Download STATIC November 2016 and Beyond

STATIC
The Newsletter of the Science Teachers Association of Tasmania.
2016 and Beyond…
November 2016, Volume 4
1
2016 and Beyond – November 2016
STAT Council Members
President
ASTA Council Representative
Rosemary Anderson
New Norfolk High school
[email protected]
Ph: 0408 267 267
Postal and email Address:
STAT
PO BOX 1112
Sandy Bay TAS 7006
[email protected]
Vice President
Jenny Dudgeon
[email protected]
M: 0438 283 872
Treasurer and ASTA councillor
Jill Reade
[email protected]
Minute Secretary
Darrin Timms
East Launceston Primary School
[email protected]
Membership Officer
Sonya Matthews
Prospect High School
[email protected]
CONASTA 2017 Convenor
Denise Devitt
[email protected]
Awards Officer
Ann Burke
Hellyer College
[email protected]
STATIC Editor
Joee Kelk
Riverside Primary School/UTAS
[email protected]
University of Tasmania Faculty of Science
Engineering & Technology Representative
Jeannie-Marie LeRoi
[email protected]
Professional Learning Committee Chair
John Bardenhagen
East Launceston Primary
[email protected]
General Councillor
Bruce Duncan
University of Tasmania
[email protected]
Professional Learning/TSTS Co-ordinator
Marj Colvill
M: 0438 312 905
[email protected]
STAT Activities are managed by a small group of volunteers who are happy to provide
further information. If you would like to become involved with this dedicated and
professional support group of teachers then let us know. Every science educator in the state
is most welcome and science needs you!
Get Social with STAT!
STAT is on social media and we’d love members to
join us there to help strengthen our online network.
STAT facebook group.
STAT Twitter account.
2
2016 and Beyond – November 2016
Contents
This is an interactive Contents page – click the page number to go straight there!
STAT COUNCIL MEMBERS
2
CONTENTS
3
SCIENCE WEEK 2017: FUTURE EARTH
3
FROM THE PRESIDENT
4
2017 STATIC THEMES AND DATES
4
PRESENT AT CONASTA 2017
5
SCIENCE FOR LITTLE PEOPLE.
6
SCIENCE INVESTIGATION AWARDS
7
2016 - TASMANIAN SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH
8
SCIENCE EXPERIENCE AT UTAS
9
SCIENCE WAR WOUNDS AND THE WEIRD MOB.
10
JOSH SMITH TAKES THE WINIFRED CURTIS MEDAL FOR 2016.
11
SIMONE SUMMERS CARRIES THE STAT BANNER FOR 2017 BHP-BILLITON TEACHER
AWARDS.
12
CLASSROOM PODCAST: ASTROPHIZ.
13
SCIENCE WEEK 2016 WRAP UP.
14
SCHOLARSHIP REPORT: CONASTA 2016
16
MEMBER BENEFITS: WHERE TO ENJOY.
17
CONASTA 9-12 JULY 2017
18
ABOUT STATIC: SUBMISSIONS AND ADVERTISING.
19
___________________________________________________________________________
Science Week 2017: Future Earth
National Science Week has released the schools theme for 12-20 August 2017: Future Earth.
“Future Earth launched in 2015 and is a major 10-year international initiative to advance
global sustainability science. Future Earth’s 2025 vision addresses eight key challenges to
global sustainability.”
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016
From the President
Science is all around us. We eat, drink and breathe science every day
without ever realizing it – of course we do, we are science teachers! The
question is: do our students? From the earliest of our ancestors, who
wondered about nature like a curious child, to the present day science
labs, the flow of science has been a continuum. We have discovered the
fundamental forces of nature, the identity between mass and energy,
gazed into the massive galaxy in search of other forms of life, decoded
the chemical framework of life itself, created nature-inspired novel
materials, and have consolidated the knowledge of all humanity into our
pockets! Truly, the progress is astounding and will continue to be so.
As Isaac Newton famously said, “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I
seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then
finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all
undiscovered before me”. When it comes to science, progress is never ending. There are
many fronts in which active research is going on to solve some fundamental problems of our
lives from curing cancer or HIV to storing large amounts of electrical energy. I encourage all
of you to cultivate science in our students, provide opportunities for them to be inspired by
the progress that has been made, and challenge them to be contributors of future progress.
