scios december 2014

SCIOS

“Truly,a trip of a

lifetime”

JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

VOLUME 50DECEMBER 2014

VOLUME 50 | DECEMBER 2014JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA PAGE 2

SCIOS: To KnowThis journal aims to promote the teaching of science with a focus on classroom practice. It provides a means of communication between teachers, consultants and other science educators. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the various authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Science Teachers’ Association of Western Australia (STAWA), the editorial committee or the publisher.

STAWA OfficeUnit 6, 10 Mallard Way, Cannington WA 6107

ContactTel +61 (0) 8 9244 1987Fax +61 (0) 8 9244 2601Email [email protected] www.stawa.net.au

EditorKelly Nebel - Penrhos College

Editorial Committee for this VolumeJulie Boston - Edith Cowan UniversityJohn Clarke - STAWASharon BergmanJulie-Anne Smith

Editorial CorrespondenceKelly Nebel

PublisherPublished quarterly by STAWA viaCambridge Publishing,a division of Cambridge Media10 Walters Drive, Osborne Park WA 6017www.cambridgemedia.com.au

Graphic DesignerKattie Muir - Digital Crayon

Advertising EnquiriesTel +61 (0) 8 9244 1987Fax +61 (0) 8 9244 2601Email [email protected]

© 2014 The Science Teachers’ Association of Western Australia (STAWA). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the written permission of STAWA. Unsolicited material is welcomed by the Editor but no responsibility is taken for the return of copy or photographs unless special arrangements are made.

ISSN 0157-6488

CONTENTSEditorial

Website of the Moment

From the President

CONASTA 64

Chief Executive’s Report

New STAWA Publications

STAWA Membership

Careers in Geoscience Event a Hit!

A Geological Field Guide to the Cape Region of Southwest WA

Making an Arduino Theromometer from a Diode

Bush Blitz

2014 Primary Science Conference

CONSTAWA 2014

WACE 2015 - ATAR 2016 Subject Planning Day Workshops

How to Contribute

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mailto:info%40stawa.net.au?subject=SCIOS

http://www.stawa.net.au

http://www.cambridgemedia.com.au

mailto:digitalcrayon%40hotmail.com?subject=SCIOS%20Publication

mailto:info%40stawa.net?subject=SCIOS

VOLUME 50 | DECEMBER 2014JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Welcome to the first digital edition of SCIOS!

We thank you for your patience and we hope you find this current issue easy to navigate and that you enjoy the new look.

We are focusing our future issues on the teaching and learning of science in the state and we welcome papers and articles from our members. We are very much looking to supporting you in the classroom by providing you with relevant websites, PD, tips for new graduates and look forward to your ongoing support of our journal through your contributions.

We also welcome feedback on our current articles and we will continue to publish issues that raise questions about science education.

I wish to thank everyone who has contributed to this issue and for the support of the editorial committee. We trust you will enjoy this issue of SCIOS and look forward to receiving your contributions in the future.

Kelly Nebel

EDITORIAL


WEBSITE OF THE MOMENT

WEB ADDRESSDESCRIPTIONRECOMMENDED FORNOTES

RECOMMENDED BY

https://www.khanacademy.org/ KHAN ACADEMYYear 11 and 12 Chemistry, Physics and BiologyThis website provides short clips to help clarify students’ understanding of concepts central to Chemistry. I get students to watch the clip either before a concept is taught to help them get an overview of the upcoming lesson or after the concept is taught as part of their revision and study program. There are also clips for Biology and Physics too!Kelly NebelPenrhos College

https://www.khanacademy.org/


FROM THE PRESIDENTAn area where your committee see STAWA playing a major role in the next few years is in assisting science teachers in WA with professional development and resources for the Australian Curriculum – Science, Senior Science due for implementation in Year 11 in 2015. The main reason for this is that no Government funding or assistance has been made available for these, nor is any on the radar, so we see STAWA as being left to fill the PD gap.

There are three major ways in which we have decided to attack the professional development and implementation issues, the first of which started on the Friday before CONSTAWA in 2013. On that day we ran a Science Leaders day to give all senior secondary science teachers an opportunity to have input into the draft syllabi drawn up by the Curriculum Arm Committees of SCASA. Many of our members gave an enormous amount of voluntary hours to these committees and document preparations and I again thank them for that. This was well attended by teachers from schools in all three sectors, government, catholic and independent, and the comments we received back were very positive and well received by SCASA.

The second was to set up a committee, sanctioned by SCASA to look at developing sets of elaborations on the new syllabi, particularly the new content. This committee had representatives from the three education sectors and STAWA.

2014 has been a busy year and I thank all STAWA Council members for the voluntary time they have given to ensure our Association runs smoothly and productively. Time seems to be something we have less and less of, but are asking teachers to do more and more with.

The first major activity for the year was the Primary Conference on the 28th and 29th March. This was again held at The Vines and attended by 77 delegates. The highlight for me was the “speed trading” session involving small groups moving around to each of the trade displays for a period of 9 minutes each. This gave the people manning the trade displays an opportunity to talk about what they had on offer and the teachers an opportunity to ask questions regarding what they had on display. A spin off was that teachers who were familiar with a particular product could also inform their peers on how they used it in their classrooms. I was impressed by the enthusiasm and interest shown by all of the delegates and presenters to both this session and the conference in general. I congratulate Mrs Helena Nicholson from Dunsborough Primary School on being awarded the 2013 Primary Science Award for an outstanding contribution to Primary Science teaching, which was presented at the conference. My congratulations also go to the Primary Committee, chaired by Dr Christine Howitt, for organising another very successful conference.


The committee was chaired by Glenda Leslie, representing AISWA, Margaret Martin, Catholic Education, Bernadette Dyer, Department of Education, and John Clarke the STAWA CEO. In early April selected experienced teachers from each of the subject areas and education sectors were asked to volunteer their time to make a start on this process. On that day they developed an outline of elaborations for each unit in their subject area based on their experience. A small group of volunteers from each of these groups then refined them further to a form that could be presented to a larger group.

Another Senior Secondary Science Curriculum Planning Day was held on the afternoon of Friday 16 June this year before CONSTAWA. This was again well attended with some 220 teachers being present. Teachers from each of the specialist subject areas gave presentations on these elaborations and feedback was received and collated. A small team, under Glenda’s guidance, continue to refine and develop this material which is ready for distribution and is now available on the STAWA website. On that Friday we also had presentations from subject matter experts in each of the science areas on the new material in the WA courses for Years 11 and 12 for 2015 and 2016. The feedback we received from attendees was in the main highly positive regarding both of the sessions conducted (full evaluation on page 6).

