A brief history of ACSME: 25 years of making it matter

Abstract

For 25 years the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (ACSME) has provided a forum for educators interested in advancing teaching and learning in science and mathematics education. Originally called the UniServe Science Conference, it encompasses biological sciences, geosciences, chemistry, health sciences, information technology, learning and cognitive sciences, mathematics and statistics, molecular and microbial sciences, physics and psychology as well as the various fields of the applied sciences. ACSME provides excellent networking opportunities and has attracted a large number of participants over the years. Perhaps the feature which is most compelling are publications of formal Proceedings which were initiated in 1996 and are available online, and an affiliated journal - the International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education (IJISME). From 1995 till 2015, the conference was predominantly supported by The University of Sydney, with UniServe/ACSME being hosted at its home institution till 2010. A fundamental change occurred in 2011 with ACSME travelling across Australia, its first stop being The University of Melbourne. It has now rotated through all state capital cities except Hobart. From 2016, ACSME is under the stewardship of the Australian Council of Sciences (ACDS). This paper provides a snapshot of the history of ACSME and provides insight into how ACSME has been shaped to date.