I hope this edition of STATIC – 2016 and Beyond will help you do just that!
Rose Anderson
STAT President
2017 STATIC Themes and Dates
Content due:
23 Jan 2017
Published:
13 Feb 2017
10 April 2017
1 May 2017
10 July 2017
1 August 2017
9 October 2017
1 November
2017
2016 and Beyond – November 2016
Theme:
The Art of Science
As we move towards hosting CONASTA 2017 let’s
consider how art and science can connect. How is
science used in the art world? What classroom
activities connect art-science?
The Science of Hobart
As science teachers from around Australia prepare to
visit Hobart for CONASTA 2017 let’s showcase our
favourite sciencey destinations. What are great
locations for excursions? What sciences do they
connect with? What historical sites contain great
examples of the sciences of the past? Copies of this
guide by science teachers for science teachers will be
made available to conference delegates.
Science Week: Future Earth
What’s happening around Tasmania for Science Week?
A rundown of events and happenings of interest to
teachers and students. Also showcasing how teachers
will be celebrating in their schools and providing ideas
for how to bring the theme into the classroom.
CONASTA 2017 Review
Findings, photos and all the fun from CONASTA in
Hobart.
4
Present at CONASTA 2017
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016
Science for Little People.
A professional learning day for Early Childhood Teachers
A great day with Early Childhood Teachers who shared their enthusiasm and interest in
Science for Little People was held at the Tail Race in Launceston on Friday September 16 th.
Teachers came from as far away as the North West, the East Coast and Hobart and
represented all sectors of education. Participants looked at different approaches, topics and
opportunities to consider when planning for science in an Early Childhood classroom.
The day started off with “Why Science at all” with Dr
Marj Colvill. Marj is retired which means she is
currently tutoring in ECE Curriculum Science at UTAS,
Coordinating STAT’s Professional Learning Program
and Directing the 2016 Tasmanian Science Talent
Search. Marj shared a bit about her research, a bit
about the simple things that are worth doing and a
bit about ways to celebrate your success.
Delegates then moved on to Rolling and Sliding with Joee Kelk. Joee is a Post Graduate
Student and Tutor in Curriculum Science as well as taking Science from Prep to Year 6 at
Riverside Primary School. She comes with a wealth of knowledge in Science having trained
initially as a secondary science teacher in Queensland. Her focus for the day was Prep
Physics. Participants workshopped ideas around rolling and sliding and shared ideas on
what could be done and how it could be linked to other areas of the curriculum, with fellow
delegates. Joee demonstrated some simple hands on activities. This was a great
opportunity to talk, do and share.
Then great fun was had with Squishy Squashy Sponges with Dr
Denise Devitt. Denise, recently retired from the DoE, has a wealth
of experience in Science Education, where she was a principal
curriculum officer and is now, among other things, supporting
independent schools in their quest for excellence.
Delegates investigated Inquiry Skills – and the Sponge: This
workshop session looked at using sponges a focus for developing
young students’ science inquiry skills. There were hands on
activities relating to making observations, predicting, carrying out fair tests and recording
information. Links were made to both the Australian Curriculum: Science and the Early Years
Learning Framework.
The last session of the day was Coldy Blocks and the Three Bags with Bruce Duncan.
Bruce’s current role is working in Curriculum Science and Mathematics at the University of
Tasmania in the Education Faculty. He is keen to make links with the Science Education
community and teams up with practicing classroom teachers to inform his practice in both
fields. Bruce’s workshop looked at guided inquiry in the early years and links to the
Australian Curriculum: Science. This session was about getting children engaged in a story
that has a question needing investigation. Through their own experiences with familiar
objects and materials, children make predictions and participate in the process of scientific
inquiry. The results of the investigation are communicated in ways that show how the
process of science helps us answer questions. This experience can be readily recreated in the
classroom and can be adapted to suit a wide range of learning needs. It also demonstrated
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how many of our traditional stories lend themselves to starters for Science Education in the
Early Years.
The feedback at the conclusion of the day indicated that delegates would be interested in
further opportunities to build their skills and share ideas and STAT will definitely consider
this in future planning.