The third is to follow up with further Senior Secondary Science Curriculum Planning Day in 2015 but no dates has yet been set. There will not be a CONSTAWA next year because we are hosting CONASTA in the first week of the July school holidays at Mercedes College. This means the Friday afternoon opportunity before CONSTAWA that we have used for the last two years will not be available. When we have formalised a plan for this the information will be sent to members and Schools.

“Workshops were many and varied and were well received by the teachers who attended”

In 2015 STAWA is hosting the Australian Science Teachers Association, ASTA, conference CONASTA 64 at Mercedes College Perth.

CONASTA 64 – 5th to 9th July 2015 – The first week of the July school holidays

The STAWA Primary Science Conference and CONSTAWA will not be held as separate conferences but will subsumed within the CONASTA program.

For more details regarding keynote speakers and expressions of interest for presenters follow the link to the ASTA website.

DateTimeLocationRegister

5th July 2015 until 9th July 201512:00 AM - 12:00 AMMercedes College PerthOnline registration will open early 2015

CONASTA64

http://asta.edu.au/conasta


sale in both electronic and hard-copy versions. Work will then commence on the Year 12 resources where quite a lot of material needs to be added or changed. I thank the small group of people responsible for this vital task.

As mentioned earlier in this report, STAWA is hosting CONASTA 64 on behalf of ASTA at Mercedes College from the 5th to the 9th of July 2015. The CONASTA Committee is currently working on the organisation for this event and would certainly appreciate help from anyone prepared to volunteer their time to assist. CONASTA 63 was held in the recent July holidays in Adelaide and had 501 registrants. It is our hope that you, our local members, will advertise CONASTA 64 to all of your colleagues and encourage them to attend with you to make Perth an even greater success.

In conclusion I would like to thank all members of the STAWA Committee for the unrewarded time they are prepared to give to ensure your Association is financially viable, runs smoothly and offers worthwhile professional development to you, its members. The current committee works hard and proactively to manage your Association, as well as organise conferences, professional development and publications, but the help of other volunteers is needed if STAWA is to remain a strong voice for science education in WA. If you are able to assist in some way I can guarantee a job for you on one sub-committee or another.

This planning day was followed by CONSTAWA on Friday evening and Saturday, culminating in an excellent dinner on Saturday night, with great camaraderie between all who attended. The workshops were many and varied and, from the feedback, were well received by the teachers who attended. A conference such as this does not just happen, it occurs because of the work of members of STAWA, just like those of you reading this, being prepared to give voluntary time to their professional association. It also requires considerable long term planning and much bartering at a school level to be a success.

Special thanks once again go to Barry Cornwall, the Chef at Mazenod, for the excellent food he provided during the conference and for the outstanding meal he presented on Saturday night. Thanks also go to John Clarke and Angie No, from the STAWA office, and the CONSTAWA Committee for their efforts in the general organisation and planning. Special mention must be made of the time given by Mal Johnson (HOD Science Mazenod) and all of the science and grounds staff at Mazenod College. It is a direct result of the willing efforts of these individuals that the conference was so highly rated by those who attended. Whilst the Principal at Mazenod is happy for the College’s facilities to be used again in 2016, it is our hope that there is other HOD’s willing to host CONSTAWA at their school or college in that year. For this to occur the HOD, or another member of staff, would need to be prepared to be Convenor, or Co-convenor, for the 2016 CONSTAWA as there is quite a bit of internal organisation that would be difficult for an outsider to easily coordinate.

Another major task being undertaken this year is to update relevant STAWA publications to bring them into line with the Australian Curriculum (WA version). As book sales are our only real source of income, it is imperative that we have new editions available for 2015. Changes to the Year 11 resources are nearly finalised and we hope to have the first drafts of the new publications in hard copy form on display at Future Science. John Clarke has been meeting with Mike Ellis from Campion booksellers to discuss the best marketing strategy for ebook versions. All new publications will be available for Geoffrey Lewis - President


CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORTSTAWA Primary Science Australian Curriculum WorkshopsThis was a highly successful Professional Learning initiative supported by government funding in 2013. Unfortunately we do not have funding for 2014 and will not be able to offer the program for free. If you would like this program or parts of it to be delivered again or delivered to your network of schools or just your school please contact the office. The three 90 minute workshops involves primary teachers of science in professional learning covering: 1. Links between Science Inquiry Skills and Science Understanding in the Primary Years, 2. Science Understanding: exploring key concepts in Science and 3. Formative and Summative Assessment in primary science

Senior Secondary Science Curriculum Planning WorkshopsMazenod College 16 May 2014STAWA held cross-sectoral Senior Secondary Science Curriculum Planning Workshops on Friday afternoon 16 May at Mazenod College, Glady’s Road, Lesmurdie.

The purpose of the Workshops was to help teachers in the planning and implementation of the WA Senior Secondary Science Courses ATAR 2016 (WACE 2015-16).

This issue of SCIOS is STAWA’s first fully digital publication of the journal. We trust that you like the new format.

Congratulation Kate Cusworth, Science Teacher, LaSalle College. Kate was selected as the early career teacher to participate in the Bush Blitz Teachlive field program in the Kimberley region in May. Kate will join four other experienced teachers selected by the Australian Science Teachers Association from SA, Qld, Vic and NSW in this wonderful professional development opportunity. Bush Blitz is a biodiversity discovery program between the Australian Government, BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities and Earthwatch Australia that aims to document the plants and animals across Australia www.bushblitz.org.au

STAWA Primary Science ConferenceThe Vines Resort 28 - 29 March 2014A big thank you to our primary science committee members for putting on another fabulous Primary Science conference. Feedback was very positive. The new format of Friday night dinner and keynotes, along with the speed trading session to start the Saturday, was very well received. We are also extremely indebted to Hall Jackson, KeyPad, as he became our ‘IT man’ on the day.

http://www.bushblitz.org.au/


The Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Human Biology workshops include instruction on new content and together with EES the opportunity to discuss and expand upon Content Elaboration, depth and breadth documents prepared by the voluntary efforts of cross-sectoral subject teams.

CONSTAWA 3416 - 17 May 2014Mazenod College, Glady’s Road, Lesmurdie, was again the host to CONSTAWA. The conference provided a rich program of workshops. Professor Mark Hackling opened the conference on Friday evening 16 May, with his keynote address: The State of STEM Education in Western Australia: Challenges and Opportunities. Delegates were delighted with their chocolate experience on Saturday morning with the keynote by Winthrop Professor Garry Lee, Man Vs Food.

