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Exceptional Service Award

Dr Anne Forbes was presented with the Professional Teacher’s Council NSW 2015 Exceptional Service Award for her long sustained professional work with teachers, especially in science learning in primary schools.

Dr Forbes is part of the Science Education team at ACU and the following is an extract of the citation read out at the awards.

"Anne is passionate about the work of teaching associations and their role in building capacity to support teacher quality. She has been involved with the Science Teacher’s Association of NSW (STANSW) from 1999—2009 as a Councillor and Primary Network Coordinator.

Since 2010, Anne has been involved with the NSW Institute for Educational Research, the Primary Teacher’s Network (PTN) as President, and with the Professional Teacher’s Council NSW as a Board member and Vice President.

Her commitment to STANSW over many years and as a founding member of the Primary Teacher’s Network are a testament to her commitment to the work of teaching associations. In her role as president of PTN she has been a strong advocate for the provision of professional development and high quality resources for primary teachers that transcend subject boundaries.

Anne has been the recipient of numerous awards acknowledging her outstanding commitment to Science Education. These include: in 2000 the NSW Outstanding Streamwatch Educator Award for K-12 teaching, in 2003 the National BHP Billiton Award for Primary Science Teaching and in 2006 a Professional teacher’s Council Award for Outstanding Professional Service. In 2010 STANSW awarded her a Distinguished Service Award.

In 2006 Anne co-developed the underpinning Educational Model for MyScience, an award-winning program that aims to stimulate student’s interest and enhance the capacity of science teachers and their students in conducting authentic scientific investigations.

Preliminary research into the program indicates benefits for primary students and their teachers, secondary student and their science teachers and pre-service primary and secondary science teachers, where learning occurs because of participation in a community of science practice.

In November 2008, MyScience won the B-HERT Award for Best Collaboration in Education and Training.

Anne is passionate about raising awareness of the importance of primary science education. Her particular interests include researching ways to advance the teaching and learning of science in schools.

Anne’s strong achievements in Academic Leadership and Service are clearly demonstrated by an invitation to join the Science Reference group of the NSW Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards, which was made on the basis of Anne’s development and research of the MyScience model, her excellence in Science pedagogy and practice and her strong links to Science Education networks.

When Anne is not reading , thinking or doing something associated with primary science education, she will be out running. She is a lifelong runner having had a successful competitive career on the track and cross-country."