2020 SASTA Annual Conference & Expo

9:30 AM

1 Hour

Jacques Cousteau, (French explorer and conservationist) famously said "You can't save what you don't love, and you can't love what you don't know." Zoos and Wildlife Parks create opportunities for visitors to get to know and develop an attachment for displayed species. Hence, most Zoos and Wildlife Parks have education as one of their core aims. Cleland’s purpose statement reflects this role: ‘Cleland Wildlife Park provides world class, direct nature experiences which connect guests and communities to South Australian wildlife. By creating and supporting a love of nature we provide the information and knowledge necessary to empower conservation action in our guests, staff, researchers and supporters.” Up close and personal experiences with animals are both popular with the public, and an effective educational tool. However, in a standard visit to a Zoo or Wildlife Park people spend as little as 10 seconds in front of an individual exhibit. Clearly this is insufficient time to learn or develop any kind of attachment for the species in question. In addition, there is a ground-swell of anti-zoo, anti-handling sentiment directed towards some zoos and wildlife experiences. The challenge to Zoos and Wildlife Parks is to find ways of engaging and educating the public in a meaningful, and lasting manner around the science, necessity and practice of conservation, while being aware of, and responding to the ‘anti-zoo’ sentiment being expressed more and more fervently. This challenge is leading to many new and exciting methods for delivering educational outcomes in environmental science and conservation.

Presenter: Professor Chris Daniels

Organisation: Cleland Wildlife Park

11:10 AM

1 Hour

Incorporating sustainability and climate change at every year level, getting up to speed on what South Australia is doing (and has already done) to transition our energy economy, the role students can play.

Presenter: Lee Harrison

Organisation: Mobile Science Education

Target Audience: Primary school teachers

11:10 AM

1 Hour

Learn to program an Arduino microprocessor to make your own gadgets using ArduBlock, a simple "drag and drop" interface. No experience required.

Presenter: Don Eickhoff

Organisation: Techspace Learning

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers

11:10 AM

1 Hour

Explore how to teach climate change solutions using opportunities provided in the Australia Curriculum Science and Cross curriculum priority Sustainability and General Capabilities

Presenter: Katrina Elliott & Meegan Ballantyne

Organisation: Department for Education

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers

11:10 AM

1 Hour

Current research suggests female secondary students are underrepresented in typically ‘masculine’ STEM subjects. Without intervention, it is predicted that the underrepresentation of females will continue to impact social equity, future workforce needs and business profitability. A range of initiatives have emerged to address the underrepresentation of females; such as local and national STEM competitions, scholarships and camps. This workshop investigates a rational for the underrepresentation of females in STEM education and proposes a renewed focus on soft skills and using worked examples to encourage females to succeed in STEM at school.

Presenter: Catherine Royans

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers, Tertiary educators

11:10 AM

1 Hour

Before we know it, National Science Week (Term 3, 15 – 23 August) will be upon us! In this interactive workshop, walk away with a complete plan for your own amazing school-based Science Week Celebrations, fitting with the sustainable theme for 2020: "Deep Blue: innovations for the future of our oceans".

Presenter: Lara Lang

Organisation: Reynella East College

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

11:10 AM

1 Hour

The Stage 2 SACE Earth and Environmental Science (EES) course has more content about Climate Change and Sustainability than any other SACE course. Together these topics make up 50% of the Stage 2 EES course. This session will provide a brief overview of opportunities for field investigations to suit the requirements of the SACE EES curriculum. Kelly Sharrad, a curriculum writer and experienced EES teacher, will present this part of the session. Dr Cesca McInerney (University of Adelaide) will describe a range of opportunities for EES students to work alongside University researchers, in studies related to Climate Change and Sustainability. These suggestions will include an opportunity for students to be directly involved in the collecting and analysing real field data, as part of their externally assessed Stage 2 Earth Systems Study. During the session substantial cash prizes will be announced for student Earth Systems Studies. From 2021, students will be invited to submit 2-minute videos documenting their work, to thereby compete for $2500 in prize money offered by the Geological Society of Australia.

