Geography education and enhancing the visibility of geography in the STEM field is Susan Caldis’ science.

She is a highly regarded, engaging and dynamic geography educator. Her innovative and boundary-pushing approaches towards the teaching and researching of geography education in schools and across Initial Teacher Education Programs are celebrated from the international to the local scale within teacher and academic domains.

In her current role as President of the Geography Teachers Association of NSW and ACT, Susan advocates for geography education to become more visible in STEM education and become formally recognised in policy and practice as a STEM subject. Part of Susan’s advocacy includes the writing of theoretical, evidence-informed articles for peer reviewed journals. She is also designing a national series of GeoSTEM focused workshops for teachers.

As geography provides a bridge between the sciences and social sciences; Susan’s advocacy for geography and STEM education provides a bridge between research, policy and practice, schools and academia.

Susan recently completed her doctoral studies in geography education and appointed as Lecturer in the School of Education at Macquarie University. Susan also holds several leadership roles across the professional associations for geography. She received the Professional Teachers Council of NSW Award for Outstanding Service to the Profession as a result of her sustained and successful contribution to geography education

Susan is a contributing author to the Decadal Plan for Geography, Geography: Shaping Australia’s Future. In her STEM Ambassador role, she designed and delivered a national series of GeoSTEM focused online symposiums. Academics from across the discipline, and geography educators within schools and initial teacher education, were invited to discuss the visibility and contribution of geography in the STEM field. Outcomes from the symposium will inform a position paper about future possibilities for geography education in Australian schools.

Electorate: North Sydney
MP: Trent Zimmerman