ARTICLES
Getting Social with Science (continued)
for those with common vocations. Groups such as “Awesome
NSW Science Teachers”, “NSW Chemistry Teachers” and
“Science Extension Teachers NSW” are three examples where
professional groups have now flourished into a complex and
supportive community (Fig. 2). Here we see long-standing
teaching professionals naturally assume the roles of mentorship
to their less experienced colleagues, which is, and will continue
to be, instrumental to the development of science teachers in
NSW.
Figure 3 Post 11 Feb 2019 Science Extension Teachers NSW on
Facebook
One of the most valuable developments from the professional
social media groups has been the emergence of share drives
(Fig. 4) where countless teachers have been contributing their
resources. Aside from giving teachers the gift of time savings
associated with programming and planning, the incorporation of
digital technology supports learning experiences which promote
heightened relevance and engagement to our students (Howell,
2012).
Figure 2 Post 27 Feb Awesome NSW Science Teachers on
Facebook
As educators, we know that one of the most significant challenges
in teaching is to engage every student, providing the learning
stimuli they require to reach their potential. The acclaimed
work of constructivists such as Vygotsky as early as the 1930s
highlights this, with the notion of having each student working
within their own zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1930).
Essentially Vygotsky advocates linking what the student already
knows via scaffolding techniques to what they do not know
(learning objectives). Given our classrooms can be filled with
30-plus highly individual and diverse students this is often not
possible (Vygotsky, 1930). The foundation of these social media
groups, and development of numerous share drives to pool
resources, can provide teachers with an abundant amount of
resources pitched at differing levels and delivered via alternative
mediums. It also addresses the teacher as learner model (Fig.
3). As time progresses and the bank of resources builds, we
can look forward to engaging all learners by assessing prior
knowledge, understanding how students prefer to learn, selecting
the appropriate resources from the community share drive, and
delivering lessons in an energetic and engaging manner (Whitton,
Barker, Nosworthy, Humphries, & Sinclair, 2016).
Figure 4 Post 28 January 2019 from Chemistry Teachers
Australia on Facebook
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 1