Bonnie Teece
Bonnie has extensive experience in outreach and education. She has taught for several years at Macquarie University and UNSW, teaching astrobiology, science communication and geology. Her student feedback responses particularly emphasise her skill and focus on encouraging student participation and providing helpful and extensive feedback.
She has previously organised a field trip for NASA scientists to Australia. And co-created and co-facilitated, along with Praxical Director Luke Steller, a student field trip that allowed those students to meet the NASA scientists and camp out by the site of the oldest fossils on Earth. ABC News featured this field trip, and she and Luke were featured on ABC Pilbara. Her knowledge about online education is extensive, and she has previously presented to the education-focused academics at UNSW about how best to educate online. She is the science communication officer for COALA, an agricultural technology initiative that performs research on the use of satellites to support Farmers in the Murray Darling Basin. As part of COALA she, along with a Professor from UNSW, worked with the NSW Department of Education to develop curriculum focused digital activities for Stage 5 agricultural technology.
She has done work in schools, including presenting at career days and developing a workshop day for science extension students with colleagues at Macquarie University. Bonnie has also spent significant time mentoring students formally and informally. A highlight was mentoring four high school students through Brain Stem LTD. They developed the schematics for, and 3D printed, a research station on Titan, which they will be presenting at a domestic conference COSPAR-K, during science week. She also mentors students through the national Australian Science Innovation program Curious Minds.
Bonnie has presented at six international and three domestic conferences and appeared on Triple J, and several other radio programs, along with working with the Powerhouse Museum, to discuss her research and Mars exploration. She has been recognised financially, both independently and as part of teams, by being awarded more than $25,000 in research and outreach grants and over $130,000 in scholarship awards.
Her particular passions are making science more accessible and engaging and making pathways to university more equitable. She can be contacted at b.teece@unsw.edu.au for any outreach and education questions or requests.