PhD student adds something special

PhD student adds something special - 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 in centre of screen reads STEM Professionals in Schools]

[Justine and Maurice walk along by the school]

[Text on screen reads PhD student adds something special]

[Maurice and Justine chatting together and reviewing a textbook]

Justine Mackey: We're really fortunate to have a strong partnership with Maurice as a part of the CSIRO program. As a PhD student Maurice is able to share his expertise with our students, and with our teachers.

[Justine being interviewed in a library, text on screen reads Justine Mackey, Principal, Ivanhoe East PS]

We don't have any access to that kind of skill or knowledge. And our students really benefit from his enthusiasm, and his knowledge, and his experience.

[Maurice standing in front of a class wearing a lab coat]

Maurice Pagnin: STEM Professionals in Schools is a great initiative. When I started the program it was initially

[Maurice being interviewed in a library, text on screen reads Maurice Pagnin, PhD candidate, Biomedical Science RMIT]

just doing some basic activities, experiments with some classes.

[Students work together to build a sand island on a plate]

And now it's grown into something a little bit bigger than that.

[A teacher pours vinegar from a bucket onto the island causing a reaction]

Justine Mackey: Maurice works really closely with our teachers to plan a program that engages the students, and also connects back to some of the learning that they're doing in the classroom.

[Maurice and the teacher sit together working on their lesson plan]

He consults with the teachers to explore the program that they're working on and then identifies where he can add something special and something that will really peak the curiosity of the students.

[Outside shots of the school]

Maurice Pagnin: We do a variety of activities such as experiments, talks, presentations.

[Maurice and the students build small volcanoes out of sand in the schoolyard]

Although my research is in biology we cover all kinds of topics such as Physics, Earth Science,

[A student pours liquid from a cup onto the volcano]

human Biology and other topics such as coding and IT.

[A small sample case holds a variety of samples of rocks and twigs]

[Maurice shows the case to a group of students]

I think all kids are natural scientists. They ask a lot of questions, especially at the younger ages.

[Maurice places the case under a microscope]

They just want to know why, why, why?

[A young boy leans over to peer into the microscope]

I see the passion in these kids' eyes and that's what motivates me to come back every time. There’ve been a group of students who have setup their own science club as a result of the excitement that was generated.

[Maurice teaching kids both inside the lab and out in the schoolyard]

There's a great support that comes from the CSIRO in setting up the partnership. And you'll be really surprised by the different types of people that might be in your school community. And it's a great way to connect the community back to what's going on in the classroom.

[Justine smiles at the camera]

[Maurice smiles at the camera]

[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: Justine Mackey and the students from Ivanhoe East Primary School; Maurice Pagnin, PhD Candidate - Biomedical Science RMIT]

[Fades to black]