Expert webinars to help teachers engage girls in digital technologies

Registrations are now open for the second round of a specialist webinar series that shares the knowledge, skills and resources needed to increase girls’ engagement with digital technology.

The webinar series has been designed for teachers by ACER’s Dr Kristy Osborne and Dr Sarah Buckley, in partnership with CSIRO Education & Outreach, and CSIRO’s Young Indigenous Women’s STEM Academy.

Educators can register now for the free ‘ACER-CSIRO Webinar Series: Engaging girls in digital technologies classes’ to be held in November. 

What participants can expect

Dr Osborne says teaching the use of digital technology in engaging ways, including real-world applications, is becoming more important – particularly for girls, young women and those who may not have ready access to technology outside of school.

‘That engagement is vital if we want to see everyone, irrespective of gender, as equal participants in an expanding digital workforce.’ 

The first webinar looks at relevant changes to the Australian curriculum regarding digital technologies education. It also identifies the factors known to hinder or increase engagement in the subject.

In the second webinar, participants will learn how to build resources and lesson plans for years 5 to 8 digital technology classrooms. This will include an opportunity to discuss and progress their own lesson ideas with other participants.

With facilitators from each of the partner groups, webinar participants can expect a breadth of expertise, including a First Nations’ perspective.

Why these webinars are needed

Research by ACER and CSIRO confirms a need to encourage more young people into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers and provides the evidence to help educators establish student interest.

In 2021, ACER research showed that women were more likely to outperform their peers in STEM subjects at Australian universities but were less likely to move into STEM jobs.

More recently, ACER research for CSIRO surveyed STEM teachers to find 25% did not feel confident, or were only slightly confident teaching digital technology-related subjects, particularly at the primary level.

A 2023 paper by ACER researchers identified difficulties for women and disadvantaged students in pursuing a STEM career; their findings supported the idea that persisting with a STEM pathway may depend on engagement with STEM in early adolescence.

The CSIRO’s Megatrends Report forecast that Australia will need an estimated 6.5 million more digital workers by 2025 to keep pace with technological change.

Meet ACER’s presenters

Dr Kristy Osborne

I’m a secondary and tertiary physics and mathematics teacher, who’s taught children from junior secondary to adults pursuing postgraduate study. Prior to working as an educator, I worked as a computational physicist designing nano-scale circuits, sensors and components for solar cells using simulations and mathematical modelling. With my background in STEM, and a love of education, I was fortunate to be involved with the evaluation of digital technologies outreach programs for CSIRO Education & Outreach. I’m looking forward to delivering this webinar series based on the ACER research and my teaching, so we can all support each other in engaging more girls in STEM programs.

Dr Sarah Buckley

I’m an educational researcher with a background in psychology who loves to investigate how education, psychology and neuroscience research can intersect to help us improve learning. For more than 10 years, I’ve worked across different projects that have focussed on understanding the landscape of STEM engagement in Australian primary and secondary schools, and promoting research-based ways to improve this engagement. A particular focus has been addressing mathematics anxiety, and helping educators learn how to foster a positive mathematics culture in their classrooms so all students can reach their mathematics potential.

Learn more

The webinar series is sponsored by the auDA Foundation that focusses on education and research activities that improve internet use for the benefit of the Australian community.

See other ways ACER is providing evidence for change, with digital learning research a high priority.

Watch CSIRO’s videos featuring STEM professionals talking about their careers.

Find out about the CSIRO Young Indigenous Women’s STEM Academy.

Discover ACER's Australian STEM Video Game Challenge and what girls achieved last year.

See what information the STEM Equity Monitor provides.