Symington, David John (1935 - 2021)

Summary

David Symington always felt fortunate that he was able to follow his chosen career as a science educator. His engaging curiosity was readily passed on to his students both secondary and tertiary. He graduated from the University of Melbourne (BSc (1956), Dip Ed (1957), BEd (1962)) and from Monash University (MEd (1975), PhD (1981)). Symington was a science teacher in the Victorian Department of Education from 1958 to 1971 when he was appointed a Lecturer at Toorak Teachers' College: there he taught and researched science education. During his time at the College it was amalgamated with other colleges to become Victoria College before becoming part of Deakin University in 1992. Symington retired from Deakin as Dean of Primary Education in 1997 and worked for CSIRO as a science communicator until 2001. From 2001 until his death in 2021 he was an Adjunct Professor of Science Education at Deakin University. Symington had a long involvement the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Environmental Education Research Group (STEME) at Deakin. In later years he was heavily involved with SiMERR (National Centre of Science, ICT, and Mathematics Education for Regional and Rural Australia) and ASISTM (Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics), Australia-wide programs both of which aim to improve teaching and learning outcomes in schools.

Details

Chronology

1956

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne

1957

Education - Diploma of Education, University of Melbourne

1958 - 1964

Career position - Teacher, Leongatha High School

1962

Education - Bachelor of Education, University of Melbourne

1965 - 1971

Career position - Teacher, Mirboo North High School

1971 - 1988

Career position - Lecturer in Science, Toorak Teachers College (later Victoria College)

1975

Education - Master of Education, Monash University

1981

Education - PhD, Monash University

1988 - 1991

Career position - Head of School at Toorak Campus, Victoria College

1992 - 1994

Career position - Head of School at Toorak Campus, Deakin University

1994 - 1997

Career position - Dean of Primary Education, Deakin University

1997 - 1998

Career position - Manager, Communications, CSIRO Division of Molecular Science

1998 - 2001

Career position - Manager, Public Affairs and Communication, CSIRO, Office of the Deputy Chief Executive, Minerals and Energy

2001 - 2021

Career position - Adjunct Professor of Science Education, Deakin University

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Spurling, Heather; and Symington, David, Catherine Money (Blackburn, Vic.: Dove Communications, 1986), 8 pp. https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/People-in-Science-Catherine-Money.pdf. Details
• Spurling, Heather; and Symington, David, Joy Bear (Blackburn, Vic.: Dove Communications, 1986), 8 pp. https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/People-in-Science-Joy-Bear.pdf. Details

Journal Articles

• Biddulph, F.; Symington, D.; and Osborne, R., 'The place of children's questions in primary science education', Research in Science & Technological Education, 4 (1) (1986), 77-88. Details
• Griffin, J.; and Symington, D., 'Moving from task-oriented to learning-oriented strategies on school excursions to museums', Science education, 81 (6) (1997), 763-79. Details
• Hayes, D.; Symington, D.; and Martin, M., 'Drawing during science activity in the primary school', International journal of science education, 16 (3) (1994), 265-77. Details
• Symington, D.; and Spurling, H., 'The "Draw a scientist test": interpreting the data', Research in science & technological education, 8 (1) (1990), 75-7. Details
• Tytler, R.; Symington, D.; and Smith, C., 'A curriculum innovation framework for science, technology and mathematics education', Research in science education, 41 (1) (2011), 19-38. Details

Newspaper Articles

• Spurling, Tom; Tytler, Russell; Lenten, Tony; and Symington, John, 'An engaging curious educator: David Symington, December 29 1935 - August 4, 2021', The Age (2021). https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/an-engagingly-curious-educator-20211212-p59gy2.html. Details

Resources

• Clark, John Cripps, Farewell avid Symington, Deakin University, 2021. https://deakinsteme.org/2021/08/27/farewell-david-symington/. Details