1996 Teacher Winners
Categories:
Primary
Kerry Powell
Sherwood State School, Sherwood, QLD.
Kerry Powell of Sherwood State School is a highly committed teacher with a gift for enlisting community support for science education.
Kerry was the instigator of a Maths Science and Technology Week at her school, which catered for over four hundred primary students.v The concept grew from a need to cater for the needs of gifted students without being discriminatory to others. The program catered for all students, regardless of their ability, and extended students beyond their year level expectations.
Her program involved two hundred and forty five sessions and successfully enlisted the support of forty-seven presenters, many drawn from the parent community, specialist teachers and volunteers from the science community.
Guest speaker topics included wildlife studies, water testing, and an introduction to the Internet. Students explored their school environment by playing "environmental detectives" and investigated with weather using a weather station which was set up for the week in the school grounds.
Through this innovative program, students were able to see how science operates in the world around them, learning from people in their own community who worked in science related fields.
As a result of the Maths Science and Technology Week, parents reported a significant change in their children's' enthusiasm for science.
Kerry will use the prize money to:
- produce a manual on how to run a Maths/Science/Technology week;
- work with the local science community to write a school based science/environment program to encourage staff, students and the local community to become actively involved in the school and the local area;
- purchase a computer and software.
Secondary
Robert Geary
Scotch College, Mitcham, SA.
Robert Geary has made an outstanding and consistent contribution to biology teaching in South Australia over the last ten years.
During this time he has initiated and conducted numerous workshop for biology teachers throughout South Australia.
He has co-organised student lectures and has written articles and reviews in science teachers' journals and newsletters, all of which have kept biology teachers and students informed about the most recent developments in biological education.
Last year he developed an on-line collection of digital resources downloaded daily from the Internet. "BioTeach", managed by Robert, continues to be utilised by hundreds of biology teachers and their students Australia-wide.
This year he designed and trialed an exciting new environmental science/biology class game, designed to increase awareness of the water bugs in local creeks and at the same time develop computer skills in an interactive learning environment where group consensus is important.
Robert will use part of his grant to purchase further water testing equipment and related software so that a more detailed analysis of pollution in a local catchment area can be made.
Some of the grant will be used to purchase a laptop computer, install a dedicated phone line to enable the Biology Teachers' Bulletin Board to be improved and to establish an Australian Web site on the Internet for biology teachers.
The remainder of the grant will be used to further develop Bob's Web (HTML) publishing skills, purchase suitable software and to allow him to visit other schools with similar water monitoring programmes.
Curriculum Development
Greg McGarvie
Pioneer High School, North Mackay, QLD
Greg McGarvie's twenty years of Marine Instruction has inspired students and encouraged teachers.
He has made contributions to the school's image, influenced understanding of the sea and produced economic benefits for the tourist industry and local community.
His community awareness and respect for the marine environment have played key roles in his excellent contribution as a Marine Science Instructor.
Over a period of seven years he built a program of marine education, with enthusiastic cooperation for other teachers, students and parents. This resulted in the set up of a Marine Studies Centre with administers $35,000 worth of boats shared by five schools in the region.
After a great deal of hard work, Greg was the founder of Seaweek - now an annual national celebration with a strong marine education focus.
Greg encouraged mutually beneficial school, industry and community links for a project known as the Brampton Island "Snorkel Adventure Trail", an innovative guided snorkel trail program which was developed form a marine ecology excursion.
Greg won the support of sponsors while students benefited from gaining new educational opportunities. In addition, Brampton Island won a Tourism award for the Snorkel Adventure Trail.
His confidence and optimism for enlisting community support for his projects has been described by colleagues as infectious.
Greg will use his prize money to further some of the many excellent programs being delivered by the Marine Studies Centre.