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August 2023
We've officially hit the peak of the Oliphant Science Awards with project delivery, judging and our Open Days at Science Alive! all happening this week. Don't forget, OSA families and coordinators are eligible for discounted tickets to Science Alive! These close on Thursday. Find out more here.
Plus it's National Science Week this month! We'd love to know what you're doing in your classroom. Send us some details and photos to go on our blog.
Have you thought about submitting a workshop for the Early Career Teachers Conference? The call for workshops is now open here.
Term 3 PL is open for booking - Marking & Moderation Workshops, Exam Prep Seminars and Years 7-10 Design Investigations: Time to play.
Professional Learning
Here's what we'll cover:
- PBL best practice: the secrets to designing a rigorous PBL unit
- How to combine Science content & scientific inquiry skills in a PBL unit
- How to scaffold a Science PBL unit towards an engaging, real-world end product
Use project-based learning to bring your Science classroom to life
Is your school encouraging your faculty to implement more inquiry or project-based learning into your curriculum? Intrigued, but not sure where to start?
Cura works with 300+ Australian schools to bring their classrooms to life. We do this by helping them turn theoretical curriculum into enthralling hands-on, real-world learning sequences.
And in this webinar, you'll learn everything we know about how to design a successful Science PBL unit.
The webinar is on Tuesday 8th August 4pm - 5:15pm (ACST). Complete the form here and you'll be sent an email with your registration link. That's all you'll need on the day.
Early Career Teachers Conference
Call for workshops now open!
SASTA is committed to providing opportunities for Early Career Teachers to network and learn with and from each other. In addition, we seek to provide you with access to expert education practitioners and leaders to ensure you have every opportunity to understand and succeed in this important profession.
This one-day conference provides graduates and teachers in the first few years of their career with an opportunity to share and reflect on their professional identity, professional practice, wellbeing, and to develop connections with other early career educators.
Stage 2 Marking & Moderation Workshops
These workshops will provide an opportunity for teachers to discuss assessment and the application of the performance standards to samples of work, as well having invaluable professional input with their own student samples. An opportunity to readjust marking standards prior to final moderation.
- Physics & Psychology - 18 August
- Biology - 21 August
- Chemistry & Nutrition - 25 August
Exam Prep Seminars
- Biology - 26 August
- Psychology & Physics - 2 September
- Chemistry - 9 September
All attendees must register to attend the event before the cut off date and bookings must be made via the website. All details are available here.
Years 7-10 Design Investigations: Time to play
A hands-on practical session trialling different ideas for investigations suitable AC 9.0 from Years 7 -10.
The workshop will involve guidelines on supporting students to deconstruct and design appropriate investigations. Time will be set aside for collaborative sharing and brainstorming of ideas.
Oliphant Science Awards
Discounted Tickets for Science Alive!
The Oliphant Science Awards Open Days will be held at Science Alive! at the Showgrounds on 5-6 August. We are giving all our Oliphant Science Award families a discount of 30% on any ticket.
As well as being able to view the Oliphant Science Awards entries (all Models and Inventions will be on display) and (only) prize winners (for all other categories), there will be two pavilions of exciting science displays, shows and activities happening across the two days. Register here before Thursday 3 August.
Resources
For all resources available from SASTA visit the website.
Chapter 1 of Physics, & Biology and Chapter 1 & 2 of Chemistry now available
$15 each per chapter
Stage 2 Topic Videos | NEW
SASTA is excited to present a new product available for teachers and students in 2023! Keeping pace with the way students learn, SASTA is developing a suite of high quality videos covering all topics in SACE Stage 2 Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Each video is between five and ten minutes and covers one or more concepts in the Science Understanding section of the Subject Outline.
For more information and to order visit the website.
Contributions from the science community
National Science Week
12 - 20 August 2023
The school theme for National Science Week in 2023 is Innovation: Powering Future Industries. The theme incorporates the advancement in technology in all industries, especially using artificial intelligence (AI).
Download the 70 page 2023 teacher resource book Innovation: Powering Future Industries (14.4 MB, pdf). You can also use a flipbook version of the resource book.
National Science Week at CSIRO
Join a free one-hour virtual session from the comfort of your classroom. Dance with digital human sessions will showcase how technology is being applied to sport science to help athletes perform at their best. Students will hear from CSIRO scientists about artificial intelligence and motion capture techniques to transform humans into digital humans. Kids will bop along as they learn the National Science Week dance. Sessions will be tailored to age groups and will suit Year 1 to Year 9. Find out more here.
