Monday, 26 October 2020

4:00 - 4:10pm: Welcome on behalf of UTS - Anthony Dooley, Head of School

Anthony Dooley took up the position of Head of the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at UTS in January 2016, following a period of 4 years as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Bath, UK, where he was Deputy Head of Department and the inaugural Director of the Bath Institute for Mathematical Innovation.  Before that, he was Professor of Mathematics at UNSW, where he was Head of School of Mathematic s and Statistics, Chair of the Academic Board and Associate Dean (Strategy).
His research is in the area of Modern Analysis, including harmonic analysis and dynamical systems.  He has published over 90 peer, reviewed articles, held ARC grants continuously for 20 years, and been a Chief Investigator on the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematics and Statistics of Complex Systems (MASCOS). He has supervised 18 PhD students to completion, and over 30 honours projects in mathematics.

4:15 - 4:45pm: K-12 Keynote - Making stories out of science: or, how to use Quantum Physics in every classroom - Chris Ferrie

With even Nobel Prize winners the likes of Albert Einstein complaining about the difficultly in understanding quantum physics, it certainly seems like an odd choice of topic for a children's book. But Quantum Physics for Babies is not only a real book, it's a hit! How did this book come to be and why does it work so well? Along with the trivia of who, what, where, and when it all came together, I will tell you about the why and how—my approach to talking about big ideas in maths and science to children and why it's not much different than my approach to teaching it to teenagers, or even adults.

Chris Ferrie is an Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, where he researches and lecturers on quantum physics, computation, and engineering. He is the author of over 40 children's books about science, including titles such as Quantum Physics for Babies and There Was A Black Hole That Swallowed The Universe. As the father of four curious children, he believes it is never too early to introduce kids to big ideas!

5:00 - 6:00pm: (K-6) Using MakeyMakey to create interactive posters, Martin Levins

Poster sessions are traditional in Science to demonstrate a concept or development. In primary education, we can use them to demonstrate an understanding. Using devices such as MakeyMakey, students can build touch-enabled posters that create interactions using speech, text, and/or animations to show their understanding. This presentation shows you how, what pitfalls exist and how to avoid them.

Martin Levins works with ACARA as a Curriculum Officer in the National Innovation and Science Agenda funder Digital technologies in focus project.

5:30 - 6:00pm:(K-6) Keynote: Astronomy in the Era of Big Data - Tara Murphy

Forget looking through a telescope at the stars. An astronomer today is more likely to be online: digitally scheduling observations, running them remotely on a telescope in the desert, and downloading the results for analysis. The Square Kilometre Array, a next generation radio telescope that will be built in Australia, is expected to generate a petabyte of data per night. The detection of gravitational waves, discovery of new exoplanets and understanding the evolution of our Universe all depend on big data.

For many astronomers the first step in doing science is exploring this data computationally. It may sound like a buzzword, but data-driven science is part of a profound shift in fields like astronomy. To prepare the next generation, we must develop new teaching methods that recognise data-driven and computational approaches as some of the primary tools of contemporary research.

In this talk I will discuss how the big discoveries in astronomy, and science more generally, are dependent on our ability to work with and understand big data, and how we can incorporate data-driven approaches in school and university science education.

Professor Tara Murphy is an astrophysicist working at the University of Sydney and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. She has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney and a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh. Tara leads an international team of researchers trying to detect and study transient and highly variable astrophysical phenomena with the ASKAP radio telescopes in Western Australia. In 2017 her team detected the first radio emission from a gravitational wave event caused by the merger of two neutron stars. Tara is also passionate about teaching and public outreach. In 2014 she co-founded a start-up company, Grok Learning, to get high school students around the world excited about computational thinking.

Physical World with Toys - Annie Martin and Scott Gregory

When: Tuesday 27 October, 4:00 - 6:00pm

It is essential to teach Primary School Science through a context in which the children can understand and connect. In this workshop, participants will explore the forms of energy and forces involved in how certain toys work. They will hypothesise what specific components of toys are and how properties of materials assist in the functioning of such toys. The participants will then go on to make their own simplified version of some toys that they can then work scientifically to further investigate. Outcomes covered will include ST1-7MW-T, ST2-7MW-T, ST1-8PW-S, ST2-8PW-ST, ST3-8PW-ST, ST1-9PW-ST, ST2--9PW-S.

