full report - Australian Academy of Science

scissors, were developed, together with a website that contained professional learning resources for teachers.
The pilot phase of Science by Doing was led by Associate Professor Richard John from Griffith University.
After the workshop, the teachers trialled the curriculum units in their schools and utilised inquiry-based
pedagogical skills highlighted in the sessions conducted during the initial January workshop. School clusters
were established and further workshops were held in the regional cluster areas during the trialling period.
Based on data gathered during trialling, the curriculum units were extensively revised. The revised materials
were given to each participating teacher and education system.
An independent and extensive evaluation of the pilot phase was conducted by Professor Mark Hackling of
Edith Cowan University. This evaluation found that the teachers involved in the workshop and subsequent
trialling benefited significantly in confidence and competency with respect to the implementation of
inquiry-based science lessons. The research also found that the Science by Doing units provided an engaging
experience of science for many students. Other data from the research highlighted the challenges teachers
and students face in using more sophisticated digital tools of learning. The technological infrastructure
required for these digital forms of learning is still being developed in many schools.
In the latter part of the year the Australian Government announced that a further $2 million would fund
Stage One of Science by Doing during 2009 and 2010. Professor Denis Goodrum from the University of
Canberra had been appointed to act as Project Director for this phase of the project and was released
to undertake the drafting of a framing paper for the National Curriculum Board on the national science
curriculum.
Nova: Science in the news
www.science.org.au/nova
Nova: Science in the news is designed as a web-based educational resource for secondary school students,
teachers and the general public covering science-related issues that appear in the news. There are currently
110 topics on the Nova site. Each Nova topic is reviewed externally by an expert in the relevant field before
posting on the web, ensuring an accurate and reliable source of information for users.
Existing topics have been updated throughout the year to keep them relevant and in line with current
research. Eight new topics have been posted in the past year, covering a range of areas including astrobiology,
catalyst chemistry, smart sensors and medical technology.
New Nova topics:
A sense of things to come – smart sensors and
the environment
Monitoring reef systems or catchments for
environmental change can be a big job; sometimes
too big for humans to handle without a bit of
technological assistance. Now that assistance is
increasingly available in the form of smart sensors.
Photo: Stockxpert
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Sponsored by the Australian Research Council
Research Network on Intelligent Sensors, Sensor
Networks and Information Processing
Making our mark – ecological footprints
Humans have been changing the face of the
planet for thousands of years. Our numbers
have multiplied many times over and the living
standards of many have increased beyond
Smart sensors are being used to monitor the Great Barrier Reef
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THE AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE