2026 Virtual Forum: Excelling Science across NSW – Day Four
29 October @ 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm AEDT
2026 STANSW Virtual Forum Day Four
Thursday 29 October, 4.30pm – 6.30pm
Stay ahead of syllabus change with bite-sized, high-impact professional learning designed for primary teachers and high school science teachers across NSW. Delivered in convenient twilight sessions, this virtual forum lets you learn from leading educators and experts, without taking time away from your classes or travelling across the state.
Whether you’re in metropolitan, regional or remote schools, this is a flexible, accessible way to connect, learn and grow, directly from your home or classroom.
Primary Program Day 4: Stage 3
Time |
Speaker |
Topic |
| 4:30pm – 5:05pm | Assoc. Prof. Peta White, Deakin University | Climate Action Education: Teaching and Learning in the Polycrisis The Polycrisis is represented by human-induced climate change, biodiversity loss, plastic pollution and many more socio-ecological challenges that express themselves in various ways locally and globally. International policy has been developed that provides leverage in all education jurisdictions: the OECD PISA Science Framework 2025 with the support document ‘Agency in the Anthropocene’ and now the 2029 Climate Literacy Framework. Both policies will be unpacked in this presentation. Teaching and learning sequences co-designed for year 5 and 6 students by our research team, scientists, teachers, and students will exemplify how to offer climate action education. We know that young people have strong desires to understand what is happening and why as well as how to take action to transform our societies for regenerative futures. Teaching and learning for regenerative futures requires responsible decision making and agency from teachers and students in informed education systems. |
| 5:05pm – 5:15pm | Tea Break | |
| 5:15pm – 5:45pm | Networking | |
| 5:45pm – 6:30pm | Ben Newsome, Fizzics Education | On the AVA Challenge – STEM design spring for space Discover the AVA Challenge, a STEM design sprint designed in partnership with the NSW Dept. of Education STEM enrichment team. In this session, you will learn how your students will apply design thinking and the engineering design process to solve known NASA shortfalls for the Artemis missions and pitch these to the Australian Space Industry, all guided by a comprehensive and free unit of work. https://avachallenge.org/ |
Primary Pricing
| Single Day |
Full Series | |
| Primary Member | $65 | $125 |
| Pre-service Member | $30 | $55 |
| Non-Member | $120 | $180 |
Secondary Program Day 4: Data Science
Time |
Speaker |
Topic |
| 4:30pm – 5:05pm | Dr Sarah Digan, University of Wollongong
|
Working with large data: A framework for teaching critical data practices The new NSW Science 7-10 Syllabus (2023) places ethical, evidence-based decision-making with data as a core requirement of the new mandatory Data Science focus areas. Yet what this looks like in a secondary classroom – what practices students need, how those practices connect, and how teachers can facilitate and assess them – is an area where both research and practical guidance remain limited. This workshop offers a research-grounded framework for understanding and teaching critical data practices in secondary science. Drawing on an emerging model of evidentiary data practices (Unshelm et al., 2025; Digan et al., under review), we examine what these practices look like in secondary classrooms and what changes when generative AI becomes part of the process. The framework is illustrated through two publicly available tasks using real occurrence and climate data from the Illawarra and large global poverty datasets. Participants will engage with elements of both tasks, work with the framework as an analytical and design tool, and discuss how to adapt these ideas across their own teaching contexts. Both tasks and supporting materials will be provided to all participants. |
| 5:05pm – 5:15pm | Tea Break | |
| 5:15pm – 5:45pm | Networking |
|
| 5:15pm – 6:30pm | Bridget Murphy, ANSTO | Using statistics to investigate ozone While ozone gas is crucial in the upper atmosphere to block harmful UV, ozone in the air we breathe can irritate our airways and exacerbate chronic conditions like asthma. This data set investigates the relationship between ozone concentration, other pollutant gases, and temperature. Students are introduced to basic statistics, including univariate and bivariate analyses, and concepts such as mean, median, maximum, minimum, standard deviation, quartiles and outliers. |
Secondary Pricing
| Single Day |
Full Series | |
| Individual Secondary Member | $80 | $155 |
| Secondary School Member | $95 | $185 |
| Pre-service Member | $30 | $55 |
| Non-Member | $240 | $475 |
Day Four Registration Closes: Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Become a member or login to your member account to access our member pricing. Individual memberships cover 12 months from the date of joining, giving you access to our free Networks and webinars for members, resources and other discounted events.
Wanting to add a second session from our Virtual Forum Series?
Register for the full series – at less than the cost of adding a second day. All sessions are recorded, so even if you can’t attend live, you’ll still receive access to the content and resources – up to 12 sessions for secondary teachers and 8 sessions for primary teachers.
Professional Learning Hours
STANSW is a NESA recognised provider. This professional learning may be logged as accredited professional development hours toward proficient teacher accreditation. Standards addressed: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7.
