The Science Nomad

Part 2 - West Papuan Mount Zaagham School Project:  2017 Effective development initiatives have legacy - longer term impact. Form the Papuan project with Mount Zaagham School (MZS) - the PTA wanted a lot of enrichment activities. The Students were at a very good school, and we had great support from the PTA and school leadership. So we set an ambitious goal -  To make the world's most remote mini science centre ( that I know of) in about 6 hrs. I coined the name "Science Oasis".  If successful, the mini centre, the collection of basic exhibits would remain, as a small retreat, rich in self directed learning. And of course, every Science Nomad journeys from Oasis to Oasis. Some basic material sourced in the community (thanks Katherine) to feed into the Science Oasis project. When we originally scoped this part of the project with the PTA, I thought we have a few hours of after school program time each day. The older primary school students would assist in ma...

A year or so ago I had the great privilege of bringing my active maths program (AMP) to the academics  and masters of teaching candidates at the UBD ( university of Brunei Darussalum) . With ongoing support from the Director and staff of the OGDC ( the Shell Oil and Gas Discovery Center) I have been able to return again this year. Working closely with the academic leadership group at UBD we had time to develop a very strong development program. One designed to not only share new activities but also help candidates to become confident in using strategies to engage and entice students towards an enjoyment of mathematics, logic, and critical thinking. The main part of the program ran over 4 days. It was designed specifically to achieve some lasting impacts, both on the participants and the educational systems. Brunei, like many countries understands the need for strong 21st century skills. Mathematics, logical thinking, resilience and a problem solving mindset are among the ...

Its Just ASTEP to the right. The ASTEP program (Australia/Asia STEM Educators Progam) that I ran earlier this year, supported by the Australian Government through DET and DFAT, allowed me to share some approach and activities with STEM educators in several South East Asian countries. It was a great experience, and the workshops were so well received that I was asked back to run some more. This time I was able to work with almost all of the educators within one of  the great international schools within Vietnam. the AIS ( Australia International School) in Ho Chi Minh City). The professional development was able to coincide with the start of the new school year and the orientation week for the newly recruited primary school educators. The AIS is like many of the leading  international schools in the region, they are linked in with educational frameworks such as the IB PYP/MYP system. Many have an understanding of the need for both excellent core academic outcomes, ...

Its always good to try new things. I believe this, deeply, and it's what I encourage educators and students to embrace, as part of the learning process. I even try new things myself .. from time to time. This week, I teamed up with the great Indonesian educator and humanitarian - Ines Setiawan - and the SHINE network ( that she has forged) to try an online platform (TheCN), to reach across Indonesia, and into some of the least advantaged schools and homes. Something Ines has been doing for many years, In preparation for the trial, I rebuilt my office, converted my bookshelves into a video broadcast rig - my CAMELS ( Camera And Microphone Extended Learning System)   and selected a few activities that required only the most basic of ingredients. Ines, put the word out through the SHINE network that we would be running the Hands on Science activities, and circulated the ingredients that would be used during the workshop. By the time Friday night ( midnight my time in ...

The adaptations of the camel to its arid extremes are legendary. It carries for the nomad much that would otherwise be left behind. They reach with ease those locations that other modes of transport would never even consider. It is fitting then, that This Science Nomad will be using Camels on the next EDventure. Indonesia , Australia's most populous neighbor, has almost 1 million teachers across its 30 plus provinces, and thousands of islands. While I have worked with their science centres, helping encourage the establishment of the Indonesian network of Science centers, I have not had the chance to work with many of the teachers there. One teacher known to many across the world, is the energetic, polyglotic passionate educator Ines Puspita. In addition to teaching at an international school, supporting community market gardens and sustainability programs, Ines leads a project to help support the teaching of science across the diverse and  dispersed corners of the country. ...