This is the second year that Mazenod College have hosed this conference and we are very grateful for the efforts of the science staff, in particular Mal Johnson and the catering staff for the work that is done to help ensure the conference runs smoothly and successfully.

Finally don’t forget to renew your membership for 2014. I encourage you to extend the invitation of STAWA membership to your science-teaching colleagues.

John Clarke - Chief Executive

New year 11 ATAR 2015 Resources; The STAWA Exploring Chemistry, Human Biology and Physics series support the new Australian Curriculum based ATAR Courses. The new Year 11 and Year 12 syllabuses have been adapted from the Australian Curriculum, for implementation in 2015 (Year 11) and 2016 (Year 12).

Year 11 Printed Books - Available Term 4 2014ISBN Title Cost978-09803704-7-8 Exploring Chemistry Year 11:

Experiments, Investigations and Problems

$29

978-09803704-8-5 Exploring Human Biology Year 11: Activities and Investigations

$25

978-09803704-6-1 Exploring Physics Year 11: Experiments, Investigations and Problems

$29

Digital Books: EBooks and hard copy, eBook bundles will also be available. Contact the STAWA Office for details.

Book Lists: The New STAWA Resources are currently listed on your booklists.

Current Stage 2 Books: Please note that Exploring Chemistry, Human Biology and Physics Stage 2 resources are available in limited supply and discounted to schools that wish tp top up class sets.

PUBLICATIONS


Members receive discounts on STAWA Professional Development Workshops and Conferences, and STAWA resources and publications.

Professional support Including information and professional advice on employment and teaching, curriculum, government policy, science equipment and professional development.

STAWA offers teaching and learning enrichment opportunities such as, Physics Day @ Adventure World, Science Talent Search and ScienceIQ Online Quizzes.

Professional recognition of the achievements and service of science teachers through annual awards such as the de Laeter Medal, the STAWA Primary Science Award and Jeff Cahill Early Career Teacher Award. STAWA also recognizes student achievements through Science Talent Search and the ScienceIQ Online Quizzes.

STAWA provides an independent voice and with representation on many bodies and committees can express the needs and concerns of its members and help to shape the profession.

Become a STAWA Member or Renew Your Membership by visiting;http://stawa.net/teachers/membership/ or by calling the STAWA office on (08) 9244 1987.

STAWA SERVICES AND SUPPORT

Catalist and Primary Science Chat STAWA’s lists server (All teachers)Catalist reaches over 800 Science Educators and together with Primary Science Chat and social media such as twitter (@SciTeachersWA) are used to share information, ask questions and discuss current issues. To subscribe click here or follow the link from our website homepage.

Teachers’ Survival Kit (Members Only)Found on the web at www.stawa.net, For Teachers. Members can upload and downloaded resources (exams, tests, course outlines, etc).

Australian Science Teachers’ Association, ASTA, AffiliationAll full fee paying members enjoy the benefits of affiliated membership to the national body.

Members receive the following publications1.2.

3.4.5.

6.

7.8.

Teaching Science (ASTA journal) – Four issues PRISCI PIN-UPS (Primary Science) – Four issuesSCIOS (STAWA online journal) – Three issues. E-Newsletters and Print NewslettersNational Science Week Activity Book (ASTA publication)Professional Development & Conference ProgramsScience Talent Search 2014 BookletScience iQ online science quizzes Information

STAWA MEMBERSHIP

http://stawa.net/events-2/professional-development/

http://stawa.net/events-2/professional-development/

http://stawa.net/the-john-de-laeter-medal/

http://stawa.net/teachers/membership/

https://twitter.com/SciTeachersWA

http://stawa.net/discussion-board/catalist/

http://stawa.net/

www.stawa.net


CAREERS IN GEOSCIENCE EVENT A HIT!the stamp card competition. This resulted in Kent Street SHS students Carter Lindley and Andrew Shah winning an iPad mini each for their efforts. Professionals present were impressed by the enthusiasm of the students attending and students relished the opportunity to interact with inspirational people. In fact many of the high school students were so enthusiastic they had to be encouraged to leave in order to give everyone a short breather before the onslaught of university students!

From 6-7:30pm, 82 students from Curtin University and UWA enjoyed the opportunity to hear from Bill Beament, Managing Director of Northern Star Resources Limited and current President of the Western Australian School of Mines Graduates Association. They also relished the chance to speak to a range of potential employers and to forge new networks.

This event was once again a success thank you to the efforts of a volunteer organising committee made up of representatives from the AIG, ASEG, GSA, PESA and ESWA.

If you like to be involved with and/or attend this event in 2015 keep an eye on our webpage (http://www.earthsciencewa.com.au/course/view.php?id=30) and ESWA’s social media.

The Careers in Geoscience event for 2014 was hosted at the Technology Park Function Centre, Bentley on Tuesday the 6th of May. This annual event has traditionally been held in August but was moved forward due to feedback from past participants wishing to access information about graduate and vacation work and Year 10 subject selection.

This year we were pleased to host representatives from Woodside, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, FMG, Iluka Resources, TGS, Baker Hughes, ION GX Technologies, Newmont Asia Pacific, Schlumberger, Curtin University of Technology, the University of Western Australia, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG), Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (ASEG), Geological Society of Australia (GSA), the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA) and Earth Science Western Australia (ESWA); as well as volunteers representing exploration geology, hydrogeology, geochemistry and geophysics. The large number of companies, universities, professional organisations and volunteers allowed students to interact with a wide variety of enthusiastic geoscientists, with support also from Sandfire Resources and the Geological Survey of WA.

From 4-5:30pm, 43 students from Kent Street Senior High School, Canning College and Mazenod College enjoyed the opportunity to hear from Tara McCann, Graduate Geologist for FMG (and ex-student of Kent Street SHS). They also interacted with the large range of professionals and booth holders present as part of Organising Committee - Careers in Geoscience

http://www.earthsciencewa.com.au/course/view.php?id=30

http://www.earthsciencewa.com.au/course/view.php?id=30


A GEOLOGICAL FIELD GUIDE TO THE CAPES REGION OF SOUTHWEST WA

All attendees were keen to see the exciting new guide and to hear about the successes of the previous field trip for Earth and Environmental Science teachers hosted in December last year.

This A5, 208 page, spiral bound, full colour volume was authored by John Bunting, co-ordinated and published by Earth Science Western Australia (ESWA) and supported by the Geological Society of Australia.

Each of the seven locations in the guide provide an access map, safety notes, an overview of the general geology, a detailed map with featured geological units and stops marked in, and step-by-step descriptions of each unit/feature with diagrams and photos. This is all supported by introductory notes and maps and a comprehensive glossary.

