david platz: ghou in atherton, australia

STEM Education “eSchool” initiative

The School of Astronomy & Astrophysics

(TSAA)

Conference 2015

Collaborative Partners

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www.learnastro.eq.edu.au

TSAA has been developing STEM based education for over 11 years

The curriculum is contextualised with the main focus on Astronomy and Astrophysics

The courses are robust with an aim to challenge gifted and talented high-school students

TSAA currently offers two online courses which students study consecutively over 2 years

Senior Astronomy and Senior Astrophysics

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The online courses are delivered through Blackboard (Bb)

Students study 3 x 70 min lessons per week autonomously while at school or at home

Students can progress at their own pace

There are no online lessons that students need to attend at any specific time.

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Lesson-by lesson documents and information appears as the student progresses

Basic Course Structure

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Lesson Materials Slide 8

Supplement Material to cater for all types of students

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Student self-appraisal and feedback on progress

Students can request assistance

from instructors at the end of each lesson.

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Next lesson materials appear after feedback is

submitted

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End of Unit Quizzes

Intermediate Surveys

Alerts appear when students approach milestones &

assessment

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Links appear to make navigating easier

Many students access the courses outside

school hours

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Senior Astronomy and Senior Astrophysics are the only QCAA Recognised Advanced

School-based Subjects in Queensland

Each course contributes 2 QCE Credit Points towards Student’s Learning Account.

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2015 Enrolments 13 High-schools across Queensland

• Atherton SHS

• Mareeba SHS

• Trinity Bay SHS

• Ignatius Park College (Townsville)

• Australian Christian College (Morton)

• Pacific Lutheran College (Sunshine Coast)

• Unity College (Sunshine Coast)

• Smithfield SHS

• Flagstone State Community College (Logan)

• All Saints Anglican School (Gold Coast)

• St Stephens College (Gold Coast)

• Genesis Christian College (Brisbane)

• Burdekin Catholic College

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TSAA - 2016 Onwards

TSAA has recently received AU$ 500 000 for Collaborative & Innovative partnerships.

Proposed Collaborative Partners: • University of Southern Queensland (USQ) • Affiliates of Global Hands-On Universe (GHOU) • Education Queensland “eLearning” • Brisbane Planetarium

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Collaboration Initiatives:

• Continue to develop online STEM related curriculum in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Yr 4 to 12) incorporating GHOU and remote access to the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope (LCOGT) Network;

• Development of online STEM related syllabus:

Data Science through Applications in Astronomy

Fundamentals of Coding

Scientific Literacy

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• Collaborative digital instructional designing and editing for courses delivered through Blackboard

• Collaborative development of quality editable mathematics assessment banks using SageTEX to enhance authenticity of responses and provide instant feedback online

• Develop collaborative school-based projects linked to Mt Kent Observatories and the LGOCT Network.

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Potential future GHOU Remote Telescope 14” SCT Reflector

Hopefully operational

this year.

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Positioned to Lead

Incorporating GHOU in our middle and junior school curriculum is essential to attract students into TSAA’s

pre-tertiary curriculum offerings

TSAA’s goal is to promote the use of GHOU materials and activities in Australian classrooms

With our collaborative partners, TSAA is in a position to set new standards in digital pedagogy and curriculum development in STEM education across Australia.

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