 1990s. In more recent years and specifically within K-12 education, the term “STEM education” has been synonymous with integrated STEM education. This approach challenges the traditional, isolated approach to teaching STEM content in favour of a pedagogical shift that requires educators to consider multiple STEM disciplines simultaneously. In this, integrated STEM education puts forth a more realistic representation of how STEM content is used beyond the confines of formal education. While most literature agrees that integrated STEM education includes the use of real-world contexts, more student-centered approaches, and intentional development of 21st century skills, defining integrated STEM education for practice has been challenging. Teachers and other stakeholders hold different conceptions of integrated STEM and until recently there has not been a tangible framework for practical use. Our work has centered on developing a 10-item observation protocol designed for integrated STEM teaching in K-12 science and engineering classrooms. This protocol starts a new conversation within these educational spaces to not only conduct educational research, but also lead the way in helping others develop their integrated STEM classroom practices. Our initial work with this protocol has helped to illuminate what is currently practiced in classrooms, helping to identify additional areas for research, but more importantly to understand how to better support teachers in their efforts.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Tuesday 5^th July, 2022

Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm

Location: Room 243, LTB, (&/or online via Zoom), Monash University, Clayton Campus

RSVP :By Saturday 4th June, 2022 (by completing this Google Form: https:/forms.gle/weQfABhD4TnRQXLF6*)
*The Zoom link and further event details will be provided through this form

Enquiries: tabetha.spiteri@monash.edu

VISITING SCHOLAR BIOGRAPHIES:

Gillian Roehrig is a Professor of STEM Education at the University of Minnesota. Her research explores issues of professional development for K-12 science teachers, with a focus on implementation of integrated STEM learning environments and induction and mentoring of beginning secondary science teachers. Her work in integrated STEM explores teachers' conceptions and implementation of STEM, curriculum development, and student learning in small groups during STEM lessons. She has received over $50 million in federal and state grants and published over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She is a former president of the Association for Science Teacher Education and currently serves as president of NARST.  

Emily Dare is an Associate Professor of Science Education at Florida International University in Miami, FL. Her research interests lie primarily in the realm of integrated STEM education within the context of K-12 science classrooms. This research aims to support science teachers as they transition from traditional science teaching to bring new initiatives and pedagogies to their classrooms. Further, this research aims to understand how these newly implemented practices impact students’ attitudes, interests, and achievement in STEM, especially for those who have been historically underrepresented in STEM fields. Emily is also an Associate Editor for the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and the Journal of Science Teacher Education.

For more science education news & events, follow us on Twitter @SERG _Monash