High School Teachers & Students

If you're a high school teacher, we offer study guides and other resources to help engage in science. Our areas of expertise include Biology, Geoscience, Geography, Environment and Climate Sciences.

UNSW also runs a wide range of events open to the general public. Find out more on our science calendar, opens in a new window.

Photograph of a group of science students examinig some dinosaur bones

Introduction to UNSW Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Staff and students at UNSW Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences study the entire earth, from its core to the upper atmosphere. We explore all aspects of the environment - from the air we breathe to the oceans we swim in. We examine the soils and rocks under our feet and plants and animals that live all around us. Present and past environments are examined so that future changes and human impacts can be modelled and assessed.

We're home to award-winning facilities, such as the recently completed Biological Sciences Building, where we create an inspirational learning and research space for our Bioscience students. Our Chronos 14 Carbon-Cycle Facility features the Southern Hemisphere’s first Mini Carbon Dating System. Our students also have the opportunity to experience field trips in amazing locations all around Australia. This includes the Fowlers Gap research station and Smiths Lake field station.

Undergraduate courses at UNSW Science, opens in a new window

Online engagement

Are you a teacher or student looking for some fantastic STEM sites and online activities? We've assembled a list of fun, interactive educational activities and links to engaging lectures presented by experts in the field.

Primary

Ingenious by Arludo, opens in a new window
Audience: Years 3-6
Content: 8-week Biology course (expected to roll out to other year groups and subjects)

High school

Audience: Years 7-10
Content: the links and activities below are designed to cover materials included in stages 4 - 6 of the NSW Science syllabus:

Environmental science

Environmental Science focuses on the interrelationship of organisms and their environment. With 46 million acres burnt in the 2019-2020 Australian Bushfires, understanding how the environment recovers from this unprecedented fire season is an important scientific goal. Learn more about the environment recovery project, opens in a new window.

You can find more news on environmental science research such as forecasting forests, opens in a new window at UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science, opens in a new window.

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour concerns the methods used by scientists to study animal communication, mate selection and behaviour. Watch our case studies, opens in a new window on ants, land fish, gliding dragons and kangaroos. You can also learn more with our mini-lectures on animal communication, opens in a new window and mate selection and parenting, opens in a new window.

For more news on ecology and evolution research, visit the UNSW Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, opens in a new window.

Human Evolution

Human Evolution helps us answer how we got here and what makes us human today. Discover why our bodies are built the way they are and explore the big questions concerning Biological Science in our video series, opens in a new window.

Marine Science

Marine Science focuses on the importance of our oceans and the adaptation of marine animals. Our students study climate change and other human-induced impacts on the marine environment. Learn more with our video series, opens in a new window on the impacts of plastic in our oceans, sustainable fishing and marine conservation, opens in a new window.

Visit the UNSW Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, opens in a new window website for more news on marine science research.

OpenLearning

UNSW Science offers resources to support teachers of stage 6 Biology and Earth and Environmental Science. These courses are all online, self-paced, and delivered on the OpenLearning Platform, opens in a new window.
Coastal Hazards

Coastal Hazards explores topics such as the formation of waves and how tides work.  Learn more with our series of mini-lectures, opens in a new window.

NSW MyCoast Study

The NSW MyCoast study guide is designed to engage students in Years 7-10 with the complex task of defining coastal communities and understanding social aspects relating to coastal hazards and management. It focuses specifically on coastal hazards related to coastal erosion and inundation caused by severe coastal storms and sea-level rise.

Student activities within the study guide address themes of ‘personal and social capability’ and ‘intercultural understanding,’ while also developing student skills in the following areas:

Numeracy

Literacy and ICT

Critical thinking

Creative thinking

Ethical thinking

The NSW MyCoast study guide can be used in conjunction with the Coastal Management Study Guide produced by the UNSW Water Research Laboratory.

Download the free NSW Mycoast study guide, opens in a new window
Rip Currents

UNSW’s Dr Rob Brander worked on the world’s first documentary and study guide devoted to the greatest hazard on Australia’s beaches – rip currents. These powerful forces often appear without warning and claim more lives each year than all other beach hazards combined.
We study the effects of climate change on the environment, including our weather, oceans and marine ecosystems. Our video series, opens in a new window covers topics such as rising sea levels and the impacts of vanishing sea ice.

You can find more news and climate science research on the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre, opens in a new window website - including the carbonator climate model, opens in a new window.
We study the nature and evolution of the structure of our planet. Covering everything from natural crystals and fossils to the powerful forces that drive earthquakes and volcanoes and move continents across the globe. 

You can find out more on earth science research on the UNSW ESSRC, opens in a new window and Connected Waters Initiative websites. For more about astrobiology, visit the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, opens in a new window.

BEEINS Conference

The NSW Science Teachers Association holds an annual BEEINS (Biology, Earth & Environmental Sciences and Investigating Science) conference. It is a great opportunity for high school teachers to visit and learn about some of the latest advances in the following fields of science:

Biology
Ecology
Climate science
Marine science
Earth and Geosciences
Environmental science

We look forward to meeting with teachers and showing them our world-class educational and research facilities.

Follow

Introduction to UNSW Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Online engagement

Primary

High school

Environmental science

Animal Behaviour

Human Evolution

Marine Science

OpenLearning

Coastal Hazards

NSW MyCoast Study

Rip Currents

BEEINS Conference