Presenter: Dr Cesca McInerny & Kelly Sharrad

Organisation: Geoscienc Pathways Project

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

11:10 AM

1 Hour

This innovative program, is an invitation to students, challenging them to step into the role of expert Scientist. Using the learning scaffolds supplied, each student prepares a science activity, demonstration or experiment of their choice to share with the class. Fellow class members have the role of “peer scientists”, asking questions, making experiential connections and posing theories about the science concepts presented by the Scientist of the Week. During this workshop participants will have the opportunity to hear how this program has been integrated into the Early Years classrooms of 3 local primary schools. The teacher, parent and student resources used to support this program will be available in digital format for participants.

Presenter: Anthea Ponte

Organisation: Department for Education

Target Audience: Primary school teachers

11:10 AM

1 Hour

In this workshop I will share the strategies I used in 2019 to improve the scientific literacy skills of my science students. Last year I completed a whole year research project for my Masters in Education STEM university course. Data was collected on the effectiveness of literacy strategies such as Reciprocal Teaching, writing scientific conclusions and developing scientific vocabulary. In this workshop, I will share what these literacy strategies are, how I implemented them and the results of my research.

Presenter: Jenny Woodcock

Organisation: Dept for Education

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

11:10 AM

1 Hour

We are enthusiastic about developing critical and analytical thinking in students via STEM-based units that integrate classroom-based learning with real-world applications. Our STEM unit that aligns with the ACARA achievement standards for year 9-10 science and mathematics will be delivered over a period of 8 weeks in blocks of two 90 minute lessons. The unit focuses on students understanding some aspects of designing a submarine, such as the chemical properties of the material used, physics of buoyancy and biology of maintaining life support under seawater conditions. The unit was developed in collaboration with Lockheed Martin Australia (LMA) whose latest venture with the Department of Defence and Naval Group is to design twelve new submarines. As the submarines are likely to enter the service by early 2030s, students currently in Year 8-12 are prospective employees of the project. This unit will be run by the presenters at Parafield Gardens High School in 2020 with a select group of students interested in STEM-based learning. We invite you to run the unit with us so that we can provide support and assistance to each other during the year, discuss ideas for future improvement of this plan and brainstorm other potential plans.

Presenter: Swati Salvi and Nitika Chauhan

Organisation: Parafield Gardens High School

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

11:10 AM

The SA Water Brainwave Learning Program is a series of free events and learning resources. Students can participate in workshops and tours that explain the process of cleaning water from a variety of sources, including used water. Students participate in hands on experiments in our workshops. They can also tour our infrastructure sites to immerse themselves in STEM industry. In this workshop showcasing the components of each workshop or tour, with time for some of the experiments the students will undertake.

Presenter: Cameron O'Malley

Organisation: SA Water

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers

11:10 AM

Disaster resilience is an important skill that ensures people can withstand and recover from the impacts of events such as fire, drought, and flood. Disaster resilience education allows young people to understand and deal with the impacts of natural hazards and develop solutions to local challenges. South Australia is one of the most bushfire prone places in the world and the threat of a bushfire to South Australian students is increasing with climate change. This seminar will walk you through how to use an understanding of bushfire risk and disaster resilience education to contribute to young people’s survival and resilience in bushfires. You will link bushfire preparedness and awareness with the Australian Science Curriculum with STEM projects that integrate across the curriculum requiring students to solve modern real-world problems.

Presenter: Chris Sedunary

Organisation: SA Country Fire Service

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers, Tertiary educators

12:15 PM

1 Hour

Using STEM as a problem solving framework in class; teaching STEM-thinking as the foundation of how SA works today and tomorrow.

Presenter: Lee Harrison

Organisation: Mobile Science Education

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers

12:15 PM

1 Hour

During this workshop, participants will be guided through a term-long project based unit centering around gum trees. This unit is deep learning into Australia's native tree, from both a scientific and social perspective. This is an integrated unit that includes literature and HASS concepts. Participants should bring a laptop or tablet to this session.