Science Investigation Awards
This year, the number of schools participating in the University of Tasmania’s Science
Investigation Awards substantially increased from last year, with 44 schools involved
statewide. Around 1000 students from Year 5 to Year 12 took part. Over 550 projects were
assessed by 185 judges from science, education, and industry with $21,000 donated for
student prizes from 42 organisations around Tasmania. This indicates the strong support for
the Awards from both schools and the Tasmanian community.
A snapshot of the Awards is as follows:
•
In the North, 264 students from 13 schools undertook 176 science investigation
projects, assessed by 56 judges;
•
In the Northwest, 403 students from 19 schools undertook 234 projects, assessed by
64 judges; and
•
In the South, 328 students from 12 schools undertook 177 science investigation
projects, assessed by 65 judges.
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016
2016 - Tasmanian Science Talent Search
Full results including names of winning students for the TSTS have now been distributed to
teachers and are available on the STAT website. This is summary of the feedback.
Technology and Engineering:
After some wonderful work from students and an amazing commitment from our judges the
students are to be congratulated on their success in the 2016 Tasmanian Science Talent
search. We had judging sessions in Hobart and Launceston, with a very pleasing number of
entries in both sections.
Students from Illawarra Primary School found a variety of ways to take up the 2016
Technology Challenge – Making a music box
Congratulations to the students in Technology (only open to students from Prep to year 6).
Note a section for special award winners – these students undertook a completely different
approach and the judge was so impressed with the lateral thinking that the decision was
made to create a separate section for these entries.
2016 Research Investigations
STAT is very excited to be able to say that the number of entries in the 2016 Research
Investigation sections has increased significantly and the standard of work is a credit to both
the students and the teachers. The largest section was the Upper Primary Section and
presented something of a challenge for the judges. A huge thankyou on behalf of the
teachers and students to the STAT team of judges who took care of reading all the students
work – there were some wonderful examples of innovative ideas, in depth investigation and
tremendous tenacity and commitment and everyone concerned should feel truly proud and
be congratulated.
Nominations for the 2017 BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Awards:
STAT is very pleased to announce that all students who have names highlighted have been
nominated to enter the 2017 BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Awards – their teachers
have been supporting the task of uploading their entries and providing the necessary
documentation to support them in their quest for further recognition of their work. We wish
them every success and look forward to hearing how our Tasmanian students fared.
Once again, congratulations to all concerned – it is indicative of some enthusiastic teachers,
committed students and an exciting future for science in our state.
Dr Marj Colvill
Director TSTS
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016
Science Experience at UTAS
For grade 9/10 students in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie!
Students currently in grade 9 and 10 are invited to the Science Experience at the University
of Tasmania. Take part in 3 days of hands-on science activities in a range of areas – make
new friends with similar interests, see behind the scenes in our research laboratories, use
some amazing scientific equipment that you won’t find in schools and find out about the
amazing scientific research is happening right here in Tasmania!
Each regional Science Experience program includes as much science as we can cram into
three days – from chemistry, zoology, engineering, agricultural science, geology, physics,
plant science, computer science, exercise science to robotics and everything in between!
Includes a visit to one (or more) of the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, Menzies
Institute for Medical Research, the School of Architecture & Design, and the Tasmanian
Institute of Agriculture’s research farms just to name a few. More information about the
program can be found on the UTAS Science Experience website.
The Science Experience program will be held at the University of Tasmania’s three campuses
during January (approx. 9am-4:30pm each day):
•
•
•
Burnie on 17-19 January 2017 (Cradle Coast campus)
Launceston on 18-20 January 2017 (Newnham campus)
Hobart on 23-25 January 2017 (Sandy Bay campus)
Numbers are strictly limited in each program, so please encourage students to register
before it books out! Registration for the Science Experience costs $120 (register online at
www.scienceexperience.com.au). Please note that accommodation and travel to and from
the University campus is not included.
For students needing financial assistance to
attend - Sponsorship is available! There are a
limited number of fully-sponsored student
registrations available for students in need,
which are supported by local Rotary Clubs,
Tasmanian
Members
of
Parliament,
Tasmanian Legislative Council members and
others. Please contact the Science Experience
office on (03) 9756 7534 or your local Rotary
Club to enquire about a sponsored position.
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9
This is a fantastic opportunity and a great program, with many participating students
returning to take part in further opportunities with the University. We hope to see your keen
science students on campus in January!
If you have any questions about the program, please contact:
Dr Adele Wilson
Science Experience
Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology, University of Tasmania
Ph. 03 6226 2287
Email [email protected]
Science War Wounds and the WEIRD Mob.
In marking this year’s TSTS technology entries, I was much amused by a primary school
student, who, working with this grandfather, discovered the heated intricacies of an
operational electrical soldering iron.
His description of his education-war wounds was rather wonderful.
At about the same time, the following article was given to me. I love its implications for
discoveries made through our little technology event.
We’re a WEIRD mob
by Alison Gopink
The Wall Street Journal
“Should We Let Toddlers Play With Saws and Knives? By shielding children from every
possible risk, we may lead them to react with exaggerated fear. New research on how
youngsters learn across different cultures.”
Full article available online here: Should We Let Toddlers Play With Saws and Knives?
Ian Pattie
Life Member
Designer of the TSTS Technology Event
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016
Josh Smith takes the Winifred Curtis Medal for 2016.
Smithton High School teacher, Josh Smith, was presented with the Winifred Curtis Award for 2016
in front of a packed audience of like-minded people at the Presentation Ceremony for the Science
Investigation Awards at the Cradle Coast campus of the University of Tasmania on Thursday 1st
September. Josh attended the VIP cocktail event in the university Board Room prior to his
presentation and was accompanied by Smithton H. S. principal, Keith Billing and laboratory
manager, Jennifer Brazier.
The Winifred Curtis Award, a joint initiative of the
University of Tasmania and the Science Teachers’
Association
of
Tasmania,
comprises
a
commemorative medal, a framed certificate and
$500 in prize money. As the name suggests, the
award celebrates the life of Dr Winifred Curtis,
botanist, educator and life-long advocate of the
Sciences.
Dr Winifred Curtis was the author of the five
volumes of The Students' Flora of Tasmania
(published 1956 -1994). She was a truly
remarkable Tasmanian. Having migrated from the
UK in 1939, Dr Curtis took up a position with the
Dept. of Botany at UTAS in Hobart. As well as
teaching and inspiring whole generations of
students, Dr Curtis was also instrumental in
Josh Smith with the Winifred Curtis Award,
establishing the present Tasmanian Herbarium in
2016
1977. Such was her passion for Tasmanian plants
that, thirty years after retirement she was still working on the final volumes of her botanical guide.
Even in her 90s, Winifred Curtis was 'popping in' to the University of Tasmania several times a
week. After an active and productive life, Dr Winifred Curtis died in Hobart in 2005, her 101 st year.
In a fitting tribute to an inspirational scientist and teacher STAT, together with UTAS, inaugurated
the Winifred Curtis Memorial Medal for Excellence in Science Education in 2006.
Each year the WC Award applauds a Tasmanian educator who exemplifies the characteristics of Dr
Curtis. The selection panel was highly impressed with the application from Smithton High School in
support of the passion and dedication that Josh brings to his teaching. The modus-operandi that
Josh perfects is that of relevance of the sciences to the lives of his rural students. Among the
initiatives he undertook were the establishment and successfully lobbying for financial support for
a school Community Farm.
In order to showcase the value of the farm produce, Josh enthusiastically embarked upon a
Paddock to Plate regime whereby he ate nothing other than that which could be grown on the
farm, for a period of three weeks. This journey, which presented many interesting dishes, was
tracked by the local Advocate Newspaper, thereby raising public awareness of the edible value of
primary industry products in his region. Josh also established a Cows Create Careers program at
the school and entered the national awards, which saw Circular Head named as the Legendairy11
2016 and Beyond – November 2016
capital of Australia and receive funding to further support the
program.
Both the Science Teachers’ Association of Tasmania, the Science,
Engineering and Technology Faculty of the University of Tasmania
and the science community of the north west would like to heartily
congratulate Josh on his terrific work in enthusing and inspiring
students in the Circular Head region. Well done, Josh. Keep up the
good work!
Josh in his Cows Create Careers cap!
Simone Summers carries the STAT banner for 2017 BHPBilliton Teacher Awards.
Burnie High School science teacher, Simone Summers, has been selected by the Science Teachers’
Association of Tasmania to contest the National BHP-Billiton Teacher Awards as its representative
for 2017. Each year the association, alongside those of all other states and territories, selects a
teacher who has greatly impressed by the manner in which he/she incorporates inquiry science
into curriculum and supports the successful undertaking of science investigations among students.