Annie Martin is a vibrant, enthusiastic teacher who is the Junior School Science Coordinator at PLC Sydney. She has a BSc and DipEd from The University of Sydney. Prior to her current role of teaching Primary School Science, Annie taught Secondary Science for over 10 Years, including HSC Chemistry and Biology.

Annie loves to inspire and encourage her students to inquire and investigate using hands-on activities in suitable contexts. Annie's students have achieved many accolades including winning the Eureka Sleek Geeks competitions for the last three years and also winning many awards in the STANSW Young Scientist and BHPFSEA competitions. Annie is a current member of the STANSW Young Scientist Committee and also teaches Science at MindQuest to gifted and talented primary school students.

Scott Gregory is a Year 3 classroom teacher at PLC Sydney. He has a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology Sydney and a Masters of Teaching (Primary) from Charles Sturt University. Scott has recently commenced his teaching career, having previously worked in the Accounting and Banking professions, focusing largely on technology management and implementation, and application development.

Scott is a passionate teacher who constantly seeks to motivate his students through the delivery of contextual and engaging learning experiences, including the incorporation of technology in meaningful ways in the classroom, promoting problem-solving, and allowing his students to form connections with their own backgrounds and interests.

MANSW/ STANSW Authentic Integration of Maths/Science ST3

When: Wednesday 28 October, 4:00 - 6:00pm

Teaching Forces: Avoiding Repetition and Encouraging Progress with the Continuum of Learning - Helen Georgiou, UOW

Students learn about Forces in every stage in the K-10 syllabus, making it the most represented concept in the Science Curriculum. Despite this, it remains one of the most conceptually challenging. In this talk, I will refer to the continuum of learning to explain what should come first and what should come next, highlighting the potential for unintentional repetition and the risks associated with introducing ideas too early. This focus on curriculum knowledge will give you the tools to think about how knowledge is structured not only in the topic are of Forces, but also across the whole curriculum. (1hr)

Helen Georgiou is a former physics teacher and current lecturer in science education at the University of Wollongong. She is interested in primary Science and Technology, Physics and the curriculum.

Maths and Physics: Integration Across KLAS in a Stage 3 Investigation on Forces - Fiona Foley, MANSW

Integration across a range of KLAs in Primary teaching is both possible and natural. It has the benefits of teaching concepts in authentic concepts, and potentially saving time and avoiding unnecessary repetition. In this workshop, we will demonstrate a practical investigation based on the Stage 3 Physical World outcome related to forces that integrates the Mathematics outcomes related to Data. (1hr)

Fiona Foley is the PreK-8 Mathematics Education Consultant with MANSW.
Recently retired from DET having held a variety of roles including classroom teacher, Assistant Principal, Highly Accomplished Teacher(HAT), relieving executive positions, Literacy Consultant with DET HCC and sessional tutor for Creative Arts(Music) at UoN. With a focus on improving student engagement and outcomes through building teacher capacity in knowledge of content, pedagogy and research-based innovative classroom procedures and strategies.

Education Director with Cognitive Behavioural Education providing online self-paced, evidence based Trauma Informed Education modules for teachers.

Inspiring STEM for Your Students - Science Space, UOW

Stuart Creal, David Lukins, Dr Johanna Howes and Amanda Kruger. 

When: Thursday, 29 October, 4:00 - 5:30pm

Science Space is the most successful and only dedicated science centre in NSW offering our region a valuable resource to bring STEM alive. Last year attracting over 17,000 school students who explored the exhibition, Science Theatre and digital Planetarium. The talented team of Experience Officers will bring you Liquid nitrogen demos, sound show experiments, K’nex vehicles on ramps, vertical wind tunnel and shake tables STEM demos focused around Physics. We demo what equipment we use, explain our shows, STEM activities and Virtual Science Space offerings then provide examples on how teachers could replicate similar experiments in their classroom e.g. DIY ramp, shake table, wind tunnel, substitute K’nex for LEGO.

STANSW Primary Network Teach Meet - Physical World

Jacqueline McCarthy, Abbotsleigh

When: Friday 30 October, 4:00 - 5:30pm

The STANSW Primary Network Teach Meet session with the topic of Physical World Integrating Digital Technologies. Come along, listen, share, and connect with your Primary Science teaching peers. (FREE)

Jacqueline McCarthy is currently primary school science specialist at Abbotsleigh, having transferred there from Sydney Grammar. She is a qualified primary and secondary teacher specialising in agriculture. Prior to specialising in Primary Teaching Jac was engaged by the Royal Agricultural Society as their Education manager. She is passionate about nurturing the curiosity of primary aged students.