National Science Week 2010

National Science Week 2010 14th to the 22nd of August.

Science by Doing, engaging students with science

Science by Doing is a national initiative that aims to actively engage junior secondary school students in learning science through an inquiry-based approach. The project is manage by the Australian Academy of Science in partnership with CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association and the education systems of the states and territories. The Australian Government through its Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations funds the project. For more infromation go to the Australian Academy of Science website.

Education for Sustainability in the Primary Curriculum

Education for Sustainability in the Primary Curriculum: A Guide for Teachers by Littledyke, Taylor and Eames (2009) published by Palgrave MacMillan is available at the UC Book CoOp.

Education for Sustainability is a top priority in the present international climate, where the media is dominated by environmental, social, political and economic concerns about current problems that will affect our future. As young children will become the next generation of adults, it is vital that they are educated abut sustainability issues, so they can be critically aware of the problems our society faces and takes positive action to help preserve their future in a rapidly changing world. While teachers are generally concerned about sustainability issues, perceived constraints of current curriculum priorities commonly inhibit Education for Sustainability from being developed in many classrooms.

This text address this dilemma by showing how EfS can be developed within and across all areas of the primary curriculum in the Australian context. The book provides suitable approaches and examples of activities to support teachers so they can address the State, Territory, National requirements for teaching all the primary curriculum learning areas, while also addressing EfS to promote knowledge of, positive attitudes towards and suitable action for sustainability in relevant, meaningful, enjoyable and creative ways. This is a valuable resource for all early childhood, middle school teachers who wish to make a real difference to educating children for the future.

EfS study released

The Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES) has just released its latest study - Mainstreaming Education for Sustainability in Pre-Service Teacher Education in Australia: Enablers and Constraints. The study reported here is the third stage in a project to mainstream education for sustainability (EfS) in pre-service teacher education. The project began with a review of change processes to identify an effective model. The whole-of-system/action research model of effective change was then piloted in the Queensland education system. This report presents the findings of further pilot project to test this model and to identify enablers and constraints to mainstreaming EfS in NSW and the ACT teacher education systems.

The program brought together representatives of education related institutions to discuss barriers and plan action that might be undertaken.