power to the people - Swinburne University of Technology

education
inspiring
knowledge
A Swinburne astrophysicist is working with primary schools
to encourage the next generation of scientists.
by lisa starkey
Despite a hectic research, training
and supervision schedule, often
involving international travel,
astrophysicist Sarah Maddison
still finds time to inspire a
new generation of scientists
at primary schools across
Melbourne.
Associate Professor Maddison is a long-time
participant in the Scientists and Mathematicians
in Schools program run by the CSIRO since 2007.
Her journey to school engagement began earlier
than this, however, having visited Victorian primary
schools on her own initiative for many years, with
the broad aim of getting kids to embrace science.
She is now working with her fifth school.
“Sarah has such an engaging personality and is
a very interesting presenter, so the students love
to interact with her,” says Alexandra Parrington,
teacher and science coordinator at Cornish
College, who has worked with Associate Professor
Maddison for many years, initially at Hartwell
Primary School. “The students are always really
excited to work with a real scientist.”
Teaching the scientific process
Associate Professor Maddison attributes her own
inspiration to becoming a scientist from her time
at primary school doing hands-on experiments.
Her memory of those experiences encouraged her
to try to get more primary school-age children
interested in science.
Of course, inspiring kids, and particularly girls,
to consider a career in science is part of the goal,
but it’s also much more than that. “Science involves
vital life skills that everyone should be trained
in, no matter what their career goals,” Associate
Professor Maddison says.
“Science is not just about memorising facts – the
order of the planets, elements in the periodic table
… It’s about teaching the scientific process: how to
be critical, how to gather evidence, how to test a
hypothesis or an assumption.”
New views of the world
Sharon Kenyon-Smith, a teacher at St Joseph’s
primary school in Hawthorn, says the message is
getting across, sparking an interest in the wider
world. “The children see science now as part of their
everyday life.”
A moon project conducted by Associate Professor
Maddison at Hartwell, St Joseph’s and Footscray
primary schools involved using scientific methods to
analyse and learn about the phases of the moon. “It
was about getting the kids to actually go outside and
look up,” Associate Professor Maddison says. “We did
it over two lunar phases. I would go to school each
week and take them through the scientific process.
We would discuss what they observed, what records
they took and have debates over the shape of the
moon. We would also discuss how to improve their
observations.”
According to Kenyon-Smith, “The students know
that they can be scientists by observing, collating
information, wondering, posing questions and
problems, and finding solutions. They can do this now,
today, and make a positive difference to their world.”
It’s about teaching
the scientific process:
how to be critical,
how to gather
evidence, how to test
a hypothesis or an
assumption.
Associate Professor Sarah Maddison
When not in schools, Associate Professor Maddison
is working on improving our understanding of
how the planets form. She has made a number of
impressive astronomical discoveries and regularly
travels overseas to conduct further research.
Her research looks at how tiny dust grains grow to
become something as big as planets – objects more
than a trillion times the size of these tiny objects.
By analysing the chemistry of these dust grains,
their interaction with each other and their evolution
into planets, Associate Professor Maddison hopes
to better understand some of the mechanisms that
shaped our universe. Using the Australia Telescope
Compact Array – six 22-metre radio telescopes near
the remote town of Narrabri in central New South
Wales – her work has demonstrated that these dust
grains grow extremely fast. The results have been
combined with results from the new giant Atacama
Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in
Chile – a vast field of 66 telescopes located more
than 5000 metres above sea level in the Atacama
Desert – and have confirmed her model predictions.
The next generation of scientists
Finding the time to stay engaged in the Scientists
and Mathematicians in Schools program is not
always easy. “Some days I have to really juggle
tasks,” Associate Professor Maddison explains.
“However, some of the teachers I work with are
really into their science and I find their energy and
enthusiasm contagious.”
Of course, there is also the instant feedback of the
students to spur her on. “I try to get them to answer
… their own questions. When they work their way
to an answer themselves, their faces light up with
excitement and pride in their own ability. That is a
priceless moment.
“I think outreach is extremely important and this
feeling is supported by Swinburne. While such
outreach activities might seem to cut into research
time, I think it’s extremely important to share our
science knowledge with the public and to help
engage the next generation of scientists.” l
16 | swinburne | venture | issue ONE 2013