There are also a range of free PD events happening around National Science Week - click here for more information and to register.
Effective Experiments: Digital Science Experiments in Classrooms
Wednesday 27 September
Effective Experiments: Digital Science Experiments in Classrooms will guide you through the process of designing, creating and facilitating dynamic and interactive science lessons for primary and secondary students, utilising game-based learning techniques.
Led by expert presenter and founder of Arludo Michael Kasumovic, and two Arludo Ambassadors, the course will delve into the following key areas of focus:
- How to create an effective science experiment
- How to run successful digital science experiments in the classroom
- How to collect and utilise data from experiments to enhance learning outcomes
Experience the power of game-based learning first hand as you participate in exciting experiments using the diverse games from the Arludo Suite. This unique opportunity is perfect for teachers who are looking to elevate their teaching practice and engage students in new and innovative ways.
Find out more and register here.
2023 Mobile Muster Schools Competition
Educating the next generation of environmentally conscious consumers is one of MobileMuster’s core objectives. Since 2019, the annual competition seeks to educate students about the lifecycle of mobile phones and encourage them to use creative ways to motivate their local community to recycle old mobile phones.
And we’ve expanded the entry artwork across 3 mediums. To participate in the schools competition, students can submit any one of the following: Drawing, Photography, or Short Film.
The theme for all 3 mediums is Inspiring Recycling Action. Find out more here.
RACI August Chemistry Teachers Workshop
Stage 1 Chemistry Practical Activities
This practical workshop offers five activities that demonstrate concepts relevant to Stage 1 Chemistry. Task sheets will be available for each activity. Participants are placed in three activities of the five available.
- Intermolecular forces in liquids
- Exothermic and endothermic reactions
- Small scale ester preparation
- Iodine Clock
- Thiosulfate reaction
Registrations close 3 August. Find out all the details here.
National Science Quiz
The National Science Quiz is a fast-paced and fun LIVE quiz show held The Capitol (RMIT) in Melbourne for National Science Week 2023.
Join host Charlie Pickering and special guest team captains Nate Byrne from ABC News Breakfast (ABC TV) and Simon Pampena from Outrageous Acts of Science (Discovery Channel) for a celebration of science.
Watch as our two teams of esteemed scientists battle it out to see who will be this year’s National Science Quiz champions. The winning team will leave victorious and the losing team will be slimed live-on-stage!
The Quiz will also be livestreamed online so you can join in and play along at home. Why not organise a friendly school or work team rivalry or get your family together to test your scientific knowledge. The Quiz is suitable for 12 years+ …but is fun for all ages!
Register now at www.nationalsciencequiz.com.au and receive links to join up and compete for the chance to win the following great prizes!
MentorEd SA
Educators SA has launched a new mentoring program MentorEd SA designed to support and connect educators in South Australia.
They are looking for members who can volunteer as mentors to one or more graduate or early career teachers in Science.
As a mentor, you can be based anywhere in SA, including Adelaide, and have expertise in primary or secondary or both.
Participation is free for both mentors and mentees with the costs being entirely funded by Educators SA.
If you are interested, read the flyer here or go to MentorEd SA information for more information. Check out the MentorEd SA video at https://youtu.be/b0UnQ1Ono84. Express your interest in being a mentor at Express interest MentorEd SA
Step Outside the Classroom
Step Outside the Classroom is an online professional learning series for educators that highlights the Outreach Education program. Open to all educators, this 8 part series of professional learning is free and runs weekly during Term 3 via Microsoft Teams. Register for 1, 2 or all 8 sessions to discover some fantastic education opportunities.
The Outreach Education program is a
collaboration between the Department for
Education and South Australia’s key cultural organisations providing students with learning environments, experiences and curriculum-aligned resources as well as professional learning opportunities for teachers - unlocking the unique collections, exhibitions, performances, resources, and expertise they hold.
Primary Connections Term 3 Online Learning
Primary Connections professional learning courses are free to access and offered through a closed environment on the OpenLearning platform. The courses support professional learning for the Primary Connections approach and its application in primary science. This term includes:
- Unpack the 5E Model
- Supporting student investigations
- Explore assessment
Find out more and register here.
Contact SASTA
South Australian Science Teachers Association
249 Henley Beach Road Torrensville SA 5031
P 08 8354 0006 F 08 8354 0008 E office@sasta.asn.au
www.sasta.asn.au
