The Science by Doing Project Team

Professor Denis Goodrum

Professor Denis Goodrum
Executive Director

Denis is an Emeritus Professor and former Dean of Education of the University of Canberra. He has been involved in many national and international activities in science education. In 1998 he was a visiting scholar at the National Research Council in Washington DC working on a project examining inquiry and the National Science Education Standards.  He is presently Chair of the ACT Teacher Quality Institute

National projects for which Denis has been responsible include:

  • Primary Investigations – a curriculum resource for primary schools with an associated professional learning model
  • Status and Quality of Teaching and Learning of Science in Australian Schools
  • Collaborative Australian Secondary Science Project (CASSP) that evaluated a teacher change model through the development of integrated curriculum and professional development resources. 
  • Science by Doing – concept plan 2006 and Stage One 2009-11
  • Australian School Science Education: National Action Plan 2008–12
  • National Science Curriculum Framing Paper 2008
Joanna Abbs

Joanna Abbs
Education Specialist

Joanna completed a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Teaching double degree at the University of Newcastle in 2006. In 2008 she moved to Canberra to study a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication at the Australian National University. This course incorporated a variety of skills including a research project, science centre exhibition design and a practical component which included travelling around Australia as part of the Shell Questacon Science Circus. After completing the diploma, she developed her curriculum writing skills working on the Primary Connections project for 18 months before joining the Science by Doing team.

Reflective of the national perspective of this project, Science by Doing engages contractors from all over the country to work on particular projects and resources.  This includes professional learning and curriculum writers, academic evaluators, digital developers, film and photography crews, graphic designers and others.