The fruits of these teachers’ labour is evident annually in the numbers of prize-winning entries
that their schools experience in the regional Science Investigation Awards, state Tasmanian
Science Talent Search and student selection for the National BHP-Billiton Student Awards.
For the past number of years the progress of
Burnie High School students in the abovementioned awards has been exemplary. This
success is, in no small way, attributable to the
unstinting efforts of Simone, who is the school
Science Coordinator.
Simone works closely with her teaching teams
and shares relevant and timely professional
learning, which guides their efforts in their
classrooms. She then co-ordinates a schoolbased science fair, which gives all students
opportunity to present the findings of their
research to a panel of judges some of which she
draws from the local science community.
Successful school entrants are then selected to
go forward to the NW Science Investigation
Awards (SIAs). The school is noted in the region
for the numbers of award-winning entries it
presents at the SIAs each year. This
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016
consistently high standard is a credit to passionate coordination, excellent teamwork and high
engagement of science students.
As part of her representation of STAT in the BHP-Billiton Teacher Awards to be held in Melbourne
in February 2017, Simone with undertake an teleconference interview with BHP-B, CSIRO and
ASTA judges in November. She will then attend a two-day teacher awards workshop in Melbourne
in February 2017, where she will meet the representatives of all other associations and contest for
the national award. The successful teacher will attend the 2017 INTEL Science and Engineering
Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles, California in May.
We wish Simone every success as she contests the awards as our STAT representative.
Ann Burke
STAT Awards Officer
Classroom Podcast: Astrophiz.
Astrophiz Podcast is a fabulous and free, not-for-profit podcast that aims to build public
understanding of science.
Astrophiz Podcast 13 is now online for teachers of science or physics: Direct stream or download
from Soundcloud or subscribe to ‘Astrophiz Podcasts’ on iTunes.
Astrophiz podcast is presented by Brendan Obrien. Follow on Twitter for updates.
In this week’s fabulous show Dr Caroline Foster tells us about the SAMI survey, voids in space, and
how science corrects mistakes and misconceptions. The SAMI Galaxy Survey began in March
2013, with the intention of creating a large survey of 3000 galaxies. Two (of many) science goals of
the SAMI Survey are to answer the following questions:
•
•
How do galaxies evolve?
How does gas get into and out of galaxies, and how does this drive star formation?
The data for the SAMI Galaxy Observatory is being collected using SAMI, the Sydney-AustralianAstronomical-Observatory Multi-object Integral-Field Spectrograph. SAMI is a brand new
instrument on the 4-meter Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory. This is
interesting because past students of current science teachers are doing their PhDs and this is on13
2016 and Beyond – November 2016
the cutting edge of astrophysics research on the world stage.
Dr Nadeshzda Cherbakov tells us about the discovery of Rosetta’s Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko in 1969 by Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko.
Dr Ian (Astroblog) Musgrave features in 'What's Up Doc?' where he tells us what to look for in the
sky this week, and in 'Ian's Tangent' he tells us about tells more about Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko, and for astrophotographers, how to use a CCD webcam for astrophotography.
In the news: We summarise the scientific achievements of the Rosetta/Philae Mission by the
European Space Agency.
Using Astrophiz in class:
We know our students love their devices. They also love using them for legitimate reasons in class
and for assignments and assessed learning tasks.
Student devices are excellent and highly motivating for tasks that require students to create minipodcasts of lab reports, prac reports and research assignments. For example, year nine students
with low written literacy skills may easily fail on written assignments, but can pass when they
produce a spoken explanation of the science.
To introduce a spoken task a teacher could play an excerpt from an Astrophiz Podcast (e.g. the
news roundup).
Brendan Obrien.
Astrophiz
Classroom Podcast: Send us your ideas! Do you know a great podcast that helps engage students
in a topic? Tell us about how it works in your classroom and why you love it.
Science Week 2016 Wrap Up.
Each August, Australia throws a party for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) with
Tasmania holding more events per capita than any other state or territory! National Science Week
Tasmania (13-21 August 2016) was a huge success this year, with organisers citing thousands of
visitors across Tasmania to festivals, events, panel discussions, and school activities. The highlight
of southern Tasmania's events was the Festival of Bright Ideas (FOBI) held at Hobart's Princes
Wharf One (PW1).
