Friday 25 November 2022. 9:00am - 10:00am

Organiser: Manjula D. Sharma

The University of Sydney STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy

Other members

Ana Lopes^a, Vicky Tzioumis^a, Jennifer Way^b, Christine Preston^b, Katherin Cartwright^b

Contact Organiser: Manjula D. Sharma (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

^aSTEM Teacher Enrichment Academy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW2006, Australia

^bSTEM Teacher Enrichment Academy, Sydney School of Education & Social Work, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW

Established within The University of Sydney in 2014, the STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy has an alumnus of 800 teachers from 139 high schools and 370 teachers from 90 primary schools. The Academy is driven by the belief that STEM education is not a ‘fad’ and has the potential to transform pedagogy, thus motivating and enthusing students to participate more fully in the STEM disciplines, continue into senior secondary STEM subjects and beyond, ultimately addressing a shortage in STEM-related careers.

As the availability of professional learning opportunities in STEM for in-service teachers increase, their efficacy needs to be queried in a scholarly manner. The significance of this symposium is that it shares the design and structure of the Academy’s evidence-based programs as well as research on its efficacy.

Presentation 1 distills evidence from four years of research on the impact of Academy programs on teachers and identifies success factors for school STEM projects.

Presentation 2 outlines the design features of the Academy programs, exemplifying using secondary STEM projects. 

Presentation 3 outlines an innovative tri-level approach for shifting towards integrated STEM in the primary program and initial research on its efficacy.