Presenter: Karina Darling

Organisation: Airdale Primary School

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers

12:15 PM

1 Hour

So I hear a new Nutrition subject outline will commence in 2021 for both Stage 1 and Stage 2….…….. This is an introductory session to show teachers the requirements of the new Nutrition subject outline for 2021. This includes science inquiry skills, SHE tasks and changes to the nutritional science understanding. Approaches to skills and application tasks using a case study will be outlined. External assessment of e-exams will be discussed in broad terms of requirements and changes from 2020. Please also register for the ‘So I hear Biology and Nutrition exams are going electronic ……..’ Where a demonstration of the program that will be used in 2020 and an explanation of the tools that will be available to students

Presenter: Joy Cresp

Organisation: SACE Board

Target Audience: Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

12:15 PM

1 Hour

It can be hard incorporating SHE activities into a jam-packed curriculum. Stile has done the hard work for you by producing high-quality units that include links to up-to-date, relevant scientific endeavours. Come along to get some examples and resources to take back to your classroom! Please bring a device along to this session.

Presenter: Izzie Telfer

Organisation: Stile Education

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers

12:15 PM

1 Hour

CSIRO is a major leader in Australian space initiatives. Specific examples including the Space Roadmap, the newly-established Center for Earth Observation, NovaSAR-1, a new radar satellite and the development of CSIROSat-1 due for launch in 2020. CSIRO also provides excellent space tracking and communication through facilities such as the CDSCC operated in conjunction with NASA and the ESA station at New Norcia. We explore these initiatives in detail, highlighting how they can be incorporated into the curriculum. The role of Earth Observation in addressing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals is discussed. Examples of educational resources and activities are presented.

Presenter: Robert Hollow

Organisation: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

12:15 PM

1 Hour

This workshop will give participants the opportunity to engage in a STEM challenge designed to highlight the growing issue of disposable coffee cup waste. The challenge involves designing and making a portable coffee cup that can be used instead of disposable cups. Students investigate the concept of heat transfer and the properties of materials through their application to this real world issue. Templates and rubrics that support this STEM challenge will be available for participants in digital format. Curriculum links will be identified and available for participants.

Presenter: Anthea Ponte

Organisation: Dept for Education - Hawthorndene Primary School

Target Audience: Primary school teachers

12:15 PM

1 Hour

What if, in teaching science, you could actually make a difference to the world around you? Well, you can, and you do! In this workshop, be encouraged to THINK BIG, and do the OUTRAGEOUS in your classroom. Connect to the wider world with projects beyond your imagination as you explore the theme of sustainability and science. 7 complete (and taught and tested) units of work that align with middle school science will be presented, giving you ideas, curriculum links, and big term long inquiry projects that any teacher and students can tackle, in exploring the topic of sustainability.

Presenter: Lara Lang

Organisation: Reynella East College

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

12:15 PM

Data Collection and Analysis has become an increasingly important life skill for Exploring and understanding environmental factors and impacts in our ever-changing Ecosystems. In this hands-on, inquiry-based learning style workshop, participants will experience the fun of working with EASY to use, innovative and engaging technologies and tools to explore a range of environmental conditions. This workshop is suitable and accessible to Primary and Secondary School teachers (and Lab. Technicians) and includes reference to appropriate lessons, with curriculum relevance – utilising EASY to use Data Logging Systems, Probes and Sensors – for the classroom and with Real Life examples. Explorations include experiments and applications for: demonstrating, testing, monitoring, collection, manipulation and analysis of Data. Investigating and measuring conditions relevant to: Climatic and Environmental change, Water and Soil Quality, pH, Ocean acidity, Global warming - impacts, concepts, and variables related to Sustaining ecological Biodiversity. A practical experience with curriculum aligned examples. Including demonstration of various applications for Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Come and see how EASY it is…

Presenter: Karen Fowles

Organisation: Modern Teaching Aids

Target Audience: Lab officers, Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

This session promotes a commercial product

2:05 PM

1 Hour

This panel session moderated by Professor Martin Westwell will discuss issues and questions around the conference theme 'Science Saving the Planet'

Presenter: Professor Martin Westwell, Professor Sandra Orgeig & Professor Chris Daniels

3:25 PM

1 Hour

Review the evidence in age-appropriate ways, tips for incorporating climate change issues in class, dealing with denialism, dealing with anxiety.