Although this follow up to the popular A Field Guide to Perth and Surrounds volume has been designed to be used by teachers in support of their Earth and Environmental Science field work, it is also well suited to professionals, hobbyists and tourists alike.

The second field guide produced by Earth Science Western Australia (ESWA) and John Bunting was officially launched on Thursday the 7th of May at the Balmoral Hotel, Victoria Park.

This launch event was well attended with guests including; Rick Rogerson (Executive Director of the Department of Mines and Petroleum of WA), John Bunting and family, members of ESWA’s Board and of the Geological Society of Australia, sponsors of ESWA, representatives of various educational authorities, teachers and interested parties.

“All attendees were keen to see the exciting new guide and to hear about the successes of the previous field trip”

L-R: Rick Rogerson, Peter Moore, John Bunting

“(The Guide is) well suited to professionals, hobbyists and tourists alike”


Copies of the guide can be purchased for $38 (+postage) from ESWA (www.earthsciencewa.com.au), or for nominated prices from the Geological Society of Australia (www.gsa.org.au), the publications counter of the Department of Mines and Petroleum of WA, the Science Teacher’s Association of WA (www.stawa.net) and Boffins Technical & Specialist Books (88 William Street, Perth WA).

Jo Watkins - Executive Officer, Earth Science WA

www.earthsciencewa.com.au

www.gsa.org.au

www.stawa.net


ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGYThis workbook explores the essentials of human structure and function through engaging, generously illustrated write-on activities. Using key examples, students are encouraged to explore each of the 11 body systems within the contexts of disease, medicine and technology, ageing, and exercise. An ideal resource to support Units 2A and 3A of the WACE Human Biological Science programme.

Student Workbooks for

WACE Biology

Questions? Contact our friendly Sales Team: PHONE (07) 5535 4896 EMAIL [email protected]

Requirements for the new WACE ATAR course are included in these new editionsContent to support Key Concepts and Key Ideas includes:

evolutionary relationships

interpretation of second hand data

See full preview or more details: www.BIOZONE.com.au/anp

See full previews or more details:

www.BIOZONE.com.au/wace

NEWEDITIONS

OCT 2014


MAKING AN ARDUINO THERMOMETER FROM A DIODE

linear algebra and graphing. The key insight is that hidden in nearly every modern device that measures something is a calibration curve that translates the raw signal (often measured in volts, or as with here in raw numbers without units) into the physical quantity that you are interested in. The theory that you learn in this lab today will allow you to make an enormous number of different sensors – such as light, alcohol, gas, colour, and sound.

In this exercise, we will build the following circuit:

Australian National Curriculum Standards addressed by this activity: Math ACMNA215 - Sketch linear graphs using

the coordinates of two points and solve linear equations Science ACSIS203 - Analyse patterns and

trends in data, including describing relationships between variables and identifying inconsistencies

BackgroundSilicon diodes are devices made of two types of silicon that meet to form a junction. In order for there to be a flow of current (electricity) through the diode, a minimum potential difference must exist across the junction of the diode. That potential difference is dependent on temperature, and declines by 2 millivolts per degree Celcius. The relationship between temperature and potential difference across the diode (its band gap) is known to be a linear function.

A good circuit simulator of a diode can be found at www.falstad.com, and details on how to use this are shown in the reference, for those who might be interested in understanding the electrical behaviour of these devices. Unfortunately, the simulation does not include the effect of temperature – for most applications involving diodes, the temperature effect is inconsequential.

Our goal in this exercise is to make a cheap and accurate thermometer. To do this we will do some

Figure 1

http://www.falstad.com/

http://www.falstad.com/


This means placing just one component, the diode, between pins A0 and A1 as shown.

To make this circuit, we must first connect the internal 10 kΩ resistor to the anode pin of the diode. One of the great things about Arduinos is that we can control the behaviour of the analog ports (A0-A5) so they act as either inputs or outputs. We do this in the software using the following:

pinMode(A0,INPUT_PULLUP);

This “pulls up” the voltage on pin A0 to 5 V via the internal 10 kΩ resistor.

The next thing that we need to do is to connect the cathode end of the diode to 0 volts.We do this with the following two lines of code:

pinMode(A1,OUTPUT);digitalWrite(A1,LOW);

“Low” just means “connected to ground(ov)”.

1 × Arduino Uno board1 × USB to Arduino cable1 × Windows or Macintosh PC with Arduino IDE software obtainable from here http://bit.ly/1lI68cT1 × 1N4001 diode (or any other small silicon diode)Graph paper and pencil, or Excel program2 polystyrene cups.Hot and cold waterA regular thermometerCling filmThe Arduino sketch http://bit.ly/1e1P7I3

Insert the diode into the A0 and A1 pins of the Arduino as shown. Make sure that the white band on the diode points towards pin A1, as shown in Figure 2Plug your Arduino board into the usb port of your computerClick the Arduino icon Download the Arduino software (the sketch) from http://bit.ly/1e1P7I3

It should open immediately in the Arduino IDE window, but if it doesn’t open it in Notepad, or another text editor, then select all of the text and paste it into the sketch window, replacing whatever text is in there.

Click the “Tools” menu then choose the port that the Arduino is connected to. (It will give you a list of ports)

Activity Sheet for Arduino Thermometer

Figure 2

MATERIALS NEEDED

INSTRUCTIONSPart A: Getting the software to work1.

2.

3.4.

5.

http://bit.ly/1lI68cT

http://bit.ly/1lI68cT

http://bit.ly/1e1P7I3

http://bit.ly/1e1P7I3


6.

7.

Part B: Calibrating your thermometer1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Figure 3

Press the “compile and upload” button to transfer it to the Arduino board. as shown in Figure 3 below

Once the sketch is compiled and uploaded, click the magnifying glass icon (the serial window) on the top right hand side of the Arduino IDE window, and observe the numbers that appear once per second. These are unscaled measurements which are proportional to temperature

Place a layer of cling film or Gladwrap over your Arduino, and make the smallest possible hole for the diode to poke out.Place cold water and a thermometer into polystyrene cup, and then just place the diode part of your circuit into the beaker. DO NOT GET THE ARDUINO WET!Wait until the temperature readings on both the thermometer and the serial window stabilise.Record both the temperature in degrees Celsius, and the reading in the serial window.Place hot water and the thermometer into another polystyrene cup. Cover the cup with clingfilm or Gladwrap to minimise heat loss by evaporation. Position the diode so that it is just under the surface of the water. DO NOT GET THE ARDUINO WET!Wait until the temperature readings on both the thermometer and the serial window stabilise.Record both the temperature in degrees Celsius, and the reading in the serial window.

y2-y1

x2-x1

temperature(hot water)-Temperature(cold water)

Arduino Output(hot)-Arduino Output(cold)

Part C: Processing the dataRecord your results in the table below

Temperature (ºC) Arduino Output

It is known that there is a linear relationship between temperature and voltage drop across a diode. The general formula for a straight line is: y = m × X + C

This means that: temperature = m × Arduino output + offset

Notice that we are putting the independent and dependent variables around the opposite way to how you usually do in a science report. That is fine – we are using the graph and calculations to let us convert a measured value from the Arduino into a temperature value. From this perspective, the independent and dependent variables are swapped. So Temperature must go on the y axis, and Arduino output on the x axis.To calculate the slope of the line, we can use the general formula

m =

In our case, this means

m=


In the box below, calculate ‘m’ for your diode using the data that you have collected.

