A glimpse of ICASE World Conference 2007
The 2nd ICASE World Conference on Science and Technology Education 2007 is being held in Perth, Western Australia from the 8th to 12th July 2007 at the Sheraton Perth Hotel and Mercedes College. The conference was officially opened by the Deputy Premier the Honorary Eric Ripper on the 9th July 2007. The World conference is hosted by the Science Teachers Association of Western Australia on behalf of the International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE) and the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA). It brings together science and technology educators and other experts in the field from around the world to interact and create an outstanding learning experience and establishment of global professional networks. The conference is patronaged by Professor Barry Marshall and Dr. Robin Warren (Nobel Laureates, 2005), Professor Peter Doherty (Nobel Laureate, 1996) and Professor John De Laeter.
One of the aims of the World Conference is to address serious global issues that teachers and other educators can use as springboards for action within their own countries and communities, focusing on educational concerns such as policy, curriculum, classroom practice, research and external agency support. Another aim was to achieve other goals in developing a platform that engages and gives direction to science educators around the world through the Perth Declaration. Ideas and discussions gathered from this conference will be brought forward to the International Science Education Policy Forum organized by UNESCO, which will decide the implementation, direction, communication and strategies for science education within different countries over the next few years.
The major themes of the World Conference are:
- Education for sustainable development, as part of the UNESCO World Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2015)
- World Health, including AIDS, Malaria and other diseases and health challenges such as clean water
- Science For Life and Citizenship
- The Way Forward guidelines set by the 1st ICASE World Conference in 2003
The 2nd ICASE World Conference on Science and Technology Education 2007 is being held in Perth, Western Australia from the 8th to 12th July 2007 at the Sheraton Perth Hotel and Mercedes College. The conference was officially opened by the Deputy Premier the Honorary Eric Ripper on the 9th July 2007. The World conference is hosted by the Science Teachers Association of Western Australia on behalf of the International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE) and the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA). It brings together science and technology educators and other experts in the field from around the world to interact and create an outstanding learning experience and establishment of global professional networks. The conference is patronaged by Professor Barry Marshall and Dr. Robin Warren (Nobel Laureates, 2005), Professor Peter Doherty (Nobel Laureate, 1996) and Professor John De Laeter.
One of the aims of the World Conference is to address serious global issues that teachers and other educators can use as springboards for action within their own countries and communities, focusing on educational concerns such as policy, curriculum, classroom practice, research and external agency support. Another aim was to achieve other goals in developing a platform that engages and gives direction to science educators around the world through the Perth Declaration. Ideas and discussions gathered from this conference will be brought forward to the International Science Education Policy Forum organized by UNESCO, which will decide the implementation, direction, communication and strategies for science education within different countries over the next few years.
The major themes of the World Conference are:
- Education for sustainable development, as part of the UNESCO World Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2015)
- World Health, including AIDS, Malaria and other diseases and health challenges such as clean water
- Science For Life and Citizenship
- The Way Forward guidelines set by the 1st ICASE World Conference in 2003
Strand lectures and workshops linked to these themes will take place in parallel. Sessions also include themes on deciding future directions in STE – a community of science voices, International Polar Year, Sustainability, Geosciences, Science for citizenship, science curriculum and policy, on-line science, learning and resources, science education research, science centres and science beyond walls, international cooperation on science and technology education, gravity and astronomy and cutting edge science. Free fieldtrip workshops to education centres, science or technology centres and features of scientific interests, such as Maritime Museum Fremantle, Biodiversity Conservation Centre Kings Park & Perth Zoo were arranged for delegates.
The world conference gathered internationally celebrated Keynote speakers including; Professor Lord (Robert) Winston (Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College, London University and Head of the Reproductive Medicine at the Hammersmith Hospital in London) – known for his BBC television series; Professor Howard Gardner (Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Harvard University) – known for his theory of Multiple Intelligences; Emeritus Professor Barnabas Otaala (Head of the Unit for Improving Teaching and Learning, Chairperson of the HIV/AIDS Task Force of the University of Namibia, Adjunct Professor at The International University of Management, Windhoek); Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe (Emeritus Professor at Griffin University and President of the Australian Conservation Foundation); Dr Grame Pearman (national and international expert in research on the increasing levels of Carbon Dioxide in the global atmosphere); Professor Joan Solomon (conducted research projects at Oxford University Department of Educational Studies, Visiting Professor at the Open University and University of Plymouth); Professor Walter Erdelen (Assistance Director – General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO) and Professor Peter Doherty, Nober Laureate (Ausralian of the Year 1997). Other highlighted speakers include Professor Cliff Malcolm, Professor Paul J. Perkins, Professor Peter Fensham, Dr. Jack Holbrook, Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor, Professor Philip Jennings, Dr Graeme Beardsmore and Dr. Anthony Worsby. Approximately 1,000 science and technology teachers and educators are attending the World conference from all parts of the world.
“Science is a perpetual search for an intelligent and integrated comprehension of the world we live in’ C B Van Neil (1897).
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