Biography
Seamus Delaney (PhD SFHEA) is a Senior Lecturer in Science and Technology Education, and Science, Technology, Environmental Education (STEE) Discipline Head, responsible for co-ordinating STEE units across Deakin University's cloud and physical campuses. He has worked as a classroom teacher, Head of Science, Head of eLearning, teacher educator and researcher in both Australia and Switzerland over his last 15 years. Seamus’ research interests are chemistry education, the incorporation of augmented and virtual reality into teaching and learning, and science education in out-of-school/informal learning contexts. He is currently the secretary of the Chemistry Education Association (CEA). Seamus leads and collaborates on a number of projects delivering innovative teaching and learning resources and professional learning opportunities for educators both in Australia and overseas. He has led curriculum and research consultancies for governments on chemistry, science and technology curriculum as well as national large-scale assessments. Seamus completed his PhD at the School of Chemistry, Monash University. Seamus is a International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) task group member of an ongoing, international interdisciplinary project focussed on re-positioning chemistry as the sustainability science through systems thinking approaches, and he co-founded Elements of Sustainable Chemistry (https://eschemistry.org), an interdisciplinary group with other Deakin Science researchers.
Further Information
Read more on Seamus's profileBiography summary
Doctor of Philosophy (2010), Monash University
Master of Education Policy (International) (2012), University of Melbourne
Master of Teaching (Secondary) (2008), University of Melbourne
Bachelor of Science (Honours) (2001), Monash University
Graduate Certificate of Higher Education (Learning and Teaching) Exempt (2019), Deakin University
Affiliations
- Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), Advance HE
- European Science Education Research Association (ESERA)
- Australian Science Educatoin Research Association (ASERA)
- Chemistry Education Association (CEA) - Secretary
- Royal Australian Chemistry Institute (RACI)
- Science Teachers Association of Victoria (STAV)
- Verband Fachdidaktik Naturwissenschaften Schweiz (DiNaT)
Units taught
Current Teaching
Unit Chair
- ESS744 Science Curriculum Inquiry
- ESS768 Chemistry Curriculum Inquiry Senior Years
- ESS755 Science Curriculum Inquiry Senior Years
- ETM706 Knowledge for Teaching Science 7-10 - Chemical Science
Campus Co-ordinator / Tutor
- EES245 Primary Science Education 1 (Burwood)
- ESS440 Primary Science Education 2 (Burwood)
Previous teaching (Teacher Education)
- Secondary Science Education
- Science Learning in Informal settings
- Primary Education (Fachwissenschaft Sachunterricht)
- Education Methodologies in Science Education (Forschung und Entwicklung Naturwissenschaftsdidaktik)
- Kindergarten/Early Primary Education – Nature, Man and Society (Fachwissenschaft Natur, Mensch und Gesellschaft)
Knowledge areas
Fields of Research (FoR)
- 390113 – Science, Technology and Engineering Curriculum and Pedagogy
- 390307 – Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators
- 390405 – Educational Technology and Computing
- 390105 - Environmental Education Curriculum and Pedagogy
- 390102 - Curriculum and Pedagogy Theory and Development
Professional activities
Outside Deakin
Secretary – Chemistry Education Association (CEA), Victoria (2012-2014, 2018 - current)
- The CEA is a non-profit organisation that promotes the teaching and learning of chemistry in schools, particularly at the secondary level
Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA)
- Lead Writer - VCE Chemistry benchmarking report (2019)
- Lead Writer - VCE Chemistry Advice for teachers (2022)
- VCE Chemistry curriculum review panel (2013-2016)
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
- Task group member, STCS 2030+ (2020-2023)
Within Deakin
Course Director - Bachelor of Teaching (Science) / Bachelor of Science (D351) (2019-current)
School of Education Teaching and Learning Committee (2019-current)
Human Ethics Advisory Group (HEAG) reviewer (2019-current)
Projects
Ongoing projects
Chemistry Education Research
Future STEM Gen: Enabling a Better Future: STEM Making Within Low SES Regions (2020-2022)
- Collaboration with Macquarie University and others
- Funded by Commonwealth Maker Projects Community STEM Grant, $100k
- Project website: https://www.futurestemgen.education/
Systems Thinking in Chemistry for Sustainability: Toward 2030 and Beyond, STCS 2030+ (2020-2023)
- Collaboration with King’s Center for Visualisation in Science (KCVS), Canada
- Funded by International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
- Project website: https://iupac.org/project/2020-014-3-050
Elements of Sustainable Chemistry (2019-ongoing)
- Collaboration with School of Life and Environmental Science (Dr Madeleine Schultz), Institute for Frontier Materials, and others
- Funded by Science and Society Network (SSN) Interdisciplinary Establishment grant (2018).