Answer: m =………………………………………..

Was your slope a negative number? Great! Your sum looks correct!

Now all we need to do is to calculate the offset, which is the point where the line crosses y or temperature axis. To do this, we rearrange our equation to find the offset.

temperature = m × Arduino output + offsetRearranged to get:

offset = Temperature - m × Arduino output

In the box below, calculate the offset using one pair of data points from your results.

Answer: Offset = ………………………………….


EXTENSION ACTIVITYWrite, or modify the Arduino sketch so that it prints the temperature in degrees Celsius on the serial port.For help, have a look at the sample sketches in File -> examples, or browse the site at http://arduino.cc

Acknowledgement: I thank Ed Matkowski for his help in reviewing this document, and for the helpful discussions about making STEM activities more meaningful to students. REFERENCEShttp://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/science/Curriculum/F-10 Australian National Curriculum-Science, accessed 28 Feb 2014

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/mathematics/Curriculum/F-10Australian National Curriculum - Mathematics, accessed 28 Feb 2014

http://www.falstad.com/circuit/ A good circuit simulator. You need to have java enabled in your browser. When the applet loads, click on the circuits menu -> diodes -> diode, and adjust the voltage slider on the right hand side. http://arduino.cc Arduino homepage. Here you will find the Arduino IDE, support forums, tutorials, and heaps more. accessed 1 March 2014

http://bit.ly/1mNI1qz A more functional diode thermometer, which remembers its calibrations, (but can be recalibrated by typing xxx within 2 seconds of start up). This version is the more useful form of the code presented in this project (but with most of the opportunities for student learning removed). Accessed 6 April, 2014

Check your answer graphically by plotting Temperature (y axis) versus Arduino output (x axis)

Dr Leon Harris

http://arduino.cc

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/science/Curriculum/F-10

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/mathematics/Curriculum/F-10

http://www.falstad.com/circuit/

http://arduino.cc

http://bit.ly/1mNI1qz


I applied to participate in Bush Blitz not only because I have a passion for biology and conservation but also because, as a second year graduate teacher, I felt that it would be an invaluable experience to enrich my teaching, network with other teachers and to learn new skills that I could take back to my colleagues and students to integrate into the curriculum. Seeing as ‘science as a human endeavour’ is one of the curriculum outcomes, I thought what better way to teach my students then to lead by example and get actively involved in citizen science. After all, to protect our native flora and fauna we must first discover them! I strongly believe that a teacher with life experience as well as varying experiences in their teaching field provides a more enriching learning environment for their students. This program would provide me with scientific knowledge and experience that would be unique for a graduate teacher.

When I discovered that I had been successful in my application I was ecstatic but I could not have been prepared for what was to be truly a trip of a lifetime! Over the 8 days that we spent at Home Valley Station and helicoptering around Durack and Kurunjie stations, I had the privilege to work alongside some amazing people. There were enthusiastic and knowledgeable scientists that were generous with their time, patience and knowledge, dedicated Bush Blitz team members and inspirational and welcoming traditional owners. The positive atmosphere in the camp was infectious and it would have proved incredibly difficult not to be swept up entirely by it. We teachers shared the excitement and achievement of finding new species and the emotion and connection of returning to country with the traditional owners. If that wasn’t enough, we were surrounded by the most amazing

BUSH BLITZ


living to life in the city. Some of these students are coming from towns with populations smaller than our school and so it is a massive cultural adjustment for these young people, not only academically but socially. The idea of getting out bush, planting trees, documenting flora and fauna or starting bush tucker gardens would give these students a sense of home as well as give them something to cultivate and excel at. The benefits of this, will also extend to our non-indigenous students who can experience and be enriched by our country’s indigenous heritage through their peers. Hands on conservation and biological science work would also be great to run for educational support students, as it is accessible and relatable, and gifted and talented students to give their studies more significance beyond the textbook.

Not only did the Bush Blitz experience prove to be all that I hoped for but it was much, much more. Before the trip I was excited to see what this trip would lend to my teaching career, but what I wasn’t prepared for was far more personal. I discovered that this trip wasn’t only about scientific discovery but also about recognising what we have and working with others to save it. Being around the traditional owners and seeing how they felt about the land allowed me to discover my own connection with our country, I am proud of being Australian and proud of our diversity, not only of flora and fauna, but of people and cultures, something that is celebrated at La Salle. I found myself with even more respect for our indigenous heritage after viewing breath-taking sacred sites and learning about the land, not just as a landscape but as a way of life.

As a teacher I have a unique opportunity to share with young people my experiences and I hope if nothing else I can make them feel, even if only a little, this connection too. Finally, I would like to sincerely thank Bush Blitz, ASTA and La Salle College for making it possible for me to go on this amazing expedition.

Read my blog here at [email protected]

Australian landscapes, the majestic Cockburn range, long plains dotted with spiralled spinifex and bulbous Boabs, gorgeous gorges, bubbling billabongs, red dirt and luscious lagoons surrounded by palms. It was quintessentially the Australian outback at its best and most diverse and it was intoxicating. It was very hard to say goodbye.

Since coming back from the trip I have been lucky enough to share my trip with and promote Bush Blitz

in three different schools. It has been fantastic to see young people so excited about classification and conservation. I hope to, in future, initiate active conservation more heavily into our curriculum and get students keenly involved in environmental awareness and management.

La Salle College is a large school, with over 1400 students, located in the Swan Valley region. Being a semi-rural community and recognised as a gateway to the more rural towns we have many students commuting long distances every day. La Salle also has a strong indigenous boarding program which sees students coming from many remote communities, such as Balgo, to study at the College. I strongly believe that hands on conservational work will be something that these students will be very interested in and hence aid them greatly in their transition from isolated community Kelly Nebel

“The Bush Blitz experience prove to be all that I hoped for but it was much, much more”

[email protected]


to our new format and to the conference as a whole. Saturday kicked off with the Welcome and Introductions, followed by Helena Nicholson being awarded the 2013 STAWA Primary Science Award. This was a well-deserved recognition for all the work Helena has done in Dunsborough in both science and environmental education within classes, across the school and across the community. Helena’s award included full registration for the conference along with a framed certificate.

