Ep.25 Neil Bramsen on the importance of primary science education

We speak with Neil Bramsen, recent winner of the 2017 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools and Assistant Principal at Mt Ousley Public School in NSW. From students counting birds for citizen science to using drones & robotics, Neil’s passion for STEM clearly shines through! Neil Bramsen is a 2013 Churchill Fellow, an Apple Distinguished Educator and a winner of the NSW Premier’s Teacher Scholarship. “Science has a wow factor to it! Literacy and numeracy are embedded in science. Everything you see around us, anyone listening look around you has an element of design innovation.” After chatting with Neil Bramsen, we also look at learnings to be had whilst taking students on a bushwalk plus we revisit a grab from a past episode in which Sibylle Seidler from the Little Scientists where she discusses why your own enthusiasm & curiosity creates a foundation.Hosted by Ben Newsome from Fizzics Education Top 4 learningsWhilst conducting your science lesson, have in mind a kitchen scale… is your lesson well balanced between having fun and delivering deeper meaning? Use the outdoors. This can be a fantastic circuit breaker for students plus the environment around you can provide a rich source of learning opportunities. Restricting the number of desks in the classroom forces you to creatively think of different methods of delivering a lesson. Invest in your colleagues. Provide as many opportunities as possible for professional development and the investment will pay itself back ten-fold.Contact details for Neil Bramsen https://twitter.com/[email protected]://neilbramsen.edublogs.org/Churchill Fellowship, ‘To study programs that successfully engage and enthuse primary and middle school students in MES (Maths, Engineering and Science) learning - USA, UK.’  https://goo.gl/cGYvrB Education tip: Taking students on a bush walk https://goo.gl/zk2wfC Find out more about a Churchill Fellowship Visit the Churchill Trust website https://www.churchilltrust.com.au Contact Fizzics EducationWeb: http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/ Phone: +612 9674 2191STEM 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.