Networking at CONASTA 65

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Day 2 started off with a keynote speaker by the name of Dr Alex Zelinski. Now IT is definitely not my forte but I found his presentation to be quite informative. He spoke about the work he has been apart of and if I took anything away from his presentation it is that STEM is a big part of defence science and potentially I could show students where a career in STEM can take them because honestly what student wouldn’t want to learn about super soldiers and AI! Next came a lovely morning tea of periodic table cupcakes sponsored by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

After morning tea I did some rounds and collected some amazing resources from this area including USBs full of lesson plans. I have not gone through them as of yet but I am excited too! I also got to touch the worlds oldest rock from the dinosaur museum.

In the afternoon I attended a workshop about a program called WASP. This was without a doubt the highlight of Tuesday for me! A lovely presenter named Jo went through and showed the group some great ideas to teaching earth science to junior secondary. Jo explained that some of the earth science curriculum can become dry so they have put time and effort into creating a digital resource in which the teacher runs through interactive apps on their iPad. Not only I come away with a USB full of their applications but I found some really great activities that I can use in the earth science curriculum.

Tuesday for me was the best day of the CONASTA conference as I collected quite a supply of resources that will no doubt help me in my STEM teaching career.

Ryan Baldwin
Griffith University

Teaching for me was not a career that I saw myself doing at age 16, while I was choosing my year 11 and 12 electives. After attending university and graduating with a degree in science, I thought to myself how can I change this world for the better? I wanted to give back to the community that had raised me. So I decided that I would become a teacher, not only to encourage students but to actually make a difference in people’s lives, teach the students my passion for science. This conference will put me in a perfect position to do just that

 

For me CONASTA 65 means a chance to engage with professionals in the field of science education. I hope to take with me strategies and advice that help me to advance my own professional learning and teaching pedagogy. In particular, I am looking forward to being a part of the keynote speeches, workshops, discussion panels, hands on presentations and off-site excursions. The most exciting thing is the sheer resources available to me during and hopefully after CONASTA that can improve my pedagogy, and assist me in creating exciting learning opportunities for my future students. The chance to network and learn from so many professionals in various fields is something that inspires me, and I am extremely for the opportunity to participate. Most of all I hope that CONASTA  65 will give me the tools I need to engage students in science streams and set alight within them the passion that I have for science.

Ryan Forster
Griffith University

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