Rate My Professor Rachel Sheffield

Professor Rachel Sheffield is a Professor in the School of Education at Curtin University, part of the Faculty of Humanities. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Western Australia (1987-1989), a Graduate Diploma in Education, and a Doctor of Philosophy. Transitioning from her industry experience as a science teacher, she now supports pre-service teachers in STEM education, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, helping them build confidence and competence in these areas. As Chair of the Curtin Academy and Co-Convenor of STEM Education in the School of Education, she demonstrates strong leadership in advancing teaching excellence and innovation. Her accolades include Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), a National Teaching Citation in 2016, four Curtin Teaching Awards (individual and team), an International STEM Award, and an Endeavour Fellowship in 2016. She has secured research grants from UNESCO (2017), NARST (2017), and the Australian Indonesian Institute (2016).

Professor Sheffield's research interests focus on STEM education, makerspaces, sustainability education, curriculum development, design thinking, online learning, teacher professional development, and twenty-first-century skills such as collaboration, communication, and resilience. She has produced over 75 publications, including books like STEM Education in the Primary School: A Teacher's Toolkit (2021) and Teaching 21st Century Skills: Using the STEM Makerspace (2021). Notable articles include "Makerspace and Reflective Practice: Advancing Pre-service Teachers in STEM Education" (2017), "Students’ perceptions of their STEM learning environment" (2023), "How future educators view themselves and their profession: A study of pre-service science educators" (2020), and "Sustainable mindsets: Combining traditional indigenous knowledge with non-aboriginal understanding to address environmental risks" (2023). Her initiatives, such as the STEMinists project launched in 2015 to empower girls in STEM, the DREAM project involving 135 primary schools in Western Australia (2017), and contributions to ISTE standards since 2016, have international reach in Australia, Indonesia, India, and Malaysia. Selected for the Homeward Bound #4 leadership mission to Antarctica (2018), she promotes global citizenship, innovative pedagogies, and enhanced STEM identities among students and educators.