Science Teachers’ Association of New South Wales Inc.
Providing leadership and promoting excellence in science education
STEM X Academy Regional Workshops
A 2-day professional learning program for primary and secondary teachers of science, developed in partnership between Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre, CSIRO and the Australian Science Teachers Association( ASTA) to address the national need for improving teachers and students STEM skills and knowledge. In early November STANSW received an invitation to run a“ Delving into depth studies” twilight PL course at the completion of the first day of the regional workshop. The STANSW treasurer Julie Rogers attended the 2 day STEMX workshop and successfully presented the twilight PL on 29 November to STEMX attendees and presenters as well as a local STANSW member who attended only the PL event. The Depth study program was already being successfully run as a new initiative by the STANSW PL portfolio using the concept of existing teacher networks and member hosts to deliver small group professional learning in the suburbs and rural communities. And the attendance at the Condobolin STEM X rural program by a member of executive instead of a local presenter was seen as a positive marketing opportunity by both the marketing and branches portfolios of STANSW. The outcome has been a positive one with a new councillor for 2018 / 19 coming from the Condobolin event, a network of teachers from the event established with direct links with STANSW and city teachers. Completion of this course also contributed 2 hours of QTC Registered professional development( addressing 7.4.2 and 6.2.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers) towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
Diving Deep into Depths Studies Workshops
This program was run as a new initiative by the STANSW PL portfolio using the concept of existing teacher networks and member hosts to deliver small group professional learning in the suburbs and rural communities. Depth studies were a new concept in all senior science syllabi that were identified as a source of concern for STANSW members and thus the Diving into Depth Studies initiative was added to the PL portfolio’ s program for 2017 / 18. The course, a 2 hour twilight session, has been successfully run at 21 locations across NSW- 10 metropolitan schools and 11 rural or remote schools hosted the event. Completion of this course contributed 2 hours of QTC Registered professional development( addressing 7.4.2 and 6.2.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers) towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
Program Background
• Teachers discussed the depth studies and how they can be programmed into class time.
• STANSW members were trained to deliver the same program across all schools in line with NESA requirements.
• At events teachers present developed shared resources for conducting depth studies by collaborating with other teachers in order to share ideas about possible depth study options.
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