This page details various professional experiences offered as evidence of capacity in professional engagement, according to the following Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), as defined by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2017).
APST 6: Engaging in professional learning
APST 7: Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community
My most recent example of professional engagement is my recent decision to set up a forum and ideas hub for teachers of additional languages. I developed this resource after discovering (while doing my PhD research investigating language teacher education journeys) that a lot of early career / preservice language teachers feel isolated. For more information please visit: teachinglanguages.org
For more examples from my professional experience, please see the categories below.
Professional engagement with colleague
I hold a variety of professional memberships, including the Australia Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA), and its associated Queensland branch, MLTAQ. I am a member of the Australian Association for Education Research, and have an affiliation with Independent Schools Queensland, following my 2021 instalment as a consulting curriculum and assessment advisor at a member school.
Through these associations, I have both participated and presented at various conferences, connecting with new research and practitioner expertise to develop through professional learning, while deeply engaging with colleagues to improve practice.
Conference and professional development presentations
2022: MLTAQ Conference: Innovative Practitioners, Innovative Practice, Brisbane.
Intercultural teacher identities: operationalising teacher skills and dispositions to develop global competence in students, and language engagement for life.
2022: Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) Big Ideas Summit, Brisbane.
Conceptual Planning with ‘Big Ideas’ – ‘Starting with the (conceptual) end in mind’.
2021 – 2022 (SEQ schools)
- Authentic, aligned assessment: grading tools that support these aims.
- Transdisciplinary curriculum planning: Assessing an integrated curriculum.
2019: AFMLTA International Languages Conference: Languages – breaking through the walls, Hobart.
Understanding intercultural language teaching: Links between theory and practice.
2019: Languages Road Show – October, Brisbane; November, Sunshine Coast.
Intercultural competence in the Australian Curriculum: Languages (Keynote address with Dr Peter Grainger, USC).
Action research
I have enjoyed professional engagement roles such as Research Manager for the Leading research priorities for Alliance of Girls’ Schools, Australasia, I developed literature reviews, oversaw research grants, and wrote extensively. This research connected me with educators across sectors and continents.
In providing methodological guidance to member schools, and my involvement with the Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education (GARC) committee, I connected with inspiring educators engaged in Action Research projects across a variety of disciplines.
Supporting preservice teachers
University of the Sunshine Coast: Academic / 2018 – Nov. 2022
I delivered lectures at the university’s ‘satellite’ campuses (Gympie and Caboolture) and conducted tutorials across all campuses for various courses (EDU413, EDU415 and EDU300). I developed educational materials and pedagogical plans to support student learning. I collaborated with course coordinators to achieve ongoing refinement of grading tools and assessment design over successive iterations — continuously enhancing content offerings. I audited cross-institutional university courses and assessed the Graduate Teacher Professional Assessment (GTPA). I continue to mark assessments for USC, remotely.
Teacher training
The River School, Maleny
Curriculum and Assessment Advisor / Dec 2020 – January 2022
I led research-informed improvement to planning and assessment practices at an independent school on the Sunshine Coast, including the development of research-informed, Australian Curriculum: English-aligned marking guides for formative and summative assessment.
Cactus Education Collective
Business owner/ Professional Development, Curriculum and Assessment Trainer / 2019 – present
- Development of curated sets of resources: marking guides, curriculum maps, and teacher training modules in assessment literacy for in-school delivery.
- Development and delivery of training programs in aligned and authentic assessment practices. (Example client: Durack State School — referee provided below).