Currently in its second year, the Festival of Bright
Ideas (FOBI) is a two-day STEM themed festival
celebrating the Tasmanian science sector during
National Science Week. Friday 12 August, Schools
Day, involved 1843 students from 27 schools across
Tasmania. The most remote school to visit was
Scottsdale High who travelled several hours by bus.
Scheduled visits to each exhibitor ensured the day
flowed smoothly and feedback from teachers
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14
indicated that students had an inspiring and fun day.
On Saturday 13 August, the public day, around 40 local
STEM organisations held workshops and exhibited how
they use science in the community. Stage presentations
featuring national and international science
communicators wowed the crowds. This year FOBI
welcomed Space Historian and Youtube star Amy-Shira
Teitel who regularly works with NASA, reporting her
activities to space fans. Ruben Meerman, the Surfing
Scientist (Catalyst) was also on hand to play with lasers and provide audiences with evidencebased optimism.
Exhibitors included the University of Tasmania (UTAS), WhySci, Engineers Australia, IMAS and
CSIRO among many others. All exhibitors invested in hands on activities to ensure high levels of
community engagement and learning. The interactive displays were very popular including the
UTAS Formula 1 car, tiny flying drones, and a water tank with marine life from the Marine
Discovery Centre.
In 2016, FOBI experienced a 40% increase in audience participation across two days with 7000
visitors. Thanks to major supporters including UTAS, the Tasmanian State Government, the
Australian Government, the Mercury and more, the Festival of Bright Ideas will continue in 2017
providing a fun, free and family-friendly event.
Other festivals around Tasmania included Bright Ideas: West Coast Innovation and Opportunities,
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery's Science Open Season (Launceston) and TastroFest,
Tasmania's only astronomy festival (Ulverstone). These festivals brought fantastic STEM events to
regional communities, which is a major focus of National Science Week. Thousands of students
took part in these festivals and many more activities across the state, helping to ignite
imaginations and hopefully encourage a few to try STEM as a career.
National Science Week will be held again next year, 12-20 August 2017. For more information and
to learn how you can host a National Science Week event, please visit scienceweek.net.au.
Jenni Klaus
Communications Manager - National Science Week Tasmania
[email protected]
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016
Scholarship Report: CONASTA 2016
In July this year, the Australian Science Teachers Association conference (CONASTA) was held in
Brisbane. I was fortunate enough to receive a STAT scholarship to attend this fantastic event. The
theme of the conference was Superheroes of Science and at the conference we heard about how
Scientists and Science Educators commit saving the world and improving the future through the
power of knowledge and understanding every day.
Neal Menzies, Head of UQ’s School of Agriculture, spoke about the future of food production.
Among other topics he gave a detailed explanation of the human impact on the nitrogen cycle. It
does not take superhuman abilities to see the potential impact on our world if we do not change
the way we use fertilizers in food production. Likewise, Stefan Hajkowicz, Senior Principal Scientist
for the CSIRO’s Strategy and Foresight division spoke at length about the future and identified a
number of global megatrends. His talk was fast-paced and incredibly insightful as he lead us
through potential changes and opportunities resulting from aging populations, digital
technologies, environmental concerns and the increasing dominance of the Asian markets.
Bronwyn Terril from the Garven Institute spoke about the increasing affordability of personal
genomic information due to rapid developments in technology. In her passionate workshop Terril
encouraged us to think deeply about what this means for individuals and their families. Would
you want to know what your genes say about your potential future or would you rather not know?
What if you were faced with a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s in later life? What would you do
with this information?
Several speakers also spoke about careers in science. Both Neal Menzies and Alan Finkel discussed
the tendency for students to select courses with clear pathways to employment such as doctors
and lawyers. They argue that it is the less clear pathways that are much needed such as careers in
agricultural science or jobs that have not yet been created which require flexibility and creativity.
As educators we have the opportunity to help students make the links between what they are
learning, what is currently being researched and developed and how they might make a
difference. To this end the conference was invaluable in connecting teachers and research
scientists such Jane Elith who spoke about quantitative ecology; Clair Davis who builds vehicles
which can detect wear and maintenance requirements; Claudia Vickers who manufactures orange
scented jet fuel using microorganisms or Brad Tucker who is seeking to understand dark matter.
