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William Palmer

Curtin University, Perth, Education, Adjunct

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Bill Palmer was born in London in 1937. He obtained his B. Sc degree (1959) and Teacher’s Certificate at the University of Exeter (1960) and his M. Sc degrees from the University of East Anglia (1970) and the University of Oxford (1981)

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Papers by William Palmer

SOLAR AWARENESS: THE CONTRIBUTION OF CHEMISTRY

STANT Magazine, Volume 3, September, pp.15-16., 1992

The Solar Energy Society's annual conference has come and gone. This year it was in Darwin, and i... more The Solar Energy Society's annual conference has come and gone. This year it was in Darwin, and it was the opportunity for those interested in this subject to attend. I was not able to attend the main conference, but the Solar Energy Society did arrange for two of their very well-known speakers to give a public lecture on 18th July at the Casuarina campus of Northern Territory University.

CHEMISTRY IN THE PROVINCIAL HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA: A PERSONAL VIEW

Science in New Guinea, Vol 11, No 3, December 1984/85, pp.173-178. , 1984

This article expresses my view that the grounding students receive in provincial high schools in ... more This article expresses my view that the grounding students receive in provincial high schools in chemistry is not sufficient for those who wish to study science or technical subjects at tertiary level. Chemistry at present receives too small a share of the provincial high school syllabus, and science too small a share of the curriculum as a whole. Provincial high school students should study more chemistry within science and more periods per week of science and the science they do study should emphasise quantitative aspects.

To Calibrate an Aneroid Barometer_1986

CASTME Journal, Vol 6, No. 2, pp. 29-32. , 1986

ln the Highlands of Papua New Guinea there is no easy way of finding out the pressure of the atmo... more ln the Highlands of Papua New Guinea there is no easy way of finding out the pressure of the atmosphere at any particular time. The height above sea level of highland towns/villages where there are secondary schools varies between 4000 and 8000 ft (1300 to 2700 meters) approximately above sea level. Aneroid barometers seen in schools usually give inappropriate readings.

Preface to the Proceedings of Goroka Teachers College Seminar on Educational Standards

Published Goroka Teachers College, UPNG, PNG., 1981

The editors have attempted to preserve the contents of the Goroka Seminar on Educational Standard... more

TRAVELS WITH A SCIENTIFIC PURPOSE

ACENT (Newsletter of the Australian College of Education Northern Territory Chapter), Vol 6, No 1, pp.15-24, 1991

The purpose of this article is to give an account to the Australian College of Education (Northe... more The purpose of this article is to give an account to the Australian College of
Education (Northern Territory Chapter) of the conferences and the other
scientific activities with which I have been involved during July 1990. I would
like to thank them specifically for the generous financial help that they gave.

Fun with a Cigarette Lighter 1986

CASTME Journal, Vol 6, No. 2, 1986, pp. 29-32., 1986

Fun with a Cigarette Lighter or The increase in volume when liquids change to gases Reference Uni... more

1984 The Contribution of Chemistry to the Provincial High School

Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on World Trends in Science and Technology Education Mount Gravatt, Queensland, Australia, Symposium Papers Volume 1, pp. 215-220., 1984

The remarkable fact about the present provincial high school science syllabus is that it contains... more The remarkable fact about the present provincial high school science syllabus is that it contains very little chemistry and the present trend appears to be to reduce what little chemistry there is. Science educationalists with experience elsewhere in the world find this strange. This paper will briefly investigate bow this situation came about and will try to indicate whether or not it is in the country’s national interest for the present situation to continue.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Society for Research in Higher Education International Newsletter, No 4, August, pp. 6-9. , 1984

This brief description of higher education in Papua New Guinea has two aims: firstly, to quote a... more

TRAINED SCIENTIFIC MANPOWER AND QUALITY IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

Published in Background Papers, Waigani Seminar, (1984) UPNG, Port Moresby, Vol 2, pp.52-63. , 1984

The thesis of this paper is simple. Employers are dissatisfied with the number and quality of the... more The thesis of this paper is simple. Employers are dissatisfied with the number and quality of the graduates being produced in scientific and technological subjects by the Universities. The Universities are themselves dissatisfied with the scientific and mathematical knowledge of their own intake from the secondary schools. The author's contention is that the problems lie in the lack of challenge of the existing secondary science curriculum, though the author recognises that change in the curriculum in the desired direction will necessitate selection or differentiated curricula with students' choice. Further problems arise in the resource base for primary and secondary science curricula. Finally improvements need to be made in both primary and secondary teacher training. In the latter case the improvements must involve the provision of increased resources to Goroka Teachers' College from the University which distributes its resources unequally.