- Project website: https://eschemistry.org/
Deakin Chemistry Education Professional Learning Communities (DeCEPL) (2020-2023)
- Funded by Chemistry Education Association, Victoria, $25k to date
- Project website: https://eschemistry.org/for-teachers/cea-professional-development
Education and Community outreach for Hydrogen utilisation in rural/regional schools (2022-2023)
- Collaboration with Hycel Deakin, Future Fuels CRC
VCE Chemistry study design Advice for Teachers (2022)
- Lead Writer
- Funded by Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA), $6k
Technology and STEM Education research
Tech School Evaluation (2019-2023)
- Research Evaluation funded by Department of Education and Training, Victoria, $390k (2019-2021)
- Working Group 1 Leader: Quantitative / DET data analysis
Teacher education research
Secondary Mathematics and Science initiative for out-of-field teachers (SMSI) (2020-ongoing)
- Funded by Department of Education and Training, Victoria, $3.2 Million (2020-2022)
Highlighted completed projects
The Periodic Table of Sustainable Elements: school activities for learning and engagement (2019-2020)
- Funded by Australian National Commission for UNESCO grant (2019), $20k
Defining and mapping out-of-field (OOF) teaching in Victorian government schools (2020)
- Funded by Department of Education and Training, Victoria, $45k (2020)
Teacher practices to link macro-level observations with sub-micro representations of chemistry understanding (2018-2020)
- Collaboration with University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tallinn University, Estonia
Digitale Transformation - Industrie 4.0 (Digital Transformation – Industry 4.0) (2016-2017)
- Financially supported by Schweizerische Akademie der Technischen Wissenschaften (Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences), $100k Swiss Franc
Aufgabenentwicklung (Checks) (2014-2017)
- Financially supported by Bildungsraum Nordwestschweiz (Swiss Curriculum body), Institute for Educational Evaluation, Universität Zürich, ~$50k Swiss Franc per year.
Publications
Kompetenzen für eine "Smarte Welt" in Schule, Beruf und Freizeit
Alexander Koch, Seamus Delaney, Stefan Kruse
(2022), Vol. 2, pp. 33-39, Promoting digitization-related skills: challenges, approaches and fields of development in the context of schools and universities, Hildesheim, Germany, B1
Defining Teaching Out-of-Field: An Imperative for Research, Policy and Practice
Linda Hobbs, Coral Campbell, Seamus Delaney, Chris Speldewinde, Jerry Lai
(2022), pp. 23-48, Out-of-Field Teaching Across Teaching Disciplines and Contexts, Berlin, Germany, B1
Linda Hobbs, Lucinda McKnight, Jared Carpendale, Chris Speldewinde, Coral Campbell, Seamus Delaney, Susan Caldis, Leissa Kelly, Colleen Vale
(2022), Vol. 3, pp. 173-199, Methodological Approaches to STEM Education Research Volume 3, Newcastle upon Tyne, Eng., B1
Honouring the Ethos of Co-design methodology in Contemporary Socio-scientific Teaching Research
Seamus Delaney, Madeleine Schultz
(2022), Vol. 3, pp. 150-172, Methodological Approaches to STEM Education Research Volume 3, Newcastle upon Tyne, Eng., B1
Using systems maps to visualize chemistry processes: practitioner and student insights
M Schultz, D Chan, A Eaton, J Ferguson, R Houghton, A Ramdzan, O Taylor, H Vu, S Delaney
(2022), Vol. 12, pp. 1-19, Education Sciences, Basel, Switzerland, C1
Building More Sustainably with Concrete: A Guided Inquiry Investigation
S Delaney, A Fehervari, V Moon, M Schultz
(2022), Journal of Chemical Education, Washington, D.C., C1
Russell Tytler, linda Hobbs, Jill Brown, Peta White, Coral Campbell, John Cripps Clark, Seamus Delaney, Sandra Herbert, Amanda Peters, Carly Sawatzki, Wanty Widjaja
(2021), pp. 40-65, Methodological Approaches to STEM Education Research : Volume 2, Cambridge, Eng., B1
