Ep.29 Making science engaging

Dr Simon Crook, Founder of CrookED Science, drops by to discuss his work with schools across Australia in building science capacity. Nominated on the Educator Magazine's Hot List for 2017, Simon reflects on what makes a great science lesson and the importance of working collaboratively. “A former colleague of mine had this phrase ‘engage me or enrage me.’. If they’re engaged, you’ve won out! You don’t have to deal with as many classroom management issues.” Top 3 learnings

TeachMeets break down barriers. Find a local one to join and meet motivated educators looking to make a difference. If there is not one local, check out various Twitter hashtags to find a professional learning network that is right for you.
Work with people from different backgrounds. Where possible collaborate people from rural and metropolitan areas, learn from new teachers as well as lead educators and simply mix as many different points of view together to create a collective that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Teach the fundamentals of how experiments actually work. Once students understand experimental design, its from there that they have the tools to investigate their world.

Hosted by Ben Newsome from Fizzics Education
About Dr Simon Crook Dr Simon Crook is the Founder of CrookED Science, a STEM education consultancy working with teachers and students in primary and secondary schools across Australia. Previously, Simon was Senior eLearning Adviser with the Catholic Education Office Sydney. He was also a high school science teacher for 15 years. 
Simon recently completed his PhD thesis ‘Evaluating the Impact of 1:1 Laptops on High School Science Students and Teachers’ at The University of Sydney. He is now Honorary Associate of the School of Physics at The University of Sydney.
Simon is an accomplished author of over 15 articles in national and international journals, covering many aspects of STEM education. Much of his work has been featured in the national media such as the ABC, SMH, The Australian and The Conversation.
Contact details for Dr Simon Crook http://crookedscience.com/
https://www.facebook.com/crookedscience/ https://twitter.com/simoncrook https://www.instagram.com/simon.crook/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/simoncrook1/ [e-mail]
Contact Fizzics Education

Web: http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/
Phone: [phone]

STEM Teaching support resources

NEW Primary STEM teaching book!  http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/be+amazing+book.html
>100 Free Science Experiments  http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/Free+experiments.html
>100 Free Science Ideas and Tips http://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/Blog.html

Know an educator who'd love this episode? Share it!If something grabbed your attention in this STEM podcast please leave your thoughts below.