UTS Education Innovation & Change School Conference Success

On the 27 March, UTS Master of Teaching Secondary Education academics hosted the much anticipated 2023 Innovation and Change School Partnerships Conference on campus at the University of Technology Sydney.

For UTS students (preservice teachers) currently undertaking the subjects Professional Learning and Literacy and Numeracy across the Curriculum, the conference provided yet another practical and critical component of their Education degree, in the first semester of their study plan.

According to Yenti Maria Buchanan, a Master of Teaching in Secondary Education student:

“It was so mind blowing and out of the box that it left me thinking for days".

Which was the aim.

Chaired by Lila Mularczyk, former President of the NSW Secondary Principals Council, the conference was developed along with school leaders and teacher education experts at UTS.

This initiative was funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs Australian Korean Foundation for a project on sharing innovative teaching practices with teachers in South Korea. 

Murat Dizdar and supporting beginner teachers

The conference kicked off with an inspirational keynote address by Murat Dizdar, the Deputy Secretary of School Performance South, NSW Department of Education. 

Murat recounted his experiences as a teacher, and his more recent experiences downing office tools and crewing schools during the COVID teacher shortages.

He detailed the support that Department of Education provides for beginner teachers, and championed John Hattie's view that:

The greatest impact on student learning lies in the teacher who performs the teaching act.

Murat also highlighted the critical importance of providing current and future leaders with world class evidenced-informed development programs.

He showcased leadership hubs, podcasts, induction modules and learning resources.

Murat’s presentation provided vital information about these comprehensive initiatives and resources for all of the teachers who begin their teaching career with the Department of Education each year.

Emma Mansfield, Associate Director of Stakeholder Engagement NSW DoE, and David Merzi, Head Teacher at Prairiewood High School, then shared what inspired them to go into teaching, and what sustains them.

Emma detailed her journey, from classroom-teacher to university tutor to her various leadership roles, and illustrated the multiple opportunities that a career in teaching offers.

And this was just the opener.

Digging into the details for great teaching

Conference attendees were then taken into four participatory workshops led by principals Mike Saxon, Belinda Giudice and Tim Lloyd, and former principal Lila Mularczyk.

Each workshop focused on critical aspects of teaching and leading in school communities.  Workshop participants took part in activities to learn whole school approaches to growing students’ skills and capabilities at each stage of their learning so they could thrive at school and beyond.

Mike Saxon, leader of Liverpool Boys High School (LBHS) presented their ‘Big Picture’ approach that engages students with personal skills relevant for their future. 

Mike reinforced the need to radically change education, emphasising that this change comes from “schools in partnership with industry and universities.”

He pointed out that the HSC only meets the needs of a small subset of students. In seeking to meet the needs of all his students at LBHS, he explained the most recent seven big innovations:

1. Vertical senior curriculum that is all about choice and flexibility in Years 11 and 12, giving students voice in planning for their future directions.
2. Project based learning for year 7 that supports student transition into high school.
3. Measuring non-academic capabilities that encourages personal and emotional growth through their CAPRI model (communication and collaboration; attitudes and values; practical and organisational; research and critical thinking; innovation and creativity).
4. Big Picture Learning Australia (BPLA) involves students setting their own learning plan and learning direction with fairer assessment and customised learning. 
   
   Mike declared that "big picture learning is a passport to the world."
5. The take-over involves all teachers and students for three weeks of the school year replacing the usual curriculum with student-led projects. This creative initiative has resulted in many LBHS students seeing their potential for the first time. 
   
   Science educator Amy Gilchrist acknowledged that take-overs involve “getting past the panic stage (which) is hard with 120 kids working on a completely individual and unique project,” but that “as scary as it is to get rid of the curriculum, the most exciting part is getting rid of the curriculum. It involves parents, community and industry."
   
   Take-overs are not without explicit learning outcomes. These innovations focus on originality, opening up to student voice and choice. For example, a year 8 group of students created a film as part of another university partnership project, Imagined Futures, where they talked about what they wanted their future to be. Other take-overs involved: Liverpool Boys High School being ‘art-bombed’; students producing historical re-enactment films; and students designing non-addictive video games.
6. The literacy and numeracy growth project encourages students to take responsibility for their learning and their learning pathway to improve; and
7. Year 7 passion-based learning that builds on project-based learning.

In Tim Lloyd's workshop, he showcased Plumpton High School’s student leadership approach.

Tim detailed the ways that students can be leaders - in the classroom through involvement in academic projects, in the playground through their support for other students, or in sporting, cultural or community events and projects.

He discussed how teachers can support these students to develop their leadership skills.

Belinda Giudice and David Merzi illustrated how Prairiewood High School create a positive learning environment underpinned by the wellbeing of students, teachers and school operations.

They shared some of the impactful support systems they have in place and how they align with the NSW Department of Education’s Wellbeing Framework for Schools, including:

• individual support
• wellbeing teams
• individual learning support
• in-school programs, and
• out of school community supports.

Belinda and David also highlighted the importance of an interconnection between wellbeing teams and the linkages of wellbeing to student learning, and explained many of the different roles that exist in schools and who to reach out to for support.

They explored different real life school scenarios, the school procedures that need to be actioned in response to the scenarios and the school supports available.

Belinda and David also offered vital tips for early career teachers in their first term of teaching.

Eddie Woo: It's about the students

After the workshops, the conference attendees came back together for a vibrant presentation by Eddie Woo, NSW DoE Leader.

Eddie told the story of his journey into teaching and his passion for teaching Mathematics. He talked participants through the seeding of his teaching YouTube channel that began by wanting to share his lessons with a sick student who couldn’t come to school.

Sharing his passion for high impact teaching and effective teaching methodology, Eddie illustrated how good ideas grow.