Presenter: Lee Harrison

Organisation: Mobile Science Education

Target Audience: Primary school teachers

3:25 PM

1 Hour

Astronomy is a discipline in which real scientific data is freely and easily accessible. This makes it an ideal area for both first hand and second hand student investigations with the potential to undertake engaging and exciting projects. This workshop discusses a variety of data sources and programs, how to access them and what tools are available. Examples of possible student investigations are outlined.

Presenter: Robert Hollow

Organisation: CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

3:25 PM

1 Hour

Flipped learning is a teaching methodology that gives teacher time to students by covering theory in their students' personal time, and spending their class time working with their learning. In this presentation I'll go through why I flip, how I flip, the technology I use, and how to flip assessment and feedback (which saves paper, in line with saving the planet, our conference's theme). We will also get started on your first flip, if you bring your laptop/device...

Presenter: Tobias Ward

Organisation: DECD

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

3:25 PM

1 Hour

Science inquiry based learning is a great way to improve student engagement through curiosity, critical and creating thinking and encourages student voice to solve 'real world problems'. Students who use inquiry based learning in science, engage in many of the same activities and thinking processes as scientists and encourages learning to be collaborative within a social context. Join us in this session to explore the different inquiry models available within a primary setting, view current inquiry projects that operate within our science programs and gain confidence in this innovative way to teach science within a primary school setting.

Presenter: Ashley Goulding and Jade Tinney

Organisation: The Pines School and Salisbury Park Primary

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

3:25 PM

1 Hour

Have you ever left a panel session, your interest piqued, but wishing there had been more time to explore issues, questions and ideas more deeply with the panellists, moderator and each other? This workshop builds on from the panel discussion, and is a more informal chance for panellists and interested workshop attendees to ‘continue the conversation’.

Presenter: Professor Martin Westwell, Professor Sandra Orgeig, Professor Chris Daniels & Dr Kathy Paige

3:25 PM

1 Hour

In an age where people are thinking about recycling and words like fast fashion, sustainable wardrobe and microplastic pollution are bandied about, isn’t it time to look at what our clothes are made of, and what we can do to reduce our footprint on the planet? This workshop will be a hands-on opportunity to look at fibres, yarns and fabrics both visually and under a microscope and perform a simple burns test to determine what fabrics are made from and if they are made of natural or man-made fibres. Suggestions will be made for suitable practicals on this topic, for various year levels, including making rayon & nylon. We will also discuss ways to reduce, recycle and reuse clothing and accessories.

Presenter: Sheryl Hoffmann

Organisation: Concordia College

Target Audience: Lab officers, Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers, Tertiary educators

3:25 PM

1 Hour

Student engagement is considered ‘the cornerstone of high school reform efforts’ with students connecting across cognitive, behavioural, emotional and agentic domains. However, while multiple engagement measures are available, they offer little Australian audience focus, do not evaluate discrete domains of engagement, and data is rarely actioned to develop best pedagogical practice. This study developed a secondary school, domain-level engagement survey, the SDES to map learner engagement domains with four common pedagogical models (Chalk and Talk (CT), Digital Platform (DP), Practical-Based (PB), and Inquiry-based (IB) lessons. Results revealed that overall, IB lesson styles generated the highest levels of engagement across the four domains for Yr 10 students and across cognitive and emotional domains for Yr 9 students. This presentation considers the findings of the SDES as an engagement measure that enables educators to design pedagogy for maximal engagement.

Presenter: Sam Moyle

Organisation: Brighton Secondary School

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

3:25 PM

1 Hour

We workshop a conceptual framework and a diverse set of examples of how science/environmental learning for students and their co-learner teachers can be enacted in order to contribute to their understanding of, commitment to, and capabilities towards living for a more eco-socially just and sustainable world. The approach is based on a set of ecojustice principles for the Anthropocene and their translation into educational practice. We have been able to explore with pre-service teachers, and teachers issues that are currently arising as a result of over population, unsustainable consumption, eco-injustice and social inequity and use the eco justice principles to provide the pedagogical framework to work with these ideas in classrooms.

Presenter: Kathy Paige

Organisation: University of South Australia

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Tertiary educators

3:25 PM

1 Hour

Teaching science in an engaging and interesting way can be challenging at times and rather dependent on the responses as well as the state of mind of students. This seminar proposes how to use a bionic fish to make the teaching of science (physics/biology) as well as digital technology tangibly, impressively and productively. The pleasant surprise of seeing a bionic fish turning its tail in air and swimming in water (if a tub is available) will wake up and wow the sleepiest in class. The bionic fish is a STEM product from Festo Didactic and has been taught in classes of students with learning challenges, with amazing results.

