StArt Up: Top Arts 2014

I was fortunate enough to attend the opening of StArt Up: Top Arts 2014 this evening at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Federation Square.  The exhibition presents outstanding work by students who completed Art or Studio Arts studies in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) in 2013.  From over 3,000 submissions, 49 students were chosen to exhibit their work.  These were some of my favorites pieces:

Gemma Topliss

June Uili- Sina and the tuna

Paris Triantis

Hieu Nguyen- Mind like a river

The exhibition runs from 11 April - 20 July so be sure to check out the works of these talented young artists.

New Directions for School Leadership and the Teaching Profession

This morning I was privileged to attend the launch of the discussion paper I've been working on New directions for school leadership and the teaching profession by the Premier, Minister responsible for the Teaching Profession, and Minister for Education at Parliament House.  The paper outlines the Government's strategy for moving the Victorian education system into the global top tier by improving the teaching profession.  The three key reform areas focus on attracting great people into teaching, creating a high performing profession, and leaders providing strong direction and support.  Consultation on the paper will now occur over the next few months, and should lead to a longer term strategy.

Farewell Hobart

Today was the final day of the AARE Conference.  I attended a session on improving success in pre-service teachers field experience, and an invited symposium on teachers and leaders in low SES schools.  The conference finished at midday and I have learned a lot over the past four days.  I am fortunate that I got the opportunity to attend and also present.  After eating lunch I had a wander around Hobart with a new friend and then headed off to the airport for the flight back to Melbourne (the whole plane may have been full of conference attendees).

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 30

Today was day three of the AARE Conference.  We started the morning with an interesting keynote address on design for learning by Professor Peter Goodyear from The University of Sydney.  I then attended a session on technology and learning, and the invited symposium on the international Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills research project.

For the afternoon I escaped the conference and took a ferry to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).  Don't worry- my boss came along as well.  As the name says, the collection is a mix of old and contemporary art.  There are some challenging pieces, but nothing I found too shocking.  None of the pieces are labeled but you use an iPod Touch to get information (it geotracks where you are and pulls up details on the art that is nearby).  The building and grounds of MONA are also amazing.  It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, and a great site for the last photo of the Wear My Wardrobe Challenge!  I'm standing in front of the piece Snake by Sidney Nolan.

Today's outfit:
Blue long sleeve top (Now)
Black pants (Gap)
Black flats (Tony Bianco)

Photo by Elizabeth

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 29

Today was day two of the AARE Conference.  I attended sessions on NAPLAN exams, the Radford Lecture by Lyn Yates from The University of Melbourne, and a social justice panel discussion on equity and education research, policy and practice.  Oh, and I also presented as part of a symposium with Deakin University on learning space redesign and pedagogy (the reason for this trip).  I really dislike public speaking, but the session went well.  I gave the Victorian Department perspective on our learning spaces research agenda, and Deakin talked about a few of the projects they have done for us.  I am glad it is over and now I can relax a bit.  Tonight I have a special interest group dinner to attend to meet others who are interested in politics and policy in education.

Today's outfit:
Floral top (Banana Republic)
Black skirt (Ann Taylor Loft)
Black tights
Black heels (Steve Madden)

Photo by Elizabeth

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 28

Today was the first day of the AARE Conference.  We were welcomed by the Governor of Tasmania and had a keynote address from Professor Miriam Zukas from Birkbeck, University of London on the conference theme of "Researching Across Boundaries."  I attended symposia on supporting early career teacher resilience, reconceptualizing rural-regional pre-service teacher education, and contemporary professional issues for teachers in the 21st century.  Today's photo was taken along the waterfront in between sessions (sorry I couldn't get a full shot).

Today's outfit:
Black long sleeve top (Mossimo)
Olive pants (Gap)
Black flats (Tony Bianco)

Wear My Wardrobe- Day 14

Tonight after work a group of us went to see economist and Federal Member for Fraser Andrew Leigh speak about The Economics and Politics of Teacher Merit Pay at an event run by the Grattan Institute.  It was an interesting discussion and Q&A session in addition to being very relevant for my current work.  Afterwards we headed to Seamstress on Lonsdale Street (site of today's photo) for drinks and a bite to eat.