The second major change to the conference was the new ‘Speed Trading’ with the trade displays. Participants were placed into groups of six, and then spend 9 minutes at each trade display. Here, the trade display organiser could highlight one example of 21st century technology, or speak to one major element of their display. The idea behind this new approach was to ensure participants circulated around a large number of trade displays, and allow trade display organisers an opportunity to showcase their trade, resources and whet the appetite of the participants. This new approach was highly successful, with both conference participants and trade display organisers praising the approach as innovative and refreshing. In fact, 95% of participants

The 34th annual Primary Science Conference was held on the 28th and 29th of March at The Vines Resort in the Swan Valley. The theme for this year’s conference was ‘Science education for the 21st century.’ Not only did this theme embrace changes in science education through technology, the entire conference embraced change through a restructure to its format. Sixty seven primary and early childhood teachers attended the conference and experienced a diverse yet engaging range of presentations and 10 trade displays.

The first obvious change in conference format was the conference dinner on Friday night, with two keynote speakers each presenting for 20 minutes between different dinner courses. Between entrée and main course, Ryan Kempster gave a highly topical, visual and entertaining presentation on ‘Repelling sharks to save them … and us!’ His presentation included a history of shark repellent technology and conservation outreach programs to protect sharks. This was followed by Emma Donnelly, who presented between the main course and dessert, on the topic of ‘Cooking with science’. Emma shared many opportunities for including cooking in the science curriculum. Both presentation were well received, and provided an engaging and positive start

2014 PRIMARY SCIENCE CONFERENCE


had to work in teams to design, build and commission a pipeline that delivered materials over a course which included obstacles and turns. One size fits all. Science in a shoe box was presented by Linda Townend (a science specialist from the Department of Education WA). Here, participants had the opportunity to explore a range of stimulating, hands-on science activities with all materials needed fitting conveniently into a shoe box. Fiona Mayne (The University of Western Australia) and Erin Burns (Lesmurdie Primary School) provided some excellent ideas in relation to assessment in the Australian Curriculum in their session titled Addressing key assessment challenges – Getting up some momentum with AC:S assessment.

Session 3 saw more engaging presentations. Angela Rossen (Artist in Residence with the Oceans Institute at The University of Western Australia) presented on Biology and Art, and how she works with primary

agreed that the trade display was useful and fun. Trade display organisers found the speed trading encouraged participants to return to their display, and they wanted it included in future STAWA conferences.

The third change in conference format was to reduce the length of workshop sessions from 1 ½ hours to 1 hour. This resulted in four workshop session being presented across Saturday, with participants choosing from four streams: Biology, IT/Engineering, Resources and Physical/Chemical Sciences. During session breaks participants had the opportunity to win some wonderful donated science resources/passes from our generous sponsors and the trade exhibitors.

The first workshop session had four engaging presentations. Felicity Bradshaw (The University of Western Australia) and Jenny Russell (Woodlands Primary School) presented a newly developed ecology program for Year 1 to 4 children called Be a bush scientist. Embracing the technology theme, Rachel Sheffield (Curtin University), Geoff Quinton (Perth College) and Leonie McIlvenny (Curtin University) presented on Make friends with Voki. Richard Johnson (Rostrata Primary School) demonstrated how to turn a wide range of materials into engaging science learning experiences in his presentation titled Beyond the paper helicopter. Participants in Peter Dallimore’s (Stanbridges) session got to set off their own rockets outside, as his presentation was based on Model rockets in the classroom.

The second session had another four fascinating workshops to choose from. Mady Colquhoun, a specialist science teacher from Armadale Primary School, shared her amazing 2013 experience of being part of Bush Blitz TeachLive and working with scientists in central Australia. Bringing engineering to the classroom, Mary Jane O’Callaghan, Nicola Maynard and Rekha Koul (all from Curtin University) presented on the Pipeline challenge. Here, participants

“95% of participants agreed that the trade display was useful and fun”

“Participants had the opportunity to explore a range of stimulating, hands-on science activities”


Australia and one from Edith Cowan University) took this opportunity to come along on the Saturday, gain some valuable ideas for teaching science and network with in-service teachers.

Based on feedback from the participants, the conference was considered a huge success and the changes were positively embraced. Highlights of the conference were the passionate presenters, the chance to network, the great planning of the conference, the variety of sessions, being around inspiring and motivating people, the wide range of ideas and information presented, and the real classroom application.

I would like to thank the amazing Primary Science Committee for all their hard work in putting together the 2014 conference. I would also like to thank them for their forward thinking and positive approach in making the changes to the structure of the conference. Overwhelmingly, these changes have been positively embraced by all, and set the scene for the 21st century.

school children to encourage learning in the biological sciences. Frank Dymond presented his hugely popular A pocketful of science. Sustainability and wind power was presented by Allan Morrison (Scientrific). Glenda Leslie (AISWA) addressed the new Physical Sciences curriculum with Forces for fours. Participants explored magnets and static electricity as a means to teach forces to Year 4 students.

The final session of Saturday saw three more engaging workshops. Barbara Sing (a science specialist from Derby District High School) connected with the conference theme to present Applying nature apps for your own Citizen Science project. Richard Rennie brought his usual range of vintage and engaging objects to engross participants in his session titled Light for Year 5. Vanessa Baker (Scitech) and Craig Arkell presented ideas to engage the whole school in a hands-on Science day through their session called Activate Science – Inspiring the whole school community.

In yet another change to the conference, pre-service teachers from the various universities were invited to attend. Ten pre-service teachers (three from Curtin, three from Murdoch, three from The University of Western Dr Christine Howitt - Chair


www.scitech.org.au

Scitech is proudly supported by the Government of Western Australia

Scitech Planetarium

Feature exhibitions

Heaps of exhibits

Science shows

Plus much more!

SCIO

S_M

K913

_101

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ScitechWA

School excursions just got better


CONSTAWA 2014CONSTAWA 2014 was the second year of running the conference within a school. The conference was held at Mazenod College and ably hosted by the Mazenod Science Staff. We were privileged to have as our first keynote, Professor Mark Hackling. Professor Hackling spoke on the Friday night about his STEM education research and shared some of his story with us. This was followed by a BBQ dinner cooked by the committee, with drinks and a great opportunity to network.