Presenter: Thomas Man

Organisation: Neuplex

Target Audience: Lab officers, Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, School Administrators, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers, Tertiary educators

3:25 PM

1 Hour

This is an information session to show teachers what the e-exams for Biology and Nutrition could look like. There will be a demonstration of the program that will be used and an explanation of the tools that will be available to students. There will be the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

Presenter: Lois Ey

Organisation: SACE Board

Target Audience: Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

9:10 AM

1 Hour

In a world where it’s increasingly difficult to identify #fakenews, communicating and telling stories with impact is key! But is it possible to use the science of communication and marketing to share science messages and tell science stories that make people want to save the planet? Dr Hannah Brown will share her strategies on how to be more influence than influenza, how to communicate with impact, and most importantly, how to tell stories that change behaviour.

Presenter: Dr Hannah Brown

Organisation: Chief Science Storyteller Communications and Marketing, SAHMRI

11:15 AM

1 Hour

Pregnancy is an extremely exciting, yet also stressful time for expectant parents as they often worry that something might go wrong. These fears are not completely unfounded as for every 100 pregnancies around 3 will have a pathogenic genetic abnormality (such as Down Syndrome or a genetic heart condition). In addition, more than 10 of these pregnancies will be affected by placental dysfunctions that can lead to several serious complications including growth restriction, preeclampsia and sadly even stillbirth. Prenatal testing for these conditions and complications is crucial to ensure the best management of pregnancy and therefore, birth outcomes as well as to reassure the majority of expectant parents with a healthy pregnancy. Marnie will speak about her ongoing interdisciplinary research aiming to improve prenatal screening for genetic abnormalities and diagnosis of pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia.

Presenter: Dr Marnie Winter

Organisation: University of South Australia

11:15 AM

1 Hour

Advances in tagging and tracking technology is increasingly enabling marine scientists to better understand where organisms are going. Due to their large size, sharks have been able to carry a wide range of tags providing scientists with new information about shark movement patterns and area of occurrence. However, the new frontiers in tagging and tracking sharks is not only to find out where they are going, but why or what they are doing when they’re there. In this presentation, I will go through the many tags used by shark ecologists by providing examples of recent studies in South Australia and internationally where these tags have been used.

Presenter: Associate Professor Charlie Huveneers

Organisation: Flinders University

12:20 PM

1 Hour

Presenter: Sean Geoghegan

Organisation: State Director Radiation Oncology Medical Physics for South Australia

12:20 PM

1 Hour

Sarah’s research centres around how genetic factors influence cognitive and mental health outcomes, and how these are impacted by environmental exposures such as early-life stress, exercise, and diet. She leads the Behavioural GEMs laboratory at Flinders University, with a focus on genomic and epigenomic variation that contributes to depression, eating disorders, psychosis, and cognitive change. In this talk Sarah will address some questions relevant to the learning and experiences of children in our care. What is it that shapes behaviour and mental health outcomes? Both genetic and the environmental factors are important in shaping our futures, but if there is a genetic control do we as educationalists have any control really, or the children themselves? And given the significance of trauma exposure ingrained in Australian history and also recent catastrophes, can we pass our experiences of trauma to our children through our genetic material? The aim of this talk is to give you a brief overview and provide opportunity to ask questions and raise discussions.

Presenter: Associate Professor Sarah Cohen-Woods

Organisation: Flinders University

12:20 PM

1 Hour

Mosquito borne malaria parasites cause repeated bouts of debilitating illness and the death of 450,000 children younger than 5 every year. Spreading resistance to our best antimalarials in SE Asia is of great concern and new drug treatments are urgently needed. Furthermore, long-term control of the disease is only likely to happen with the successful development of effective vaccines. However, even our best control measures are under constant risk due to parasite and mosquito adaptations, as well as political and environmental challenges. Disease causing malaria parasites live inside human red blood cells (RBCs) that carry oxygen to where needed in the body. Dr. Wilson and his team are uncovering the function of proteins unique to the parasites that could be targeted by drugs and vaccines.

