Ep.2 The importance of scientific literacy & student-led project-based learning

Meet Isabelle Kingsley, a former science teacher who now heads up the Sydney Science Festival as well as adult programming at the Museum of Applied Arts Museum in Sydney. In this episode we talk about the importance of scientific literacy and the value of allowing students to explore their learning through guided long term science projects. Hosted by Ben Newsome from Fizzics Education About Isabelle Kingsley After being a high school science teacher for four years, Isabelle has worked in the field of informal science education and science outreach at various cultural institutions in Canada and Australia.  Isabelle has produced and managed multiple science education initiatives including National Science and Technology Week (Canada), Ultimo Science Festival and the Mars Lab, a world-class STEM education program located at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.  In her current role at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Isabelle runs the Sydney Science Festival, an annual festival that engages people of all ages in celebrating and appreciating science.Isabelle has recently embarked on a PhD at the University of New South Wales in the Faculty of Science.  Her research aims to understand and measure the effectiveness of informal science education in achieving its objectives of improving people’s understanding, attitudes and perceptions of science. Top 3 learningsProject based learning works! Find ways to get students into longer term projects that allows them to deep dive into a specific area of study.Be a facilitator in the classroom whereby you let students drive their own learning wherever possible. Let them explore, question, fail, succeed and create… they’ll be better off in the long run! Just be sure to create safe classroom environment and your students will undoubtedly grow as learners.Be firm with your guidance as a teacher and become more relaxed as the year progresses. You can make a highly inclusive and engaging classroom environment whilst ensuring that students learn boundaries and what’s appropriate in your classroom.Education tip of the weekUse Slack in your school. This will save you a mountain of reading through emails and the best bit is that messages sent amongst your teaching faculty are pre-sorted by the sender. You can find a full run-down on this on the Fizzics Education website http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/Blog/x_post/How-to-improve-school-communication-using-slack-00108.html Further contact details for Isabelle Kingsley Email: [email protected] Fizzics Education Web: http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/ Phone: +612 9674 2191 STEM Teaching support resources NEW Primary STEM teaching book! http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/be+amazing+book.html >100 Free Science Experiments http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/Free+experiments.html >100 Free Science Ideas and Tips http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/Blog.html Know an educator who'd love this episode? Share it! If something grabbed your attention in this STEM podcast please leave your thoughts below.