Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Taking on the science and STEM challenge
Any teacher of chemistry could explain the structure of water. So when Professor Deb Corrigan asked chemistry education graduates attending a workshop to come to an agreed understanding of that very thing, no one saw it as a demanding task. All, she says, assumed at the beginning that they had the same ideas. But it took the entire three hours of the workshop for the group to reach a consensus.
Challenging accepted wisdom like this is often part of Deb's approach in her research, which covers a wide range of teaching and learning issues but is chiefly driven by the urge to make school students enthusiastic about learning science and more recently STEM.
The title of one of Deb's research projects, funded by the Australian Research Council, neatly encapsulates her goal: 'Engaging students' hearts and minds'.
She has taken on the challenge posed by the persistent decline in school science's popularity, but notes that public interest in science and STEM remains high. For exmaple, 'Things like Scienceworks, museums and aquariums are the highest tourist attractions in nearly every country,' Deb says. 'I look at what kids see as important in science and why they are so interested in it out of school but not in.'
One problem is that whereas public domains offer a version of the most up-to-date science and interdisciplinary approaches such as in STEM, the science classroom tends to be a setting for whatever the teacher was successful at learning, possibly some decades ago.
'Often I see a fairly traditional view about what science and science education are,' Deb says.
As Director of Education Futures at Monash Faculty of Education, she finds time for translating research despite the demands of that role and her extensive work at state and federal level in curriculum development and policy.
'I do a lot of work with teachers, seeing what they think is important in science adn STEM education,' she says. 'They respond very well to that because someone is challenging their thinking and engaging them. It's the same process they need to do with their students.'
Deb's work goes beyond school education, encompassing the demands of teaching chemistry to people such as artists, who use it in lithography, and nurses.
This experience underscores another of her key concerns: the need for teachers to take both context and students into account so that classrooms become more than just a place for mastering facts.
'As a chemist, I know a lot about acids and bases, for example,' she says. 'But if I am teaching school kids, it takes a different form to if I am teaching artists, because they have a different purpose for learning it. It doesn't mean that the facts are any different, it's just that you package it up very differently.'
Her water definition task with the graduate students is in itself an illustration of how a teacher should be able to engage students who all bring different understandings to the classroom.
'You have to come to an agreed meaning or explanation,' Deb says. 'It's the consensus making and the argument and the clarification of ideas that is the important part. You do the same thing with kids so they have a lot of ideas challenged and clarified, all at the same time.'
We need critically creative thinkers to make science teaching better, she says.
'There has to be recognition from science teachers that you're not just reproducing science in school, you're actually educating people in science in ways that should be meaningful for them.'
Research interests
Teaching strategies that enhance greater student understanding
Science and STEM education that captures student interest and is relevant to social functioning
Industry and technology links with science education
STEM education and policy
Practices that encourage reflective thinking and teacher change
Documenting professional practice e.g. teaching portfolios and evidence of practice Preservice Teacher education
Professional Experience in teaching
Professional learning
Mentoring practices in professional settings
External positions
Councillor, Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) (Victoria)
31 May 2016 → 30 Apr 2019
Director, Haileybury College and Haileybury Girls College Melbourne
15 May 2013 → …
Executive Advisor - Senior Secondary Science, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (Australia)
1 Jan 2012 → 31 Dec 2014
Editor, Research in Science Education
1 Jan 2012 → 31 Dec 2016
Director, Australasian Science Education Research Association
30 Jun 2010 → …
Councillor, John Monash Science School
9 Mar 2009 → …
Research area keywords
- science education
- STEM education
- STEM policy
- Values of/in Science
- relevance of science education
- chemistry teacher education
Network
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Exploring Problem Based Learning in schools
Smith, K., Berry, A., Mansfield, J., Corrigan, D., Waldon, S., Maynard, N., Ellerton, P. & Ashleigh, D.
12/11/20 → 11/11/23
Project: Research
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Renewal of Science Continuum Archive
Corrigan, D., Berry, A., Smith, K., Cooper, R. & Carpendale, J.
22/06/20 → 18/12/20
Project: Research
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Solving Real World STEM Challenges
Corrigan, D., Johnson, L. & Costa, K.
Monash University – Internal School Contribution, Victoria's Open Range Zoo at Werribee
1/02/19 → 30/09/19
Project: Research
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Innovation and risk in an innovative learning environment: a private public partnership in Australia
Deppeler, J., Corrigan, D., Macaulay, L. & Aikens, K., 2022, In: European Educational Research Journal. 21, 4, p. 602-626 25 p., 4.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
International studies of school design – Lessons for Europe on innovation and risk
Deppeler, J., Thompson, I. & Corrigan, D., 2022, In: European Educational Research Journal. 21, 4, p. 561-567 7 p., 1.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › Other › peer-review
Open Access -
Mapping from proximity traces to socio-spatial behaviours and student progression at the school
Yan, L., Martinez-Maldonado, R., Gallo Cordoba, B., Deppeler, J., Corrigan, D. & Gašević, D., 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: British Journal of Educational Technology. 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Footprints at school: modelling in-class social dynamics from students' physical positioning traces
Yan, L., Martinez-Maldonado, R., Cordoba, B. G., Deppeler, J., Corrigan, D., Nieto, G. F. & Gasevic, D., 2021, LAK 2021 Conference Proceedings - The Impact we Make: The contributions of learning analytics to learning: The Eleventh International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge. Scheffel, M., Dowell, N., Joksimovic, S. & Siemens, G. (eds.). New York NY USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), p. 43-54 12 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review
8 Citations (Scopus) -
Understanding Problem Based Learning in school-based STEM education
Smith, K., Mansfield, J., Corrigan, D., Maynard, N., Berry, A., Ellerton, P., Pezaro, C. & Waldron, S., 2021. 1 p.Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › peer-review
Open Access
Prizes
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Dean's award for programs that enhance learning
Wilson, Sue (Recipient), Carabott, Kelly Jane (Recipient) & Corrigan, Deborah (Recipient), 14 Dec 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Deans Partnership Award
Kirkby, B. J. (Recipient), Carabott, Kelly Jane (Recipient) & Corrigan, Deborah (Recipient), 2017
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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STEMinar: Future of STEM education
Deborah Corrigan (Contributor), Lucas Johnson (Contributor) & Jared Carpendale (Contributor)
18 Aug 2020Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Read Like a Demon Partnership ( Monash University and Melbourne Football Club)
Bronwen Jane Kirkby (Facilitator), Kelly Carabott (Facilitator) & Deborah Joy Corrigan (Facilitator)
2014 → 2018Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Industry projects
Press / Media
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Refining the framework for school-based STEM education
Peter Ellerton, Kathy Smith, Jennifer Mansfield, Amanda Berry, Deborah Corrigan & Nicoleta Maynard
30/11/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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How to strengthen your school’s STEM education program for a post-COVID world
Lucas Johnson, Jared Carpendale & Deborah Corrigan
12/05/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature