Next location to be advised – check back soon!
Next dates to be advised
Due to the remote location of many of the sites, participants will generally need to allocate an extra day’s travel either side of the dates.
To be advised
To be advised
No cost!
Bush Blitz TeachLive is a fully funded professional development opportunity with all costs associated with travel, food, accommodation and teacher replacement included
ABOUT BUSH BLITZ TEACHLIVE
Bush Blitz is a national partnership between the Australian Government, BHP and Earthwatch Australia that aims to discover, document and describe the unique flora and fauna of Australia. It is the world’s first continent-scale biodiversity survey providing the knowledge needed to help protect Australia’s biodiversity. www.bushblitz.org.au.
Bush Blitz TeachLive is an exciting and unique professional learning opportunity for teachers to participate as research assistants alongside leading scientists on Bush Blitz expeditions. They learn hands on scientific research skills while helping to document plants and animals and potentially discover new species.
While in the field teachers share the experience with their students through virtual lessons (crossing live to their class via video calls and other online tools) and regular blog posts on Bush Blitz TeachLive website (https://www.earthwatch.org.au/Blogs/teacher-blog).
The interactive nature of the Bush Blitz TeachLive program is an engaging way for teachers to improve their web-based teaching skills, learn current scientific research techniques, work in a team with world-class scientists and other teachers and learn more about unique Australian environments.
Watch the videos below to see the experiences of the teachers who participated in Bush Blitz TeachLive in the ACT in 2018 and Little Desert in 2019.
The Bush Blitz TeachLive program seeks to:
Educate teachers and students about Australia’s biodiversity and the importance of conservation.
Inspire students to pursue further studies in STEM and geography subjects by exposing them to real and exciting scientific research in an Australian context and building their core skills and knowledge in science and biodiversity conservation.
Inspire and build confidence of teachers to be scientific role models for their students.
Increase the quality of STEM/geography teaching through building teachers’ scientific knowledge and research skills, and providing them with a transformational experience that motivates them to pass on this knowledge and skill to their students.
Encourage teachers to share their Bush Blitz TeachLive experience with their schools and wider communities, through implementing biodiversity and conservation projects or activities.
* To be eligible for Bush Blitz TeachLive expeditions, you must be an Australian primary or secondary teacher currently based in an Australian school.
The Bush Blitz TeachLive team are looking for a committed but diverse range of teachers to assist scientists on the 2022 Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition.
Bush Blitz TeachLive provides the opportunity to broaden teacher knowledge and experiences beyond the classroom. You do not need to be STEM or geography trained nor an experienced teacher, you just need to be passionate and keen to share your experiences with your school community. We particularly encourage teachers who might benefit from participation. These could include early career teachers, teachers with limited experience in teaching the STEM disciplines, experienced teachers who are keen to improve their fieldwork skills in order to instruct their students and/or teachers that want to actively demonstrate to their students the biodiversity of Australian ecosystems.
To be eligible you must be an Australian teacher currently based in the state / territory of the expedition.
Selection will be based on:
See below “How to apply” for further details about the application requirements.
The final selection of teacher participants is at the discretion of the selection panel, which includes representatives from Bush Blitz, Earthwatch Australia and ASTA.
Support from Principal (please refer your school Principal to this section)
The applicant must:
A member of the Bush Blitz TeachLive selection committee will contact, by email then phone, the Principal of each shortlisted applicant. The purpose of this contact is to find out how the school will support the applicant to achieve the objectives of the program and more specifically what support will be provided leading up to and during the Bush Blitz survey and how the applicant will be supported to share the outcomes of the Bush Blitz Teach Live survey with the school and school community.
Due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 globally and Australian border arrangements, Bush Blitz has a number of controls in place:
A fully-funded place on the 2022 Bush Blitz TeachLive survey includes:
This program will require a dedicated commitment by teachers. Successful applicants are expected to commit to the following.
Pre-survey commitments
During-survey commitments
Post-survey commitments
This will form the main component of the application. We feel it is a chance to let your real passion shine through! In addition, Bush Blitz TeachLive is centred on the use of technology to communicate to your students from a remote location. Therefore, a video application ensures that you are familiar with use of relevant technologies. We encourage all interested teachers to just have a go! Your video will only be viewed internally. In this video, you must include:
Suggestions for those unfamiliar with video editing: Use smart phones for filming, and edit your video using free video- editing apps. For desktop devices, iMovie and Microsoft Video Editor are software which are often already available on Mac and PC computers.
The application form is in three parts.
Part C – asks you to outline your communications plan.
In order to help you prepare before you go online, here are the three selection criteria questions:
Contact Us
Phone : (02) 6282 9377
Email : asta@asta.edu.au
Post :
Australian Science Teachers Association
P.O. Box 334
Deakin West, ACT 2600
Our Partners
The Australian Science Teachers Association acknowledges the First Nations peoples of Australia as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and future and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.