There were also plenty of examples of ways current research and practices have been
incorporated into useful lesson resources such as Gay McCauley’s workshop on dust monitoring
which brings environmental science into the classroom using curriculum appropriate materials or
Scott Miller’s engaging physics and astronomy activities.
Overall, there were too many interesting and informative
sessions to list them all, not to mention the great social activities.
A common theme amongst the speakers was the importance of
creativity in scientific endeavour and so it is with excitement that
I look forward to next year’s CONASTA, hosted in Hobart with the
theme Art of Science.
Anne Boyle
Winner of STAT CONASTA Scholarship 2016
2016 and Beyond – November 2016
16
Member Benefits: Where to Enjoy.
Are you and STAT individual member? Then read on.
STAT members have access to a rewards program called “Where to Enjoy.” This program has been
negotiated for the STAs by ASTA in response to feedback that Association members appreciate this
form of offer.
Logon to Where to Enjoy.
What is in it for you as a STAT individual member?
 Financial savings
 1000s of products and services
 Over 30,000 locations across Australia
 Easy to find - location and key word search available
 New benefits added all the time
How do you access this reward?
 You need your ASTA-STAT Number – exclusively available to Individual Association
members ONLY
 Easy to access via App iPhone or Android
 Benefits obtained through App – ID card
How do you get started?
 Make sure you have your ASTA-STAT -number e.g. ASTA-STAT-700000* (Your ASTA-STATnumber, is available on your Teaching Science flysheet or from the STAT Treasurer)
 LOG ON: http://wheretoenjoy.com/asta
 REGISTER
 ENJOY THE BENEFITS
If you are not an individual member why not become one and start enjoying some of the benefits?
*The number shown is an example only.
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016
CONASTA 9-12 July 2017
Is CONASTA 2017 in your calendar?
9-12 July 2017
http://asta.edu.au/conasta
 Remember that in 2017 CONASTA will be held in Hobart, Tasmania. It will
be based at Wrest Point, with some workshop sessions at the University of
Tasmania’s Sandy Bay campus.
 If you have never been to a national conference take this opportunity to attend
without the added cost of travelling to the mainland.
 If you have been to previous CONASTAs you will know their value, so put it
in your calendar now!
REMEMBER:
Workshop expressions of interest due by 18 November 2016 (to allow
for allocation to sessions before registration opens).
Early bird registrations will open in March 2017 – watch the website.
18
2016 and Beyond – November 2016
About STATIC: submissions and advertising.
STATIC is the newsletter of the Science Teachers Association of Tasmania (STAT). It is made
publically available on the STAT website four times a year. As an electronic newsletter it is
published as a full colour pdf with hyperlinks. The STAT membership is notified of new editions
and school members may print copies of the newsletter for distribution to all staff. STAT has
around 100 members, with individuals, organisations, primary and secondary schools all being
represented. As such STAT reaches a wide audience of educators and institutions across the state
of Tasmania.
Submissions
Submissions of short articles relevant to Tasmanian teachers of science are welcomed on a variety
of science education topics. Members of STAT are strongly encouraged to share their experiences
and knowledge of science teaching in this way. STATIC is hoping to document many of the great
science and educational resources and knowledge held in the state through themed editions.
 Length: 100- 600 words (approximately)
 Submit: by email as a .docx file. Please include author’s name and position.
 Photos: are encouraged. Please submit as a .jpg or .png with a caption as file name. It is
the sender’s responsibility to ensure permission to publish the photo publically has been
obtained from the photographer and subjects. Please consider student privacy.
STAT is a non-profit professional organisation and does not pay for contributions. Please feel free
to email the editor and discuss ideas for articles before writing.
Advertising
STATIC welcomes advertising from science education organisations or suppliers, subject to
approval of the editorial team.
One Full A4 Page - $30
One A5 (half A4 Page) - $20
Two Banners - $20
Advertisements can be submitted in .pdf or .jpg and can be hyperlinked to the advertiser’s
website. Please contact the editor to discuss advertising in STATIC.
Professional Learning events can be added to the PL calendar free of charge.
Joee Kelk
STATIC Editor
[email protected]
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2016 and Beyond – November 2016