For Teachers and School Coordinators
- Judging for STS is a great opportunity for professional development. It can be in person or online and requires a minimum of 4 contact hours in early August.
- Judges Portal
You can use these forms to collect Entry (project) and Judge details.
Class Projects are only available for primary schools.
Age divisions include:
- Lower Primary (F-Year 2)
- Middle Primary (Year 3-4)
- Upper Primary (Year 5-6)
Professional development kits are available on request for teachers. Please email [email protected] using your school email.
STS has been mapped to the Victorian Curriculum
The Science Talent Search competition is run almost entirely by a volunteer committee. Each year 25-30 dedicated teachers or ex-teachers donate their valuable time to administering judging, running Exhibition and Presentation Day, and overseeing the competition rules and guidelines.
Without the committee, the competition cannot operate.
By joining the STS committee you will be helping to ensure that the competition continues to run. Just as importantly you will be having direct input into the way in which it operates and helping to maintain and improve its quality. You will gain in-depth insights into how the competition runs and the rationale behind its requirements. You will also better understand the standards required for bursary-winning projects.
There are also other professional learning and networking benefits. Being on the committee provides a wealth of professional learning opportunities, ranging from coordination and management skills, assessment skills, public speaking, communication and relationship building skills, to the opportunity to network with colleagues from other schools.
Your role on committee will benefit STS and its students, it will help you to develop professionally, and it will allow you to directly contribute to your professional association – the Science Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc.
If you are interested in joining the committee, please email [email protected]
For Students and Parents
The 2024 Theme is Species Survival: more than just sustainability
Theme and topics MUST be followed for the following two sections (categories)
- Creative Writing
- Primary
1. The Last Dance of the Fireflies: Illuminating the Path
to Species Survival.
2. The Unseen Heroes: The Secret Lives of Urban Wildlife.
3. The Little Penguin’s Quest: Saving the Krill for the
Ocean Creatures.
4. Paving the Schoolyard: How the children saved
the species in their schoolyard. - Secondary
1. I am an endangered species and humans are tracking me
using eDNA.
2. My innovation to convert weeds into a sustainable industry.
3. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Protecting Endangered Species.
4. A Chronicle of a Resilient Species: following the journey
of a species navigating through changing environments,
showcasing its adaptability and resilience.
- Primary
- Posters & Scientific Wallcharts
- Primary
1. Tracking species using eDNA
2. Cutting-edge technologies aiding species survival beyond mere
sustainability efforts.
3. Exploring how indigenous cultural practices and beliefs
influence species survival strategies.
4. Analysing the impact of climate change on species survival and
strategies to mitigate its effects. - Secondary
1. How can AI assist species to survive and thrive?
2. Exploring how indigenous cultural practices and beliefs
influence species survival strategies.
3. Analysing the impact of climate change on species survival and
strategies to mitigate its effects.
4. The Evolutionary Tapestry: the future evolution of a species,
considering how it adapts to changing environments and
human influences.
- Primary
Below are two good examples of key science ideas and two poor examples. These examples have been provided to give you some guidance in understanding the type and depth of response required to satisfy this guideline for Creative Writing.
PRIMARY (Good example)
In chemical reactions chemical changes occur such as a change in colour, formation of bubbles, an increase or decrease in temperature or light given off and a new substance is formed.
PRIMARY (Poor example)
A chemical reaction in one where a chemical change occurs. For example, sodium carbonate reacts with vinegar.
SECONDARY (Good example)
In a chemical reaction, atoms are rearranged to form new products. For example, sodium metal reacts with water to produce sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. The new substances formed are the hydrogen gas, which produces bubbles and a pop test can be used to test its presence. Sodium hydroxide turns pink when phenothalein is added. Heat is also produced as it is an exothermic reaction.
SECONDARY (Poor example)
In chemical reaction there is a change of colour. For example sodium metal explodes in water and it fizzes.
Explanatory note
The good examples explain the concept thoroughly with definitions, explanations and description of relevant examples. The poor examples are too general, inaccurate and incomplete.
Templates have been provided and can be used to refer or adapt to for your own poster and submitted in digital format. Power point is preferred.
If you are hand-drawing and pasting text/diagrams onto your poster, take CLEAR photos of your poster including:
- At least one photo of the whole poster.
- Close up of text AND diagrams.
- Close up of acknowledgements, references, bibliography.
Remember: If you can’t read the text on the photos of your poster, then the judge can’t see it either.
Some students need a place to start for what to include in their report for their Working Model or Invention. Click on the following links for a sample format. These are only guides, and students can use their own version.
Sample Working Models Report Format
A risk assessment will be required for Experimental Research, Class Research Projects, Working Models and Inventions. If you don’t know where to start, a proforma is available to be used here.
Students from country, regional and Jewish schools may not be able to attend a metropolitan venue for Judging Day due to distance and religious reasons.
You will also need to submit a video of your oral presentation.
For some guidelines on what to include in your oral presentation, please check here.
2024 Rubrics for each of the sections (categories) are provided below.
Content coming soon
- Read Me First
- How to use PD kit
- STS PD Resources
- STS PD Booklet
© Science Teachers Association of Victoria Inc.
The entire contents of this Professional Development Kit are copyright. Except where permission is expressly given, and apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, internal school professional development, or review under the Copyright Act, no publication or electronic file may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Science Teachers Association of Victoria Inc.
Duplication/Distribution of this PD Kit is not permitted without specific permission from Science Teachers Association of Victoria Inc.
Disclaimers
Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright but there may be instances where this has not been possible. Science Teachers Association of Victoria Inc. welcomes any information that will redress this situation. Science Teachers Association of Victoria Inc. accepts no responsibility for the running of files or software programs included in the PD Kit, or any consequences related to the use of the files or software programs included.
Science Teachers Association of Victoria Inc.
5 Munro Street
(PO Box 109)
Coburg Victoria 3058
telephone: 9385 3999
email: [email protected]
How to use the kit
This kit is designed for both personal use and for use as a tool to conduct professional development sessions for other staff in your school. You’ll find most of the procedural information that you require in the Teacher Guide booklet and this should be supplemented by reading the information and guidelines in the STS Handbook. The STS Bursary booklet is included to give you an idea of the range of prizes awarded and it also lists project titles which may be of assistance when helping your class to generate project ideas. Also make sure that you obtain a copy of the current year’s STS handbook and that you visit the STS website page to ensure you have all of the up to date information for the competition. The resources folder contains sample projects, student articles, case studies, sample tools, photographs, some useful web links and other information additional to the Teacher Guide booklet. The resources folder also contains a PowerPoint presentation and a Facilitator guide to assist you to conduct a small group session.
Contents of the kit
The STS professional development kit contains:
- Teacher Guide booklet
- Resources folder which includes:
- PowerPoint presentation (summarising the STS processes and procedures)
- Facilitator guide (for use if you’re conducting an internal professional developmentsession)
- Sample student projects
- Student articles describing what they gained from their STS experience
- Case studies and sample tools from schools who have conducted STS over many years
- Photographs of STS projects
- STS Handbook (sample)
- Bursary book (sample)
- STS Flyer
Resources coming soon
Resources coming soon