The Oliphant Science Awards is now in full swing!

We've had over 600 projects submitted for offsite judging and we're now getting ready for onsite judging and Open Day!

Exam Prep Seminars

Exam Prep Seminars will be held for Year 12 Biology, Chemistry, Psychology and Physics students in September. More information and registration is available on the website.

SASTA Blog

Find out what's been happening at SASTA and in schools around SA in our latest blog posts:

St Catherine's take on STEM
Lab Lessons with a STEM focus

Early Career Teachers Conference

Knowledge on its own isn’t enough; it’s the understanding of the science content that brings it to life.

This conference is aimed at teachers in the first five years of teaching science/STEM or those new to a specialist science or STEM role. The program includes specialised workshops for both Primary and Secondary Teachers.

STEM teaching and learning involves the successful integration of science, mathematics and technology. Planning and implementing effective lessons that have STEM focus depends largely on teachers’ understanding and knowledge of the subject matter.

These workshops aims to deepen teacher’s science content knowledge and expertise in teaching that content to all kinds of learners and will focus on Chemical Sciences. Register here.

Upcoming Events

STEM - beginning with the science (Primary) | Friday 10 August
STEM - beginning with the science (Secondary) | Friday 24 August
SACE Biology Marking Workshop | Friday 14 September
Early Career Teachers Conference | Friday 12 October
STEM (6-11) Conference | Friday 30 November

Don't forget to check out the Events & News in the Science Community below!

STEM (6-11) Conference - call for workshops

Call for Workshops now open!

This Conference will provide an excellent opportunity for educators and teachers to exchange ideas about STEM teaching and learning and to maintain and develop valuable networks. If you have something you would like to share please submit a presentation online by Friday 14 September.

Come along to the 2018 Oliphant Science Awards Open Day to experience the fun and magic of science in action! Check out the full program of science shows here.

Resources

SASTA Stage 1 Exams

Newly written for 2018, these exams feature a range of questions with difficulty levels ranging from simple to challenging and are designed to prepare students for examinations at Stage 2. Available for Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Click here order your copies.

Order Resources online

SASTA Stage 2 Exams

Developed by leading teachers to support SACE Stage 2 Teachers to use as a stand alone assessment tool or to help develop students exam preparation skills. Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology exams are now available to purchase online.

Study Guides

We have a limited stock of Study Guides remaining from our second print run! Order online now.

Events and News in the Science Community

National Science Week

We'd love to know what your school is doing for National Science Week! We're putting together a 'round up' of what happened in schools around the state. If you would be interested in sharing what happened in your school please contact Tegan - marketing@sasta.asn.au

RACI Mid-Year Chemistry Teachers Workshop

Monday 6 August | 4.15pm - 6.35pm
University of South Australia

Participants will take part in three activities that involve the deconstruction of a problem in order to plan the outline for a practical investigation. Register online here.

Girls in STEM showcase

Thursday 30 August | EDC

Women as Futurists. How do we empower our young women for a future in STEM? The showcase will offer interactive workshops to engage and retain girls in STEM, a keynote speaker focusing on futurism, Q&A panel from 3 influential STEM professionals and extensive networking opportunities - view the full program here. To register online visit the website.

SACE Review

The Minister for Education, the Hon. John Gardner MP announced a review into the Stage 2 requirements of the South Australia Certificate of Education (SACE) in June 2018. You can provide your feedback on the Stage 2 requirements through an online survey. Consultation closes on 17 August 2018.

To have your say and find out the main areas of consultation please visit the SACE website.

Seeking SA science teachers for a case study exploring critical and creative thinking in the science classroom (years 7-10)

If you are planning a science unit or lesson sequence that enables students to exercise these thinking capabilities, we’d love to hear from you.

Participation involves an interview, lesson observation and providing a copy of relevant teaching materials. Students will be asked to provide work samples, complete a short survey and invited to participate in focus group interviews.

For more information, please contact Ms Leana Coleman in the School of Education, University of South Australia on 0434 243 525 or by email leana.coleman@unisa.edu.au

Weird Weather

ABC weather guru Nate Byrne explains weird and wonderful weather phenomena in a new YouTube series Weird Weather.

Nate will be answering a selection of weather questions live on Life Matters on Radio National for Science Week on 17 August. If you have any questions for Nate, ask them in the comments section of any of the videos!