1332.0.55.001 - CensusAtSchool Newsletter, Jul 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 10/07/2007   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

July 2007 CensusAtSchool Newsletter - Edition No. 18

Contents
CensusAtSchool 2008 to include 11 international common questions
Development of 2008 CensusAtSchool questionnaire has begun!
Access a sample version of the live 2006 questionnaire
CensusAtSchool Professional Development
An idea for your classroom…
First release of Census 2006 data is now available!!
Contact Us


CensusAtSchool 2008 to include 11 international common questions

Image: World Map After much discussion and debate, the International CensusAtSchool Overseeing Committee, a committee formed to progress the International CensusAtSchool project, has agreed on a set of 11 international common questions. From 2008, these international questions will be included in all CensusAtSchool questionnaires of participating countries. Countries involved include Canada, UK, NZ, South Africa and Australia.

This means students from Australia can explore questions such as "Are students in Australia taller than students in Canada?", "Do boys in UK have a faster reaction time than boys in NZ?", "Are Australian students more concerned about the environment than students in South Africa?" The project has expanded to become truly international. Visit www.censusatschool.ntu.ac.uk for more information.
Development of 2008 CensusAtSchool questionnaire has begun!

The CensusAtSchool team is seeking input from all schools who were involved in the 2006 CensusAtSchool project. We are currently redeveloping the questionnaire and would like your views on how it can be improved to produce more relevant data for your classroom. Would you like to see another question added to the questionnaire that would be more interesting to your students and provide more engaging classroom activities? Would you suggest rewording any of the current questions? Are there any topics relevant to students today that you think would be interesting to investigate over time? Please send us your suggestions by email to censusatschool@abs.gov.au.
Access a sample version of the live 2006 questionnaire

You can now access the interactive version of the 2006 questionnaire completed by students in Phase 1 of the project. Your students can complete the reaction time and concentration task games on line and compare their results with other students using the random sampler. Please note this is a sample version and so responses cannot be submitted and will not be stored. Go to CensusAtSchool Questionairre.
CensusAtSchool Professional Development
“I found the session highly motivating with many possibilities to use CensusAtSchool with my students. Extremely worthwhile.”

"One of the most useful PD sessions I've been to in a long time"

"Will encourage other staff at school to use this resource"

These are just some of the comments from teachers across Australia about the CensusAtSchool Professional Development sessions. These two hour sessions aim to introduce the CensusAtSchool resource and show what can be done with CensusAtSchool data through demonstrations of classroom activities using MS Excel.
    Photo: Professional Development
Photo: Professional DevelopmentThe sessions provide an opportunity to share and discuss ideas and strategies with other teachers. Many teachers complete the session feeling their knowledge of Excel has been enhanced and that they are more confident and inspired to use CensusAtSchool data with their students.

Current Professional Development sessions can be found under the Professional Development Sessions on the CensusAtSchool website via the Teacher Area link. To enrol in a Professional Development session, please call 1800 623 273.
An idea for your classroom…

Brian Morphett, an experienced secondary maths teacher working as a consultant for the ABS, suggests the best way to get students involved in their learning is to give them something of interest to try!

He asked his students the question “Is it true that students from different states of Australia have the same attitude to water conservation?” and used CensusAtSchool data to explore the answer. The 2006 CensusAtSchool questionnaire asked students their opinion as to whether “We had enough water”. Brian took a random sample of 200 students from two different states and then got his students to draw a chart, like the one below, to investigate the claim. Get your students to take a random sample from different states of Australia and see if you can draw a chart like this one below to investigate the question. Do the students from the two states shown in the chart below have the same attitude to water? What about the students from your random sample?

Graph: We will always have plenty of water


The CensusAtSchool team have developed a range of classroom resources relevant to curriculum in your state and territory. Visit the CensusAtSchool Teachers Resources page for more ideas about activities you can use in your classroom today.
First release of Census 2006 data is now available!!
Image: Discover Your CensusAccording to the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, Australia's population is becoming older and family structures are changing. The total number of families counted in 2006 has increased 12% since 1996 and females still outnumber males (for every 100 females there were 97 males). Want more information, visit www.abs.gov.au/census
If you have any questions or general CensusAtSchool project enquiries, please contact ABS Education Services, CensusAtSchool Team by email censusatschool@abs.gov.au or on free call 1800 623 273 between 9:00am and 5:00pm (AEST) Monday to Friday.

CensusAtSchool News
Image: Online Newsletter