Volume 11 Issue 1

Students’ perceptions of what STEM is and

how it has been implemented in their schools

is reported in this paper. Students were asked

in focus groups about what STEM is and how

they had seen the progress their two respective

schools had made in its implementation. The

data showed that students were very familiar

with what STEM is and how it was developing

in their schools. While younger students

enjoyed the fun and the challenge, secondary

students could see the potential for the STEM

they are doing at school to help in their future

employment. Another interesting factor revealed

in the study was the alignment of student

answers with each of the cognitive levels of

Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.

This article outlines the difference

between international service learning and short

term mission trips. It then proposes six features

of effective international service learning that

are likely to minimise risk while resulting in

demonstrable impact.

Internationally chaplaincy as a whole,

and school based chaplaincy in particular, is

morphing into new forms within emerging national

uncertainties, and cultural diversity. Drawing on

their work in Ireland, King and Norman (2009)

believe that the role of school chaplains everywhere

needs to be carefully realigned and rethought.

This paper seeks in part to address this

situation, unpacking the initial ‘emic-journey’ of

a three year multi-case study research agenda

that seeks to holistically investigate how key

stakeholders in three faith based schools

understand the role and practice of school

chaplains. In this instance, the stakeholders

included administrators, chaplains and students.

The multi-case study approach and the stratified

sets of respondents were deemed to be the best

‘goodness of fit’ as Parekh’s (2000) axiom clearly

states an understanding that one group’s place

within an organisation needs to be considered not

in isolation, but as intersecting forces that act as a

“locus of identity.”

A Contextualisation

Recently a Master of Teaching student shared with

me his practicum experience at a local primary

school. “If only I had done your assignment first” he

said, for a new student with high functioning autism

had been enrolled in the class but his supervising

teacher was at a loss to manage the perplexing

behaviour in the classroom.

Then a Master of Education student shared

the experience of a little boy with high functioning

autism who was frequently punished at his school

for his ‘different’ behaviour.

Can these scenarios be improved? I believe

they can. So this paper has been written to increase

understanding and to provide some practical and

easily implemented suggestions.

This article seeks to outline the challenges faced

in developing and implementing the Teaching

Christianly Framework to an established, elite

Sydney independent school. The success of its

implementation has relied on strong strategic

alignment to the school’s mission and vision as

well as building capacity with mid-career staff

to work with Heads of Department who tend

to be gatekeepers of change. Evidence based

research and academic partnerships have

allowed the project to be sustained and gain

momentum throughout the process.

Hearts are all aflutter in the Kindy/One

classroom. How does learning about

butterflies offer opportunities for learning

about God?

This is a story about a teacher.

When children commence school, they face thirteen or more years of formal education, most of it within four walls. Outside of school, many children are growing up in a world that offers decreasing opportunities to connect with nature. Advances in technology, changing social structures and urbanisation are factors that limit the time children spend in the natural world. In the face of these changes, the voice of educators advocating for a return to naturebased learning is growing. These champions of nature-based learning cite physical, cognitive, social-emotional, spiritual, and sustainability benefits as their rationale. This article explores the relationship between nature-based learning and the aims of Christian education, with specific reference to student wellbeing, spirituality and stewardship.

Three tertiary business educators transitioned their teaching from a just face-to-face mode of content delivery into online/blended content delivery formats. It was found there were three dominant domains of learning thresholds for these educators, which involved the course, student engagement and the teacher. The course domain considered alternative approaches to teaching and course design. The student domain focussed on student engagement and feedback. The teacher domain addressed teacher identity and interactions. Challenges faced by the educators included adopting a new paradigm of teaching, benchmarking efforts, and adequate resourcing. The positive transformative experience involved the educators gaining increased self-assurance in becoming effective online educators.