Linda Hobbs, Seamus Delaney, Coral Campbell, Chris Speldewinde, Jerry Lai
(2021), pp. 126-150, Methodological approaches to STEM education research. Volume 2, Newcastle upon Tyne, Eng., B1
Daniel White, Seamus Delaney
(2021), Vol. 9, pp. 9-32, LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education, Helsinki, Finland, C1
Topics Amenable to a Systems Thinking Approach: Secondary and Tertiary Perspectives
M Schultz, J Lai, J Ferguson, S Delaney
(2021), Vol. 98, pp. 3100-3109, Journal of Chemical Education, Washington, D.C., C1
S Delaney, J Ferguson, M Schultz
(2021), Vol. 43, pp. 2618-2639, International Journal of Science Education, C1
Seamus Delaney, Madeleine Schultz
(2021), Vol. 65, pp. 35-42, LabTalk, Parkville, Vic., C1
M Schultz, S Delaney
(2021), Vol. 98, pp. 3921-3929, Journal of Chemical Education, Washington, D.C., C1
L Vinko, S Delaney, I Devetak
(2020), Vol. 10, pp. 9-25, Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, Ljubljana, Slovenia, C1
Jared Carpendale, Seamus Delaney, Emily Rochette
(2020), Vol. 97, pp. 2534-2543, Journal of Chemical Education, Washington, D.C., C1
Victorian Certificate of Education senior secondary chemistry benchmarking report 2020
Seamus Delaney, Amanda Peters, Lisa Chiavaroli
(2020), [Melbourne, Vic.], A6
Andrew Eaton, Seamus Delaney, Madeleine Schultz
(2019), Vol. 96, pp. 2968-2974, Journal of chemical education, Washington, D.C., C1
Experiments in science instruction: for sure! Are we really sure?
P Labudde, S Delaney
(2016), pp. 193-204, Science education research and practical work: a collection of invited papers inspired by the 23rd Symposium on Chemistry and Science Education held at the TU Dortmund University, May 26-28, 2016, Aachen, Germany, B1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Other Public Sector Funding
The Periodic Table of Sustainable Elements
Dr Seamus Delaney, Dr Madeleine Schultz, A/Prof Joanne Jamie
UNESCO Aust Grant - Research - Australian National Commission for UNESCO
- 2019: $16,500
Tech Schools Evaluation
A/Prof Linda Hobbs, Dr John Cripps Clark, Dr Seamus Delaney, A/Prof Peta White, Dr George Aranda, Prof Russell Tytler, Prof Christine Ure, Prof Coral Campbell
DETVic Grant - Research - Department of Education and Training Victoria
- 2022: $90,126
- 2021: $89,471
- 2020: $185,724
- 2019: $112,000
VCE Chemistry benchmarking research and report.
Dr Seamus Delaney
VCAA Grant - Research - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
- 2019: $6,000
Defining and mapping out-of-field (OOF) teaching in Victorian government schools.
A/Prof Linda Hobbs, Prof Coral Campbell, Dr Seamus Delaney, Mr Chris Speldewinde
DETVic Grant - Research - Department of Education and Training Victoria
- 2020: $45,048
Secondary Mathematics and Science initiative for out-of-field teachers.
Prof Russell Tytler, A/Prof Jill Brown, A/Prof Peta White, A/Prof Linda Hobbs, A/Prof Julianne Lynch, Dr Jo Raphael, Dr Carly Sawatzki, A/Prof Wanty Widjaja, Dr Seamus Delaney, Dr John Cripps Clark, Prof Damian Blake
DETVic Grant - Research - Department of Education and Training Victoria
- 2023: $81,032
- 2022: $1,305,002
- 2021: $1,984,010
- 2020: $764,034
Centre for Higher Education Studies Professional Learning.
Dr Maria Nicholas, A/Prof Andrew Skourdoumbis, A/Prof Linda Hobbs, Dr Shaun Bangay, Dr John Cripps Clark, Dr Seamus Delaney, Dr Sophie Mckenzie, Dr George Aranda, Miss Ondine Bradbury, Dr Guy Wood-Bradley
DETVic Grant - Research - Department of Education and Training Victoria
- 2022: $217,834
Industry and Other Funding
Chemistry Education Research Catalysed Professional Learning Communities.
Dr Seamus Delaney, Dr Madeleine Schultz
Chemistry Education Association Inc
- 2021: $5,000
- 2019: $17,500
Supervisions
No completed student supervisions to report