When was the last time you read a poem? For many of us not currently involved in the teaching, study or creation of literature our answer might well be when we were finishing school, or during our undergrad days at ...
More »Award-winning teacher’s equation for success
Dr Kevin Larkin can no longer claim to be an ordinary teacher. The Senior Lecturer (Mathematics Education) at Griffith University has just scooped the title of 2018 Australian University Teacher of the Year. As one of the 13 winners at the Australian ...
More »Monash exhibits the humblest of objects
Could February be the month of lunchboxes? Last week, the ABC published an investigation of their contents in wealthier and poorer Melbourne suburbs. While, by comparing Oreos packed in Broadmeadows to carrot sticks lovingly placed in Brighton, it invited food-shaming, ...
More »Why not a museum of the First Peoples of Australia?
Unlike the African-Americans who have recently received their own museum at the gateway to the prestigious Smithsonian museums in Washington and the American Indians who have their own Museum of the American Indian, we have still to see a standalone ...
More »Australian philosophy and reconstruction of the renaissance citizen
I consider myself to be a child of the European Enlightenment. This is not only because of my Irish heritage, but because of my admiration for the development of questions and ideas from Greek philosophers, from the industrial revolution and ...
More »How to help students suffering from ‘math trauma’
Math trauma, the issue highlighted in the US edition of The Conversation, is real. If a student never masters irrational numbers then when they come to trigonometry (which involves lots of irrational numbers) they will receive a constant bombardment of ...
More »Opinion: Reducing atrocious student attrition in STEM programs
Undergraduate student attrition levels are relatively high in STEM programs. This recalls the famous unwritten quote: “The real challenge for a learning centre is making a gem out of a pebble, not necessarily making a jewel out of a gem.” ...
More »What’s a god got to do with it? Theistic evolution beliefs decline among students
First-year biology students are “rapidly abandoning” beliefs in theistic involvement in human origins. That’s according to annual polling of university students on their views about evolution and creationism. Researchers asked UNSW Sydney biology students to circle one of the following: ...
More »Are ‘poop hands & green lizards’ the future of STEM engagement? #NationalScienceWeek
If 'poop hands & green lizards' or 'dino dandruff & asteroids' don't intrigue you, what will? These episodes illustrate the premise of Up & Atom, a radio show for young listeners. Broadcast on Sydney-based independent youth radio station FBi (94.5 FM), the 15-20 minute show aims ...
More »The fight for free speech: the battle for universities
Lest. We. Forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)." – Yassmin Abdel-Magied When you hear about slavery for 400 years – for 400 years! – that sounds like a choice. Like, you was there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all? ...
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