Collaborating to enhance curriculum

Collaborating to enhance curriculum - CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools

[Teachers and STEM professionals on slides on screen smiling, and sharing skills]

[The CSIRO logo swirls into the centre of the screen]

[Text on screen: STEM Professionals in School]

[Shot of the city]

Mark Rathjen: Well I think the CSIRO STEM Professional Program is outstanding. You can have access to those

[Shot of the outside of the school]

resources that aren't always readily available in schools.

[Text on screen Collaborating to enhance curriculum]

[Shot of a chalkboard followed by a mobile with a sign saying Thinking]

Rebecca Geue: Our STEM professional is Dr. David Bird.

[Rebecca being interviewed in her classroom, the test next to her reading Rebecca Geue Teacher St Peter's Lutheran School]

He is an astrophysicist who works with the Department of Defence.

[Close up of a globe and an atlas]

[Shot of a room full of young students watching attentively]

It's incredibly helpful to have an expert come in and help us because he can bring in a whole range of resources that we don't have access to.

[Dr Bird asks a question and points to a student who raised his hand to answer it]

He's got a whole range of expertise. He's working with what we're already doing in the curriculum.

[Dr Bird and Rebecca planning their next lesson together next to a laptop]

Dr. David Bird: With Rebecca and I, it's a team effort. Rebecca will come up with an idea and then we'll work on it together. We can usually find an example of an experiment

[Dr Bird in front of a chalkboard, text next to him on screen reads Dr David Bird Senior research Scientist DST]

which we can do with the children in the class, and I'll build a lesson around that.

Rebecca Geue: He works with me beforehand and we plan things together. It's been amazing because the kids have such a great relationship with him.

[Dr Bird connecting electrical leads to two pencils being suspended in a glass of water]

David has this passion of using everyday materials. So they can see that what they have around the home they can use to do really exciting things like chemistry,

[Dr Bird explains something about the electrified pencils to the three students he's sitting with]

and making bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen which they were really excited about.

[David and Mark talking through the school yard]

[Mark bring interviewed in a classroom, the text next to him reading Mark Rathjen Principal St Peter's Lutheran School]

Mark Rathjen: Dr. David is so passionate about what he does and that's really infectious with our students. Students get to see them as real people doing real jobs and I think that makes an impact on student learning.

[A close up of praying mantis]

[The students hold the praying mantis while Dr Bird directs a heat camera at them]

Dr. David Bird: The next generation needs to be able to think scientifically, needs to be able to question and analyse things.

[The shot shows a view of the camera taking a heat picture of the mantis]

If you're passionate about your line of research and you want to inspire the next generation of STEM professionals there's no better way to do it than to get involved in this program.

[Dr Bird is standing around a table with some students manipulating slinkies]

Rebecca Geue: It's important to enthuse students at an early age so that they can see the potential and that on into further study, and their careers. The CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools Program just takes our curriculum to a whole new level.

[Dr Bird smiling at the camera]

[Rebecca smiling at the camera]

[A close up of a chalkboard featuring a math problem]

[The CSIRO logo pops into the centre of the screen, underneath is written Australia's National Science Agency]

[An equation of logos is on the screen with a graduation cap representing teacher, then a plus sign adding it to a STEM professional symbolized by a molecule logo.]

[The equals symbol then connects to a gear logo representing partnership.]

[A circle graph titled Schools with different colours for different percentages on screen, Catholic being 16.3%, Government being 65.8%, Independent/Private being 16.8% and other being 1.1%]

[A map symbolizing national reach with a circle graph to one side. the text under the graph reads "with 29% in regional and remote areas.]

[On the map going clockwise NT 1.5%, QLS 20.8%, NSW 20.9%, ACT 5.9%, TAS 5.2%, VIC 23.9%, SA 8%, WA 13.8%.]

[A graph titled STEM Professionals, the circle graph showing percentages by gender with female at 43.2%, male at 56.6%, and not specified at 0.2%. The text under the graph reads note Female STEM professional representation is significantly higher than the national female STEM qualified population of 17 percent overall asterisk leading to a footnote "from the 2020 program evaluation.]

[Text on centre screen reads The STEM Professionals in Schools project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment. At the bottom of the screen is reads The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment.]

[New Screen, text reading STEM Professionals in Schools would like to thank: Mark Rathjen, Rebecca Geue and the students from St Peters Lutheran School; Dr David Bird, Senior Research Scientist, DST]

[Fade to black]