Eddie referred to his impactful mathematics videos as instructional tools - videos that now have over 1.7M subscribers.

Eddie brought the issue of teacher shortages out front and centre, saying:

While there is no silver bullet to fixing teacher shortages, there is a need to improve the value and respect of teaching as a career. Because it’s the best job ever.

He also impressed upon the conference audience the powerful impact that innovation and vibrant teaching have on student engagement and learning outcomes.

Eddie described his passion "not as something you follow, but as something you form".

He made it clear that:

Teaching is all about the students and making a positive difference in their lives.

#working together is better!

The day closed with a panel of school leaders taking questions from the floor.

Emceed by Lila, the panel reminded preservice teachers about the practical elements of teaching, that are critical first steps for career longevity:

- Differentiate learning without burning out; 
- Remember to look after yourself;
- Ask lots of questions;
- Focus on developing the craft of teaching; and
- Build networks.

Belinda also advised preservice teachers to “catch kids being good so you can talk about positive aspects of students’ behaviour with their families.”

John Goh, Principal at Merrylands East Primary School, talked about getting to know the broader school community around the school, and building trust and open communications with parents and carers.

Alice Leung, Head Teacher at Concord High School, gave suggestions about surviving and thriving as an early career teacher. She explained that new graduates need to build up a suite of teaching and organisational strategies that become an “integrated part of (their) daily routine.”

The panel and conference attendees talked about teachers as being like a family, and Belinda reiterated the importance of looking after each other, emphasising to everyone that "we work better together". 

Belinda's message was an apt descriptor for the whole day.

The Innovation and Change School Partnerships Conference was a clear example of the power of working together, as conference participants embraced the opportunity to seek out and share ideas for teaching practices and show support to each other in their education careers. 

This conference was just one example of the ways that UTS Education and our school partners work together to create opportunities for the best kinds of impactful learning for preservice teachers.

The Innovation and Change School Partnerships Conference 2023 is Phase 2 of an initiative by the UTS School of Education and International Studies.

Read about Phase 1, and the pandemic-era conversations that started it.

Co-Designing Initial Teacher Education with Leaders in Schools

The UTS Teacher Education Discipline continues to forge strong connections with school partners to provide opportunities for practical applications of educational theories and curriculum requirements within the Master of Teaching in Secondary Course (MTeach).

The MTeach academic teaching team have recently redesigned two subjects  to incorporate these critical industry links.

'Professional Learning' and 'Literacy and Numeracy Across the Curriculum' take a cross-subject approach to teacher education. 

From the first semester of preservice teachers' study, these subjects purposefully link university coursework to the work that preservice teachers will undertake in schools. 

This approach is kinaesthetic and participatory, and gets preservice teachers into schools early and often.  

Case studies, data and resource sharing from high school partners brings current and relevant secondary school life into these university subjects. The data and in-school experiences underpin critically reflective assessment tasks that authentically link theory, policy, curriculum and teaching practice.

Data is provided by schools on whole-school student learning outcomes, student engagement, positive behaviour policies and academic enrichment projects. The UTS MTeach academic teaching team (Dr Joanne Yoo, Dr Pauline Kohlhoff and Dr Katherine Bates) then embeds the data within the coursework for preservice teachers to draw upon for their learning.

The connection between study and the work teachers do in schools is vital, and UTS secondary education preservice students are already tangibly benefiting from this practical and impactful subject redesign.

Further reading:

29 MARCH 2023 - Talking Teachers: New podcast probes solutions to education crisis
As Australia’s teacher shortage continues to impact the learning and lives of young people in schools across the nation, a new podcast series promises to unpack the challenges and offer clear solutions to this pressing issue.

22 MARCH 2023 - UTS preservice teachers create routines to help kids learn
Ricardo Aguiar is a specialist trainer of beginner teachers who recently taught UTS preservice teachers how to demystify classroom management by creating practical classroom routines that help students to learn and feel supported.

10 MARCH 2023 - 100 Secondary Ed Teaching students at Macquarie Fields High
The team behind the UTS Master of Teaching in Secondary Education course have taken the Professional Experience Hub Partnership model to new heights, creating synergies between theory and practice to provide authentic learning experiences at a ‘whole of course’ level.

14 NOVEMBER 2022 - Want to solve the teacher shortage? Talk to these Year 11s
Rural Youth Ambassadors from rural and remote NSW came to UTS and showcased their ideas with academics from UTS, UNSW, CSU and Macquarie universities, on why teachers should consider living and working in a rural NSW town.

12 OCTOBER 2022 - Solving the teacher shortage crisis
There are evidence-based solutions to the teacher shortage, says Assoc Prof Jane Hunter from the School of International Studies and Education at UTS – and they urgently need to be implemented.

1 DEC 2022 - Building Future Teachers: UTS and Macquarie Fields High
UTS Master of Teaching in Secondary Education (MTeach) program staff hosted forty-four students from Macquarie Fields High School, who are members of the school’s Future Teachers Club.

14 SEP 2022 - Innovation in schools in a post-pandemic era
What happens to schools during drastic societal changes such as a prolonged lockdown? The 2022 UTS Change and Innovation Conference was a recent Partnerships Initiative by the UTS FASS School of International Studies and Education staff who decided to explore what innovations have emerged as schools have adjusted to online learning in a post-pandemic era.

9 DEC 2021 - UTS Education named a “top research institution"
UTS ranked the “top research institution in the field” for Teaching and Teacher Education, in The Australian’s Research Magazine 2021. The recognition also brings to the fore the inextricable link between research and teaching in the UTS programs. Research-inspired learning, one of the pillars of the UTS Model of Learning, is at the foundation of the Master of Teaching in Secondary Education and combined undergraduate teacher education degrees.