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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Academy of Science | 1/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Academy_of_Science | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T10:27:08.255820+00:00 | kb-cron |
The Australian Academy of Science is a scientific academy. It was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London, after its forerunner, the Australian National Research Council had been dissolved. The Academy Secretariat is in Canberra, at the Shine Dome.
== History == On 21 August 1919 the Australasian Research Council, based in Sydney, was established to represent Australia on the International Research Council. The council was formalised by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and renamed the Australian National Research Council (ANRC) in July 1921. In 1951, following a scientific conference organised by the Australian National University, a new body, the Australian Academy of Science was proposed, after it was generally agreed that the ANRC "had failed to achieve the status that was required of a national body with such weighty responsibilities". The new academy was established in 1954, and, after it had assumed most of functions of the ANRC, the ANRC was dissolved in 1955, the final meeting taking place in Canberra on 16 August 1955. The academy was founded by a group of Australians, among them Australian Fellows of the Royal Society in London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant.
== Governance and description == The Australian Academy of Science is modelled after the Royal Society, and operates under a Royal charter; as such, it is an independent body, but it has government endorsement. The objectives of the academy are to promote science and science education through a wide range of activities; officially "promoting, declaring and disseminating scientific knowledge". It has defined four major program areas:
Recognition of outstanding contributions to science Education and public awareness Science policy International relations The academy also runs the 22 National Committees for Science, which provide a forum to discuss issues relevant to all the scientific disciplines in Australia.
== Education ==
The Australian Academy of Science has been producing educational resources since 1967. Its first published resource was Biological Science: the Web of Life, authored by David Morgan. The Academy supports the development of evidence-based education programs in science and mathematics. As of 2025, the Academy delivers three programs: Primary Connections for primary school science education, Science Connections for secondary school science education, and a combined mathematics program called reSolve.
In 2003, the Australian Academy of Science began research on how to best support teachers of science and mathematics subjects through pedagogical-based resources rather than content-based resources. By 2005, the Australian Government announced they would support the program Primary Connections through the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) under the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme in establishing eight curriculum units, developed and trialed in 2005. The Australian Government wanted to use the program to “improve learning outcomes in science and literacy through a sophisticated professional learning program supported with rich curriculum resources that will improve teachers’ knowledge of science and science teaching". 106 trial teachers participated in 56 trial schools across Australia. At this time, Primary Connections used hard-copy and digital materials constructed for teachers to adapt to primary school classrooms based closely on the 5Es model of learning which had served as the foremost pedagogical structure for teaching in science education. Primary Connections has been reported to have a ‘positive impact on schools, teachers, and students’. Currently, the Academy’s education programs are funded by the Department of Education to improve teacher confidence and capability in teaching mathematics and science.
Since 2020, Primary Connections has had an increasing focus on interactivity for students, piloting online professional learning, and research and review of the development of STEM teacher resources. As part of a review of teacher needs, Primary Connections ended the sale of hard-copy resources at the end of 2020. In addition, the Primary Connections and its sister program Science Connections (launched in 2025) are constructed around a new learning structure: the Launch, Inquire, Act (LIA) Framework.
=== Launch, Inquire, Act (LIA) Framework ===
The LIA Framework was designed to address a stated need from surveyed teachers for an online resource that “allows teachers to readily select, adapt and build their own program of work within the framework of Australia’s science curriculum. Coinciding with the continuing uptake of Version 9.0 of the Australian Curriculum in 2024, a new suite of online resources are being developed for Foundation to Year 10 that align with the updated curriculum and with the LIA framework while maintaining more adaptable, clearly framed lessons for teachers during the implementation.
The LIA Framework begins with the “Launch” phase, which was designed to engage students and provide both motivation and context for their learning. The Launch phase encourages students to begin scientific inquiry on a topic through common experiences that connect with their lives (for example, by having students walk into a darkened classroom with all electricity turned off to demonstrate the importance of electricity). This allows all students to develop a common language and provides equity in learning. Next is the “Inquire” phase, which consists of cycles of inquiry, promoting deepening understanding. Students improve their knowledge of a topic via questioning, investigations, and contextual integration (for example, how a torch can be made with a battery, wires, and a bulb: experimenting with different forms of circuits). The last phase, “Act”, aims to empower students to act on their newly acquired knowledge and skills. It encourages students to have agency by designing new ways to interact with the world via science (for example, using their circuitry experiments to design an electrical product to support people in a blackout).
== The Shine Dome ==