Today's outfit:
Dress (odille)
Black cardigan (Charter Club)

Photo by Elvira

What Teachers Want

Occasionally for work I attend seminars on workforce reform issues, and tonight I went to one hosted by the Victorian Institute of Teaching on teacher evaluation.  The guest speaker was Dr. Ben Jensen, Program Director for school education at the Grattan Institute.  He spoke about the report What Teachers Want: Better Teacher Management, which was released in May 2010 and utilized the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) of teachers and their principals.

Key findings were that teacher evaluation and development does not identify effective or quality teaching, is not linked to career advancement, and does not address ineffective teachers.  The report shows that teachers want meaningful evaluation and development and not something that is just an administrative exercise.  Since the event was hosted by VIT I was expecting some tough questions from the audience, but everyone seemed to be in agreement with the report's findings.  If you are interesting in reading more Grattan Institute educational research, check out their latest report Investing In Our Teachers, Investing In Our Economy.

Visiting Schools

Over the last week and a half I have been able to escape the office and visit schools to do some filming. We are putting together a short DVD to show what a wider workforce in schools looks like and try to get away from the image of one teacher in front of 25 students in a classroom. We went to schools in the eastern and northern suburbs, as well as Ballarat. All these schools are using a variety of staff with different expertise to work in teams with students. Some of the schools also have built brand new open learning spaces using state and federal funding. It was good to get back into a school environment, and one school in particular with open learning spaces and teams of teachers made me even consider wanting to return to teaching. Now the fun will be editing down the massive amount of footage we have into 10 minutes. We probably have enough material to make several clips on different topics.

Brushes with Greatness

Tonight I exchanged smiles and waves goodbye with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the Teach For Australia celebration at Melbourne Museum. Maybe she thought I was a TFA Associate? Yesterday Victorian Premier John Brumby walked by while I was at Treasury Deli. Unfortunately, I have yet to run into Prince William while he's been in Melbourne.

Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development: One Year On

Today I attended the Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development: One Year On Forum at the MCG. The first year of the Blueprint has seen the development and implementation of 42 actions across three reform strategies: system improvement, partnerships with parents and communities, and workforce reform. The Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development: One Year On report highlights the achievements made in the first year of Blueprint implementation and describes the actions that the Government commits to in 2010.

Both Ministers were there to present on achievements in the early childhood and education portfolios over the past year. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard was going to attend, but couldn't make it at the last minute due to the crazy politics currently taking place in the opposition party in Canberra. We had two workshop sessions to explore themes around the new actions for 2010. I attended sessions on workforce reform and school education where each table discussed some of the specific actions and provided feedback and ideas. The day ended with a plenary session with the Secretary of the Department.

Rewarding Teaching Excellence

One of my big projects at work over the past year has been the development of teacher performance pay models for the Victorian context. The culmination of this work was the release of the Rewarding Teaching Excellence Blueprint Implementation Paper by the Minister of Education in August. The paper explores the purpose for rewarding teaching excellence, the national and international evidence, the two models developed for Victoria, and the trials in Victorian schools. Starting next year two models will be trialled in schools- individual teacher rewards and whole school rewards. The evaluation of the trials will determine whether or not there is a broader roll out of one or both of the models throughout the state.

Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development

This week the Victorian government launched the new Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development. This document sets the agenda for education and early childhood services for the next five years. Yesterday both Ministers gave a briefing on the Blueprint to Department staff, which was one of the better presentations I've seen them both do. My work at the moment falls under the workforce reform strategies.

Here's an article from The Age about some of the actions in the Blueprint: School shake-up, with fries.

Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform

It is my second week working in the Research Branch and today I got the opportunity to attend the final consultation forum for the Blueprint for Early Childhood Development and School Reform at Moonee Valley Racecourse. Both Ministers addressed the audience about the Blueprint discussion papers and the government's reform agenda. Then we broke up into three different workshops. I was a scribe at one of the tables for the Early Childhood Development discussion. It was interesting to hear what the various professionals from different parts of the sector had to say. After the workshops everyone reconvened for a plenary session to finish up the afternoon's proceedings.

Get DEECD

Well, not only do we have two new ministers, but our department has a new name. We are now the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD). Thank God we never updated the stationary when we changed our name eight months ago! The new Premier John Brumby announced today that the Office of Children in the Department of Human Services will now sit in the Department of Education. While the decision makes perfect sense it will be interesting to see how this affects our restructure, which just went into effect in May. Now all we need to do is decide how to pronounce our new acronym.