Presenter: Dr Danny Wilson

Organisation: The University of Adelaide

2:10 PM

1 Hour

Promote STEM subjects through climate problem solving; dealing with denialism or anxiety; what is a school’s role in student activism?

Presenter: Lee Harrison

Organisation: Mobile Science Education

Target Audience: Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

2:10 PM

1 Hour

Come along to this session to learn more about how the Oliphant Science Awards can be incorporated into your school! The session will cover general information about the competition, how to get involved, tips on supporting students with projects and judging.

Presenter: Peter Turnbull & Gerald Little

Organisation: SASTA

2:10 PM

1 Hour

To equip our students to be our future problem solvers our learning design must provide opportunities and support to develop an increasingly interdisciplinary set of knowledge and skills, and the ability to effectively transfer skills between contexts. As an example, we will share a unit of work in which Year 10 and 11 Chemistry and Science learning is combined with Year 10 and 11 Mathematics and numeracy learning through exploring patterns. Participants will have the opportunity to consider connections between science, mathematics and numeracy and possible applications for their own context.

Presenter: Andrew & Catherine Stone

Organisation: Australian Science and Maths School

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

2:10 PM

1 Hour

Peer review helps build student investment in writing in all areas, by making the writing process collaborative and giving students opportunities to learn from one another. By assessing whether student examples meet requirements, students focus on task goals instead of simply grammar and mechanics. Even strong writers benefit from this process, students report that they learn as much or more from identifying and articulating weaknesses in a peer’s work as from incorporating feedback into their own. Education Perfect provides teachers with the opportunity to have students review each other's work, while building their skills in writing and grammar usage.

Presenter: Emma McAllister

Organisation: Education Perfect

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

2:10 PM

1 Hour

Imagine a worldwide community of students, teachers, scientists, and citizens working together to better understand, sustain, and improve Earth's environment at local, regional, and global scales. In this session you will learn about and experience The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. An international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. Bring a laptop or tablet able to access the internet to this session.

Presenter: Bill Flynn

Organisation: CSIRO Education and Outreach

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers

2:10 PM

1 Hour

Student perceptions of subject difficulty and confidence in ability are compounded by the complex & abstract nature of concepts in STEM disciplines. Furthermore, the intricacies involved in making connections for learning, may exhaust student working memory, due to immense cognitive load. The incorporation of human movement effect within Cognitive Load theory, the linking of Geary’s evolutionary psychology with cognitive architecture and the emergence of Embodied Cognition theory, have the potential to improve student learning outcomes and perceptions in education. This study used cognitive load as a theoretical framework to investigate the impact of gestures on student learning outcomes in a secondary school chemistry classroom.

Presenter: Kylie Walters

Organisation: Brighton Secondary School

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

2:10 PM

1 Hour

To ensure students have the opportunity to develop the transferrable skills they will require in the modern workforce, it is essential that schools are challenging traditional teaching methods and moving towards inquiry and project-based learning. This places additional pressure on teachers, who are required to remain ever vigilant for creative and relevant task ideas. As the Leader of Creativity at St Peter’s Girls’ School science faculty, I will explore the concept of creativity in task design and how to foster and encourage creativity within your faculties. I will draw on a recently created project-based learning task, the success of which has sparked a potential national roll out of the program with the relevant industry enterprise. The project, focused on e-waste recycling (suitable for either Year 7 or Year 8) and with cross-curricula elements, will be presented in detail. Resources will be provided to attendees to facilitate roll-out of the task within your school.

Presenter: Christopher Carey

Organisation: St Peter's Girls' School

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers

2:10 PM

1 Hour

Bushfires have become increasingly severe and more frequent due to climate change. As a specialty Science teacher, Miriam addresses how she has used the 'Science as a Human Endeavour' strand across 5 primary year levels to facilitate student engagement with bushfires. Sarah Finney will showcase an integrated STEM project incorporating a partnership with Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary, Adelaide University and Stirling East Primary School, addressing the question, "How do we best support wildlife carers following a bushfire?" Miriam is a specialist Science teacher at Mitcham Primary School. Sarah has taught Science R-10, is a class teacher and is the recipient of the 2019 Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.

