Award-winning science teacher Mr Matt Dodds is transforming learning through hands-on experiments, real-world research and a commitment to showcasing diverse scientific role models for regional students.
As the wheels on a car made from a mousetrap rattled down the hallway, a class of Year 8 students whooped and chased after it. The distance it travelled was impressive – impressive enough that teacher Mr Matt Dodds knew he’d set a challenge.
“Right,” he told the class, “whoever can beat mine gets a canteen voucher.” Instantly, the room buzzed with redesigns, tweaks, measurements and discussion about torque and friction.
For Mr Dodds, who recently won the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching (Secondary), this is science at its best: hands-on, energetic and grounded in real-world problem-solving.
“Every topic I teach, I try and get the students to do either an experiment or an activity. I want them engaged,” he says.
Mr Dodds’ journey into teaching began in the Blue Mountains, where he grew up before heading to UNSW to study biotechnology. Near the end of his degree, he realised he wasn’t ready to leave university behind – and wasn’t sure the lab life was for him. So he added a Bachelor of Education. “I really enjoyed it,” he says. “Both the science education and the actual practice.”
An excursion with the NSW Department of Education, aimed at encouraging teachers to consider rural posts, took him to Tamworth. He spent three days observing classes at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School. Although teaching wasn’t required, Mr Dodds couldn’t resist jumping in, and a team-teaching session led to a strong recommendation and a job. He stayed at Farrer for nearly 10 years before moving to Glen Innes High School, where he now teaches Years 7–10 Science and Year 11–12 Physics and Biology.
How to make science stick
Mr Dodds is clear about his philosophy: science should feel meaningful, tangible and achievable for every young person – especially those in regional or low socio-economic communities. Some activities are high-tech, like the senior biology practical in which students genetically modify bacteria to make them glow. Others are deceptively simple, like the mousetrap car challenge, but still rooted in core scientific principles and healthy competition.
He also brings in experts to reinforce that science is a living, breathing field. Students have met world-renowned cane toad researcher Professor Rick Shine via Zoom about his current research. But diversity matters just as much as expertise. Mr Dodds alternates male and female scientists deliberately, so students don’t develop a narrow view of who belongs in STEM.
This commitment is visible on the classroom walls. Alongside posters of Einstein and Galileo is a curated set of female physicists, each with a short biography. One of them, astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, is someone Mr Dodds has met in person. “You can’t be what you can’t see,” he says. “It’s important students see scientists who look like them.”
Moving from an all-boys school to a co-ed school sharpened Mr Dodds’ awareness of gender gaps in senior science.
“Previously, Glen Innes High School had a 10-year average of 1.1 girls doing HSC physics,” he says. When he arrived, there was only one female student in the class.
Mr Dodds decided to intervene early, speaking to Year 10 students when they were choosing subjects. He was blunt about the pre-requisites but also made a compelling case for the subject’s value. Crucially, he pointed to real examples, encouraging younger students to speak to high-achieving girls in Year 12. The results were immediate: female enrolments doubled, and momentum continued.
Beyond showcasing current students, Mr Dodds draws on the accomplishments of former ones. One past student he taught in 2014 now builds orbital rockets on the Gold Coast with Gilmour Space Technologies and has spoken to classes. More recently, he invited a female mechanical engineer from the same company so students could see gender-balanced examples of STEM careers..
From the classroom to the cosmos
One of the standout achievements recognised in Mr Dodds’ PM’s Prize citation is the astronomy and astrophysics depth study program he created at Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran.
The idea started as a simple excursion for his own students, but Mr Dodds quickly realised the effort involved could benefit others.
“It takes a lot of work to organise an excursion,” he says, “but it doesn’t take that much more to share it with other schools.”
What began as a single-school trip is now a sought-after regional event. Students from multiple schools come together to learn from astronomers – some travelling in person from Canberra, others joining via Zoom. Universities often supply presenters, ensuring the content aligns with and extends beyond the syllabus. ANU even sponsored the excursion, meaning students can attend at no cost. Students tour the facility, including the iconic 3.9-metre telescope, and spend the night observing the sky through smaller telescopes. They also study Indigenous astronomy, broadening both scientific and cultural understanding.
Crucially, they work with real telescope data, using their laptops to calculate, for example, how fast the universe is expanding.
“It’s real for them,” Mr Dodds says. “They’re actually engaging in the creation of the science.”
This matters even more in regional schools, where senior physics classes can be as small as two or three students. The excursion helps students form connections with peers who share their interests – something that can significantly influence their confidence and post-school aspirations.
Mr Dodds applies the same principles back in the classroom. In November, for instance, his senior physics students calculated the mass of stars using NASA data. In biology, students recently built amino acids using molecular modelling kits and will link them into accurate protein structures next lesson.
“A lot of thought has gone into the activities we do and the learning behind them,” he says.
He also shares many of his resources with teachers across Australia through Facebook groups. His aim for 2026 is to build a website where teachers can access everything more reliably.
Many of his former students, including high-achieving physics graduate Charlotte, have gone on to fields far beyond traditional science, from engineering to policymaking. For Mr Dodds, physics is not just a subject at school. It’s a way of thinking.
“It’s great to come from Glen Innes, but it’s great to pursue your dreams after school as well,” he says.