Saturday morning began with the keynote address from Winthrop Professor Garry Lee from the Centre of Forensic Science at The University of Western Australia. He was a very engaging presenter who brought a variety of samples to help illustrate his point – The science and technology behind food production and security. The information he provided about the antioxidant content of foods was certainly eye opening!

Saturday was then run as a typical conference day with great success. You show me yours was again a highlight. Saturday concluded with an amazing dinner and a great evening of dancing with the Mazenod teaching staff band “A Class Act” keeping us all entertained.

Conference numbers were similar to last year with 95 registrations in 2014. Yet combined with the Friday Senior Secondary Science Planning day delegates we had an overflow in the 200-seat theatre with 218 present.

A huge thank you must go to Mazenod College, Rector – Father Daley and head of department Mal Johnson, along with his staff for their support of the conference.

Annually I have the opportunity to thank those who make this conference happen. I have the honour of being the convener of an amazing committee; Mal Johnson, John Scrivener, Geoff Lewis, Alex Berentzen, Lance Taylor, Vick Lazarov, Mark Lehmann, Bernie Hunneybun, Diana Tomazos, Lauren Pascoe along with the STAWA office staff, John Clarke and Angie Ng - who make this a reality. I also thank Barry Cornwall, the Chef at Mazenod for his amazing efforts to produce two wonderful dinners and one amazing lunch. Again I say thank you.

Jodie Rybicki - Conference Convenor


2

New Content WorkshopsThree concurrent new content workshop presentations in Biology / Human Biology, Chemistry and Physics, formed the second part of the afternoon program. New content workshop guest presenters included Professor Igor Bray - Physics; Dr Maree Baddock, Brenda Winning, Kelly Nebel and Bernadine Hunneybun – Chemistry and Pauline Charman - Biology and Human Biology.

1.

More than 200 teachers attend the STAWA Planning Day, Friday 16 May at Mazenod College.

The Senior Secondary Science Curriculum Planning Workshops were held to help teachers in the planning and implementation of the WA Senior Secondary Science Courses ATAR 2016 (WACE 2015-16).

Implementation of the revised Syllabuses begins with Year 11 in 2015. Details of courses can be found at: http://wace1516.scsa.wa.edu.au/science/

52 delegates responded to the online evaluation questionnaire, their responses included below reveal teacher experiences of the day and information to help with the planning of future workshops.

School Curriculum and Standards Authority, SCASA Presentation The afternoon began with a welcome and overview of the program by Geoffrey Lewis STAWA President. Mr Lewis then introduced Russell Dyer; Director, Standards and Certification; School Curriculum and Standards Authority. Mr Dyer presented an overview of the reasons, processes and requirements of the WA Senior Secondary Science Courses ATAR 2016 and its implementation.

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WACE 2015 ATAR 2016 SUBJECT PLANNING DAY WORKSHOPS

90% of participants found this presentation very worthwhile.

More than 96% of participants indicated that the presentation by Russell Dyer helped them to understand the reasons, processes involved and organisational requirements of the change to WACE 2015-16 (AITSL standard 7.1)

New content workshops offered are listed in Chart 1. The numbers participating in the evaluation reflect similar proportions to the numbers enrolled in each subject on the day. Our Biology / Human Biology teachers responded in greater numbers than other subject teachers.

Chart 1

http://wace1516.scsa.wa.edu.au/science/


The aim of the Content Elaboration documents is to give guidance to the depth and breadth of content for the 2015/16 WACE Science courses. It is also hoped that these documents will provide a means for developing consistent interpretation of the courses and help inexperienced teachers find an appropriate pathway through the content. They will be made available through AISWA, DoE, CEO and STAWA.

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Content Elaboration WorkshopsBiology, Human Biology, Earth and Environmental Science, Chemistry and Physics content elaborations workshops formed the third part of the program. The subject discussion groups examined, discussed and expanded upon draft Content Elaboration documents with a particular focus on new content. The depth and breadth documents were prepared by the voluntary efforts of cross-sectoral subject teams of teachers. Leading the development of the elaboration documents and workshops was Glenda Leslie from the Australian Independent Schools Western Australia (AISWA). Glenda also coordinated the AISWA representatives, Helen Lydon, Marcy Spencer, Tom Iwanowski, Fiona May, Joan Osborne and Peter Wong. Representatives from the Catholic Education Office coordinated by Margaret Martin were Tim Blake, Laura Hawdon, Anita Relo Fisher, Simone Sawiris and Mal Johnson. Department of Education representatives coordinated by Bernadette Dyer included Richard Meagher, Kim Rosenthal, Adele Walker, Karen Harper, Rick Rose, Darin Carter and Susi Urbaniak.

More than 90% of participants found the subject new content presentations very worthwhile.

Around 83% of teachers found that the material presented in the new content workshop added to their subject knowledge and understanding and will help them to improve their practice as a science teacher (AITSL standard 6.2)

The 17% (9) of teacher who did not agree with this statement were equally spread across the 4 subject presentations. Teacher comments included at the end of this report may provide insights into both teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction in relation to this part of the day’s workshop program.

85% of participants feel confident that they can implement some of the ideas presented in their classrooms (AITSL standard 6.4)

Around 89% of participants found the subject content elaborations workshop very worthwhile. Interestingly the 11% (6) of teachers who did not agree with this statement were spread across the 4 different subject workshops.

77% of participants agreed or strongly agreed with the following statement. Participation in this workshop added to my subject knowledge and understanding and will help me to improve my planning and practice as a science teacher (AITSL standard 6.2) – Chart 7.

Again the 23% (12) of teachers who did not agree with this statement were spread across the all the different subject workshops. In most instances these were the same participants who were dissatisfied with the other workshops. Teacher comments at the end of this report may provide insights into both teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction in relation to this part of the day’s workshop program.

7% of participants agreed or strongly agreed with the following statement: This workshop gave sufficient opportunity to engage with colleagues and discuss the WACE 2015-16 courses (AITSL standard 6.3).

It is interesting to note that all teachers in the chemistry groups agreed with the statement. Of the 7 teachers who did not support this statement 5 were involved with Biology and Human Biology groups. This dissatisfaction may have been related to the group individuals were involved in, where they have not been afforded


Teacher comments on the STAWA Senior Secondary Science Planning DayThe following list contains comments made by teachers and is arranged according to the subject workshop each teacher attended. Each dot point contains statements from an individual teacher.

Biology

Chemistry

Rating the Senior Secondary Science Planning DayOverall the Senior Secondary Science WACE 2015-16 Planning Day was very well received. Evaluation was done using a star rating with 5 stars the highest rating.