Presenter: Sarah Finney

Organisation: Stirling East PS

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers

2:10 PM

This biology focussed excursion will include visits to the Vernon-Roberts Anatomy Museum and Adelaide Microscopy at the University of Adelaide. (Double Session: Part 1) With over 400 potted specimens on display, the Vernon-Roberts Museum contains the most extensive collection of examples of human diseases in South Australia. Participants will look at a number of diseased organs and discuss key features that enable their diagnosis. Adelaide Microscopy is a unique centre for advanced microscopy and microanalysis offering not only the latest in electron beam techniques but also optical, confocal, in vivo, live cell and X-ray imaging techniques. Participants will hear about the capability of various microscopes, look at the images they produce and discuss the use of these microscopes in medical research.

Organisation: The University of Adelaide

3:15 PM

1 Hour

What is the evidence and how it relates to the curriculum, dealing with denialism or anxiety, promoting personal responsibility and activism.

Presenter: Lee Harrison

Organisation: Mobile Science Education

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers

3:15 PM

1 Hour

Participants will learn about my student’s inquiry learning on the properties of beeswax, gain resources to deliver student centered inquiry at their own school and will make their own beeswax wrap. (Sarah is the 2019 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Prize for excellence in Science teaching in Primary Schools.)

Presenter: Sarah Finney

Organisation: Stirling East Primary School

Target Audience: Primary school teachers

3:15 PM

1 Hour

High Altitude Balloons provide a platform for launching experiments into the lower stratosphere (altitudes of up to 34 km) and where the temperatures are sub-zero and the air pressure close to zero. This workshop is for those who are interested in looking at how to resource HAB flights; how to launch; how to recover; as well as what might be learnt from them.

Presenter: Brenton Banham

Organisation: Prescott College-Southern

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

3:15 PM

1 Hour

Participants will explore how to create STEAM units which focus on sustainability, plant health, the natural environment and integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. We will also look at how to assess these units in a practical way, with examples, and how to support staff involvement across multiple subject areas to create authentic learning experiences.

Presenter: Kathleen Best

Organisation: Clarendon Primary School

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers

3:15 PM

1 Hour

Science as a Human Endeavor is critical when it comes to framing how to save our planet - but shoehorning a single bolt on lesson at the end of your unit isn't the most inspiring way to get your students interested in future STEM pathways. We show you how to frame your Science Understanding curriculum teaching to make it relevant to enthuse, inspire and excite your students without having to plan for hours.

Presenter: Jennifer Chalmers

Organisation: RiAus

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

3:15 PM

1 Hour

ACARA’s new science elaborations support teachers to incorporate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. They are scientifically rigorous, demonstrating how Indigenous history, culture, knowledge and understanding can be incorporated into teaching core scientific concepts. They provide a more culturally responsive curriculum experience for Aboriginal students resulting in increased engagement and an opportunity for teachers to engage all students in the awareness and recognition of Aboriginal knowledge and ways of knowing. South Australia Department for Education is contextualising the elaborations for South Australia in collaboration and consultation with our Aboriginal Communities. In this workshop we will share how the science elaborations will be contextualised and some processes and resources to support teachers to implement them.

Presenter: Joe Sambono & Katrina Elliott

Organisation: ACARA Curriculum Specialist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and science & Department for Education

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Primary school teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers

3:15 PM

1 Hour

One problem for teachers facilitating interdisciplinary STEM projects is how to lift student rigour and sophistication in each subject as well as the interdisciplinary whole. This problem is compounded by differences in terminology within STEM subjects, which make it appear to students like they are being required to do very different forms of thinking and makes it hard for them to make connections between subjects. This seminar will introduce the Models of Engaged learning and Teaching, or MELT for short, to capture the sophisticated thinking within each subject in terminology used by that subject, and to show the connections between subjects. Participants will make their own modifications to MELT to capture the different ways of, for example, commencing project work in each subject. MELT then can be used to maintain the differences between subjects but amplify the connections between the sophisticated thinking in STEM, and lift student rigour in approach towards projects.

Presenter: John Willison

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Target Audience: Middle school (year 6-9) teachers, Senior school (year 10-12) teachers