ARTICLES
Reflections of the STEM-X Academy For 2018
By Dr Elijah Marshall, Marian Catholic College, Griffith, NSW
I still recall clicking on the button to submit my application for the 2018 STEM-X Academy in Canberra over the January holidays.
I had worked for quite some time on the application and was hoping to attend this year, as I had missed out the year before. When the email arrived with the results of the application, I will happily admit some trepidation as to whether I had been accepted to the professional development opportunity about which I had heard so much.
My colleagues in the staff room were both excited and concerned when I sprang from my seat and began dancing. I was going to STEM-X!
To put the icing on the cake, The ARC Centre for Excellence in Engineered Quantum Systems was kind enough to offer a scholarship, covering the complete cost of the Academy.
After a long flight into Canberra( I was visiting family in Hobart), I arrived there, both excited to be learning and dealing with a massive case of impostor syndrome. Was I good enough to be here? What could I contribute? I’ m only on my second permanent placement.
Louise Monge and her team put me at ease from the outset. They were friendly, welcoming, and made the whole Academy a breeze. Having been to a few conferences before, it was amazing to see how much the team went above and beyond in helping everyone get what they needed, find where they had to go, sort out all the little issues that arise in a conference, and help everyone focus on why we were there: to become better STEM educators than we were before.
Ms. Trudy Spargo, Prof. Alan Finkel and some unimportant teacher from Griffith.
In full mad-scientist mode, holding a large amount of dollarsworth of satellite. It was awesome!
We hit the ground running. Our first stop as secondary teachers was Questacon. I will admit to a particular fondness for the Ian Potter Centre. It’ s a Mecca for me as a tinkerer and maker of geeky objects. This time around, however, I was looking everywhere with an eye to how I could transplant parts of it back to my school. How would I form a place where I could build stuff? What would I call it? What would it look like? What would it be equipped with? Each of these questions was answered both in the workshops and in talking to Broderick and Cindy our key instructors( and challengers) who maintained the theme of going above and beyond for the participants.
40 SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 1