Star Rating % Response5 154 563 232 41 2

Possible future Senior Secondary Science collaborative workshop programs1.

Topic Number (%)Subject Programs 42 (81%)

Assessment 47 (90%)General Courses 13 (25%)

None 1 (2%)

2.

opportunities to contribute in the discussion. Teacher comments included at the end of this report may provide insights into both teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction in relation to this part of the day’s workshop program.

Attendees were asked to identify the Senior Secondary Science topics if any that they would like STAWA to develop collaborative workshop programs around. The responses have been collated in the table below:

Senior Secondary Science topics selected for future workshops were then assigned preferred dates for delivery. This information is collated in the following table (Chart 2). The responses suggest that Term 4 2014 is a preferred date for any future program with primary preference given to assessment followed by subject programs.

After the day I had more of an appreciation of the fantastic work that STAWA does to make our lives as Science Teachers easier and more productive. Well done.As a Pre-Service teacher I found the STAWA Planning Day very useful. My knowledge of subject intricacies and implementation of the new Australian Curriculum was greatly enhanced. Thank you.Needed to be longer so we could finish discussions on elaborations and look at assessment structure.The talk on epigenetics was very interesting but left us all confused as to the depth of content to actually be covered. This was very in depth in the talk and surely far beyond the required knowledge for year 11. The workshop was far too short and no worthwhile outcomes could be achieved in this time. It really only gave us familiarisation time and no time to make any valuable changes or additions. The idea of the whole thing was excellent. A day would have been more beneficial.

Basecamp for Chemistry is a fantastic way to share resources. Could we have the same sort of idea for Physics please? I would like to

Chart 2


Physics

Earth and Environmental Science

Human Biology

network with others on a more regular basis to develop the programs and assessments.Enjoyable dayI enjoyed the time invested in attending CONSTAWA, it is always amazing. I found the distance of the venue a challenge. The collaborative working sessions were good and it was an excellent time of sharing ideas and meeting colleagues. The Basecamp dropbox idea sounds wonderful.Thank you for organizing this. It was a great opportunity to discuss the new courses with our colleagues and gain a better understanding of the courses.Thanks go to the presenters for taking the initiative to develop programmes, which we can build on. The department has been slow to react with regards to this.

Paid to attend workshop (including relief) and drove over an hour to Lesmurdie. There was no formal presenter for Earth and Environmental Science. I ended up getting the new units of study from a teacher who works five minutes from me. Yes we networked but we could have done this for a lot less money and time.

Good opportunity to discuss new courses and elaborations. Too much happening in venue with elaborations and insufficient time.It is good to have the opportunity to meet with fellow professionals. I regret that finances prevented me from bringing a Chemistry & Physics teacher with me for this session. It also has encouraged me to rejoin STAWA. You do a great job with these sessions.As Human Biological Science [HBS] sits outside the National Curriculum - why the rush to develop these new courses? I don’t understand the resultant stress that this is causing and the need to get it done now. Back prior to the new courses for HBS coming on line in 2010 as a TDCC we argued for and got extensions.

The end result of that was that we got more time and a better, smoother transitioned course with better outcomes. Having said what I have said, I do commend STAWA for this initiative and we are fortunate to have an organization as proactive as you are where other subject areas don’t have this. I thank you for this and wasn’t it great to see so many teachers turning up because they want to do the right thing by their learning communities.

A more structured elaborations workshop would have been a more efficient use of time. More detailed information about the workshops prior to attending would have allowed more detailed planning and more comprehensive input. End of term 4 after 11’s and 12’s have finished would be best.Igor Bray’s knowledge of relativity is excellent of course, but as a teacher I am far more interested in the intended level for students in Unit 4. Feedback was given in the consultation sessions on the physics Unit 4 to ACARA through SCASA, and to all appearances it was completely ignored. Unit 4 presents a challenge for all of us to pitch it at the right level. Unfortunately this session (the main reason I attended) didn’t serve that purpose at all. The elaboration session materials that were distributed in the last section (Physics Unit 4 once again) were disjointed and contradictory. This meant much of that session was spent trying to decipher what was already there rather than discuss what we as teachers thought should be there.It was unfortunate that for physics the contributions to the elaborations documents were only those that had been collated by AISWA and the other 2 sectors hadn’t added their material in. This did reduce the value of the session.

John Clarke - Chief Executive


Send the following to the EditorIf you cannot send your contribution in the following recommended form, please send it to the Editor in any reasonable form.1.2.

3.

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Innovations in the classroomThe editorial; board members are keen to increase the number of articles on this topic. We are always keen to review your ideas about experiments, demonstrations, teaching techniques, hints, safety notes, computer applications and anything else that could help classroom science teachers, especially beginning teachers.

Reference styleSCIOS reference style is based on the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

CopyrightNo other publisher should have already published our manuscript, nor should you submit it for publication elsewhere. If SCIOS publishes your manuscript then your text and graphics will become copyright of STAWA. STAWA will, however, allow you to use the contents of your paper for most reasonable non-commercial purposes.

ContactJohn Clarke, STAWA email [email protected]

CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?YES, of course you can. So can lab technicians and students... your Year 7 or Year 8 class could write a half page article with a photo that we would love to publish.

We are keen to increase the number and variety of types of articles published in SCIOS. SO if the answer is YES to any of the following questions, we want to hear from you.

Email your contributions to [email protected]

GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORSThese notes are a brief guide to contributors. Contributors should also refer to recent issues of the Journal. Refereed articles are peer reviewed by the Editor and anonymously by at least two reviewers.

Feature ArticlesFeature articles should not normally exceed 3000 words plus figures, tables and references. Short, concisely written articles are very welcome. Please use headings and sub-headings to give your article structure. WE also welcome any other type if contribution. Reviewed articles are subject to peer review.

Have you recently conducted a new experiment that worked really well?Is there a great demonstration that always gets your students’ attention?Have you tried a new teaching technique that was fun?Do you have some helpful hints for new teachers (and not-so-new ones)?Are there some safety hints and tips that you’d like to pass on?Have you used computers or some other technology really effectively?What successes have your students had in science?Are your students involved in science project outside of school?Anything else science-related you would like to share with others?

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE

Please send your document as a word file.Photographs and other images (e.g. diagrams) should be sent as separate files.Photographs often increase the clarity and interest level of your work. Send your photographs as .tiff or highest quality .jpeg files with a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch (dpi). Note to teachers: Parent permission (signed permission slip) must be obtained for any photographs to be included in SCIOSCopyright clearance for any part of your contribution that is copyright of a third party needs to be obtained in writing (email acceptable).

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