2004 Teacher Winners
Categories:
Primary
Mr Keith Brown
Coogee Primary School, WA
Keith’s longstanding commitment to environmental education and bushland management has earned him the respect of his students, his peers and the broader community. This is indicated by his nomination for this award having been made by a parent committee member of Keith’s school.
Keith has an ability to engage a wide range of people in the environmental program; not only students and parents but also environment groups, governments, residents, businesses and friends of the school.
Keith’s students learn about sustainable development by actually practising it. This means they become informed and active citizens from a young age and are more likely to continue applying the principles throughout their lives.
Secondary
Ms Jeanette Rothapfel
Maitland High School, NSW
This award recognises Jeanette’s years of dedication to science and her passion for science teaching.
Jeanette’s commitment is typified by her flagship ‘Science in Space’ program; a student-focused program that offers a wide range of science-based learning experiences for young people of all ages, and also provides professional development resources for teachers.
The high esteem in which Jeanette is held is evidenced by her success in becoming the only educator outside the USA to be entrusted by NASA with a loan of priceless moon rock samples.
Highly Commended
Ms Rebecca Hack
Rockhampton SHS, QLD
Rebecca exhibits strong leadership within profession of science educators and is clearly a ‘big picture’ person. Her emphasis on teacher development, from primary through to tertiary, is outstanding and augurs well for enhanced science teaching and learning in Queensland. The judges were particularly impressed with Rebecca’s ability to negotiate an accelerated Physics course to improve existing teachers’ proficiency in this discipline.
Ms Kerry Ayre
St Joseph’s Catholic High School, NSW
Kerry has created a monster with her Student Research Expo! Starting from very small beginnings at St Josephs College in 2003, 17 schools will participate in the Expo in 2004 and the intent is to run an Illawarra regional Expo in 2005. The judges highly regarded Kerry’s philosophy to nurture and develop critical thinkers and young scientists with good communication skills. Kerry’s website is also a useful tool for teachers interested in adopting the science fair model within their own school or area.
Alwyn Powell
Darling Heights State School, QLD
Alwyn’s idea to teach science and technology through the creation of simple, inexpensive models is innovative and clever. The judging panel would like to encourage Alwyn to develop his materials into a resource book of masters using computer generated graphics and clear instructions and teaching materials, where possible so that other teachers can share in this novel approach.
Howard Jones
St Helens District High School, TAS
Howard’s specialist Marine Science Facility at St Helens District High School provides rural students from a number of schools with access to innovative and relevant learning materials. Howard has been successful developing a network of supporters from the local marine industries and community, which has contributed to a rich and robust marine science program.
Merit
Dr Raimund Pohl
Cheltenham Girls High School, NSW
Raimund has obviously made a significant contribution to environmental science education by working on a local and global scale. His hands-on approach to ecological monitoring encourages students to practise science in context and to share concepts with other students from very different cultures. This enriches the experience and encourages learning outside the traditional classroom and curriculum.
Agnelo D’Souza
Woodvale Senior High School, WA
Agnelo’s dynamic teaching methodology has transformed his Earth Science program into a program to develop whole-of-life learners. Linking to local industries has meant the curriculum is current, relevant and provides students with a valuable insight into potential scientific careers.
Mr Darren Hamley
Willetton Senior High School, WA
Darren has shown a long-term commitment to allow students to direct and conduct their own research projects and to plan their own scientific expeditions. This provides a huge challenge to a teacher but ultimately results in students who are motivated and well trained in the scientific method.
Peter Hope
Karoo Primary School, VIC
Peter’s commitment to develop science resources that spark an interest in science and his ability to build teacher confidence are commendable. His thirst for knowledge and willingness to continue to challenge his own teaching have meant that Peter continues to meet student and teacher needs.
Mr Robert Monk
Drouin Secondary College, VIC
The development of the Drouin Secondary College interactive science website has been a huge task and one of which Robert should be justifiably proud. His website is proving to be a valuable tool for teachers and students in a number of countries as well as for those in his own school.
Mr Blair Brownless
St Therese’s School, TAS
Blair has developed and implemented an innovative primary science curriculum that has addressed key barriers such as teachers lack of confidence in their ability to teach science and the notion that science lessons are arduous to prepare and difficult to conduct. Also involving students in the development of the course, the result has meant an increased science profile within his school and a renewed enthusiasm for the teaching of science.