Innovation, leadership or scholarship that has influenced and enhanced learning and teaching and/or the student experience.
National STEM Initiatives With a renewed focus on STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and the acknowledgement of its importance in the current economic climate, we need to develop new ideas about increasing the amount of science and mathematics in primary, secondary and tertiary education (Chubb I, 2015 ). Currently I am part of a STEM cluster with colleagues at Curtin. We are seeking to provide leadership through the creation of a STEM SIG (Significant Interest Group) within the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE). We plan to present a symposium at the AARE Conference in December 2015.
I have been involved with the Science Teachers Association of Western Australia for many years on the conference committees and as a member of the executive. At present I am an active member of the Primary Science Committee which enables me to provide my tertiary students with current science materials and secure ‘student’ prices for conferences and workshops. My continued association over 20 years has enabled me to be influential in decisions made within this community of practice that impacts into science education and consequently my students. It is through these connections that I seek to help my students’ engage with these communities and to transition from students of science to teachers of science (Support Material 27).
Scholarship Editorial roles: I am currently a guest editor for a special STEM Issue of International Journal Innovations in Science and Mathematics Education (IJISME) which is exploring some of the key issues and solutions around STEM in Australia. My paper Re-Imaging the E in STEM, explores a new definition with E in STEM representing Enquiry will appear in this issue (Sheffield & Blackley, 2015). I am also involved in the writing of a suite of specialised elective units that will enable us to offer a specialised programme to create Mathematics and Science Primary Educators which is well placed in the current climate (Chubb I, 2015 ; Treagust, Won, Peterson, & Wynne, 2015). As a reviewer and previously an editor for the National and WA Science Teachers Journal I have access to the latest research and classroom materials which informs and moulds my practice.
Publications: The research around the 1st year Inquiry about the World unit has resulted in six publications (CV) and an interest from practicing teachers in the work place.
Websites: I have created 3 several websites exploring the inquiry framework. The websites are designed to assist students in scientific inquiry. Specifically they support students focus on a specific environmental sustainability problem then designing and refine questions, before searching for reliable data on-line and communicating their findings. I designed
1. The Year 7 website (http://y7pcwater.weebly.com/) for a secondary school colleague with 120 school students in five classes with a focus on Water as a Resource (from the Australian Curriculum) (Evidence). I also evaluated the success of the site in engaging secondary students and the impact on their learning and published the findings (Sheffield & Quinton, 2015) (Support Material 13).
2. The Year 5 and 6 website (http://scienceinthekitchen.weebly.com/) was designed for students in primary school and the focus was on Chemical change particularly identifying physical and chemical changes (from the Australian Curriculum). The site focused on the properties of chocolate and lollies which was a popular choice. Students researched a range of topics that they selected including the sugar content of different soft drinks and the chemical composition of types of chocolate. In class students completed hands-on investigations determining the stretchiness of snakes (edible) and how quickly chocolate melts (Support Material 14).
I have been involved with the Science Teachers Association of Western Australia for many years on the conference committees and as a member of the executive. At present I am an active member of the Primary Science Committee which enables me to provide my tertiary students with current science materials and secure ‘student’ prices for conferences and workshops. My continued association over 20 years has enabled me to be influential in decisions made within this community of practice that impacts into science education and consequently my students. It is through these connections that I seek to help my students’ engage with these communities and to transition from students of science to teachers of science (Support Material 27).
Scholarship Editorial roles: I am currently a guest editor for a special STEM Issue of International Journal Innovations in Science and Mathematics Education (IJISME) which is exploring some of the key issues and solutions around STEM in Australia. My paper Re-Imaging the E in STEM, explores a new definition with E in STEM representing Enquiry will appear in this issue (Sheffield & Blackley, 2015). I am also involved in the writing of a suite of specialised elective units that will enable us to offer a specialised programme to create Mathematics and Science Primary Educators which is well placed in the current climate (Chubb I, 2015 ; Treagust, Won, Peterson, & Wynne, 2015). As a reviewer and previously an editor for the National and WA Science Teachers Journal I have access to the latest research and classroom materials which informs and moulds my practice.
Publications: The research around the 1st year Inquiry about the World unit has resulted in six publications (CV) and an interest from practicing teachers in the work place.
Websites: I have created 3 several websites exploring the inquiry framework. The websites are designed to assist students in scientific inquiry. Specifically they support students focus on a specific environmental sustainability problem then designing and refine questions, before searching for reliable data on-line and communicating their findings. I designed
1. The Year 7 website (http://y7pcwater.weebly.com/) for a secondary school colleague with 120 school students in five classes with a focus on Water as a Resource (from the Australian Curriculum) (Evidence). I also evaluated the success of the site in engaging secondary students and the impact on their learning and published the findings (Sheffield & Quinton, 2015) (Support Material 13).
2. The Year 5 and 6 website (http://scienceinthekitchen.weebly.com/) was designed for students in primary school and the focus was on Chemical change particularly identifying physical and chemical changes (from the Australian Curriculum). The site focused on the properties of chocolate and lollies which was a popular choice. Students researched a range of topics that they selected including the sugar content of different soft drinks and the chemical composition of types of chocolate. In class students completed hands-on investigations determining the stretchiness of snakes (edible) and how quickly chocolate melts (Support Material 14).
International leadership Beyond the classroom walls I completed an online course Teachers without Borders at John Hopkins University and have been working on globalised T & L projects contextualised in. The Program called From the Garden to the Classroom was designed and implemented in Laos with colleagues from the School of Education and focuses on observation through drawing in biological science (examining plants and their properties). Two iterations of the program were enacted, in June 2014 a professional learning program for a group of fifteen Laotian primary teachers who explored the teachers understanding of how plants and vegetables impact on the Laotian life.
|
Colleagues and I demonstrated a range of observational and drawing activities designed to help the teachers engage their students and create interesting narratives about plants.
The second iteration of the program was implemented with 3rd Year pre-service teachers who travelled to Laos in January 2015 and ran the program with the 38 children from the Deaf Mute Centre Laos. This created a unique situation for the student teachers who could not communicate in Laos or sign language. They were challenged to communicate with the children aged between 9 -17 all of whom were deaf some also had intellectual disabilities. Evening reflection and planning sessions encouraged students to become more reflective practioners and continue to develop their professional identity.
|