The New Teacher, Career Choice, Placement and induction.

Papua New Guinea Journal of Education (Special issue: the role of the teacher: myth and reality), Vol 21, No 2, October 1985, pp.173-191., 1985

This part of the Papua New Guinea new secondary teachers study aimed at finding out more about wh... more This part of the Papua New Guinea new secondary teachers study aimed at finding out more about why teacher trainees at Goroka Teachers chose teaching as a career. One of the important factors about whether students stay in teaching for a short or a long time is the way that their choices of school are dealt with administratively. Students revealed many errors that occurred in their placement and the study made recommendations for the improvement of these procedures. The study investigated the different motivations that students had when making their choice of school. For example, some students wish to remain close to their own families, whilst others worry that relatives, 'wantoks', if too close, will always be borrowing from them. Finally the induction of new teachers into the ethos of the school to which they were appointed was considered: although many schools took induction of new staff seriously and performed well, there were areas in the induction of new teachers which should be improved. This part of the study adds to the papers already held by ERIC (ED501704, ED511850, ED501060 and ED511753), which explain other aspects of this study. .

Higher Education, the Universities and Secondary Teacher Training in Papua New Guinea

Education Today, Journal of the College of Preceptors, Vol 36, pp.53-59., 1986

The purpose of this paper is to trace the growth of secondary and higher education in Papua New G... more The purpose of this paper is to trace the growth of secondary and higher education in Papua New Guinea from its beginnings through the United Nations mission led by Sir Hugh Foot in 1962. The mission was most disappointed in the rate of educational progress in the territory of New Guinea which remained under United Nations mandate in the trusteeship of Australia. The Currie Commission resulted from the United Nations team's report and as a result of the Currie Commission’s recommendations the University of Papua New Guinea was established followed by the establishment of Institute of Higher Technical Education also in Port Moresby which eventually became the University of Technology, Lae.

New Teachers in Schools A Summary_1987

Proceedings on GTC Seminar Future Perspectives on Teacher Training, National Curricula and Secondary Schooling, W.P. Palmer and G.K. Pennie (editors), Goroka Teachers College, Papua New Guinea, January 1987, 1987

A number of papers each of which explains aspects of the life and background of new secondary sch... more

Idealism among new secondary teachers in Papua New Guinea

The Proceedings of the Partnerships in Education Conference, Dallas Brooks Hall, Melbourne, Australia, 26-29 September 1988, pp. 98-110 (edited Tony Townsend and Jennie Cowdell), 1988

This paper is a byproduct of research started in 1982, suggested to the author through reading St... more This paper is a byproduct of research started in 1982, suggested to the author through reading Students into Teachers (Collins, 1969). No similar study had been carried out in Papua New Guinea, so this study was designed to find out more about the social background, motivations and conditions of new teachers there. In countries such as the United Kingdom, U.S.A., Canada, Australia and New Zealand the topic is very well researched, but in Third World countries there is very little research data about new teachers

THE PROBLEMS OF BEGINNING SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS_1983

Papua New Guinea Journal of Education, Volume 19, No. 2, October 1983, pp. 47-50. , 1983

In October 1982, the author started a project concerned with all new secondary teachers in the na... more In October 1982, the author started a project concerned with all new secondary teachers in the national education system. The work builds on previous research on secondary teachers in Papua New Guinea, particularly that by Flaherty (1981), Guthrie (1983a, 1983b), Kuhlman (1981), Wilson (1981) and Wahlberg (1979).

The Training of Science Teachers in Papua New Guinea

The Proceedings of Future Perspectives on Teacher Training, National Curricula and Secondary Schooling Seminar, Goroka Teachers College, pp.158-174. (Publication date: January, 1987), 1987

In PNG two institutions prepare secondary science teachers. One is Goroka Teachers College which ... more In PNG two institutions prepare secondary science teachers. One is Goroka Teachers College which offers prospective teachers a Diploma in Secondary Teaching after a two year course from Grade 12. The great majority of secondary teachers take this course. The Faculty of Education offers a small minority a Bachelor of Education course which is
influential, but the remainder of this paper will refer almost entirely to the GTC diplomates.

AN ANNOTATED ABORIGINAL SCIENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY 1990

Aboriginal Child at School , October/November, Vol 18, No 5, pp.34-43., 1990

Science is one area within Aboriginal Education which appears to receive comparatively little att... more Science is one area within Aboriginal Education which appears to receive comparatively little attention. The author experienced this in practice when he was lecturing in science education to trainee teachers on the topic of teaching science to Aboriginal students in secondary schools. As a newcomer to the Northern Territory the author does not have direct personal experience in this area and so he decided to search the literature. No previous bibliography of this topic was found. Initially searching revealed very little, but slowly the collection of interesting articles has increased, and whilst it is realised that the selection included in this bibliography is far from complete, it is offered to the reader as a starting point.

The determination of the Density of Cork: An Alternative Suggestion

The Australian Science Teachers' Journal ,Vol 36,(issue 118), No 3, 1990, pp.72-73., 1991

Recently, McCheyne (1989) described an experiment to determine the density of cork using the faci... more Recently, McCheyne (1989) described an experiment to determine the density of cork using the facilities for weighing by suspension on a Sartorius digital balance. This article proposes an alternative, some variations and further reading. The methodology suggested is simpler, the calculations are more straightforward and the risk of an expensive automatic balance being accidentally damaged is diminished. The suggestion, however is not original and its basis may be found in a current advertisement in a United Kingdom journal (Sartorius, 1989).

Some Ideas about Concepts 1992

The Journal of the Science Teacher Association of the Northern Territory, Volume 11, pp.54-61., 1992

The intention behind this workshop is to summarise some of the research about the use of concept ... more The intention behind this workshop is to summarise some of the research about the use of concept maps, concept circles, Gowin's Vee and similar metacognitive devices that enable outsiders to find out the individual's own understanding of particular concepts and the way in which these concepts are interlinked. There is research evidence to suggest that time spent on teaching students to use concept maps is well spent, as it does clarify concepts for some students and will enhance their academic performance. The author is unaware of research evidence linking the other metacognitive devices mentioned with improved performance, but this seems a reasonably plausible expectation.

Nationhood and Education in Nigeria: A Case Study of School Inspection in Nigeria as a means of increasing Central Government Control,

In Nationhood, Internationalism and Education (Edited Roger Peddie), Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society from 3rd 5th December, O'Rorke Hall, University of Auckland, New Zealand, pp. 171 184., 1990

The author worked in Nigeria for eleven years, for some of the time as a teacher, and for part of... more The author worked in Nigeria for eleven years, for some of the time as a teacher, and for part of the time as a school inspector. In this article the author reflects upon the progress of the Nigerian Federal Inspectorate of Education, its inception, including the reasons for its formation, its early history and that of other educational inspectorates in Nigeria and details of the Inspectorates day to day work. The author sees the start of the Federal Inspectorate in a wider social and political context as an example, in the field of education, of the way in which the Federal Nigerian Government at the end of a bloody and vicious civil war steadily increased its power relative to that of the state governments. The creation of the Federal Inspectorate of Education served the cause of Nigerian National Unity and did much to retain high educational standards at a time of the rapid expansion of the educational system.

Learning from the first Austalians

New Scientist, No 1822, (Science and Education in Australia and New Zealand Supplement), Vol 2, No 10, 23 May, p.4., 1992

However, we need to go further. We should use the above examples and many others to provide pos... more However, we need to go further. We should use the above examples and
many others to provide positive images of Aboriginal science and technology in the science syllabi for all Australian children. Likewise, we should ensure that Australian children are as familiar with the names of Unaipon and Willmot as they are with the names of other scientists with Australian connections such as Joseph Banks and Frank Macfarlane Burnet.