Connie Cirkony is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University and holds an adjunct senior researcher role at the University of Tasmania. She is an experienced educator with expertise in science and STEM curriculum and pedagogy, environmental and sustainability education, First Nations sciences online learning environments, and evidence-informed policy and practice.

Connie’s initial career as a biologist has inspired her teaching practice in elementary and secondary schools, and has continued to influence her teaching and research. Her career in education is characterised by international and systems-wide perspectives in teaching, learning, and policy – in Canada, Japan and Australia. Connie has worked in K-12 schools, science centres, regional and provincial governments, and universities to positively influence learning through improved teaching and policy.

In addition to Monash University, she has instructed pre- and in-service teachers in Australia and Canada, at the University of Tasmania, Deakin University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Victoria. Connie has extensive experience in curriculum design and professional learning. She was also a research fellow with the Q Project at Monash University, a nation-wide initiative to understand and improve educators’ use of research evidence in Australian schools.

Connie has held various advisory and committee positions including: National Council of Ministers of Education Working Group on Education for Sustainable Development, United Nations Regional Centre of Expertise Advisory Committee, Provincial Working Group and Network on Sustainability and Education, and the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Stewards of the Future Program. She is currently a board director with the Australasian Science Education Research Association.

Her passion in education is driven by its promise to address more equitable outcomes within and across countries towards a more sustainable future. Her research focus is on the intersections of science, STEM, and sustainability education and how First Nations knowledge systems can inform how we might re-conceptualise school science.

To understand and improve and complex systems such as education, Connie’s draws from a range of research methodologies (e.g., video-based ethnography, case study), along with qualitative and quantitative research methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups) and theoretical perspectives (e.g., systems perspectives, Two-Eyed Seeing, grounded theory).  

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/connie-cirkony