Queensland Professional Learning Advisor

Sarah Long is an education consultant and professional learning advisor with extensive experience in teaching at both secondary and tertiary level. She has held school curriculum leadership and middle management positions, coordinated teacher training and mentoring programs and conducted educational research on school accountability, improving student learning outcomes and whole-school literacy initiatives. Sarah has taught English and History at secondary school level, ESL students in both public and private educational institutions, post-graduate studies at University level in teaching pedagogy and practice, literacy, assessment and reporting methods, and also been involved in beginning teacher mentor programs in Queensland. Sarah has also been active in senior school technical and trade Colleges in Queensland and has been a Coordinator of Curriculum and Manager of Flexible Learning in these educational settings.

Sarah has delivered professional development workshops and conference presentations both in Australia and internationally, and has worked with professional associations including ALEA, AITSL, ACE and Teaching Australia to deliver professional learning workshops and presentations. She is an internationally published author and has published research in the area of language acquisition, literacy and educational assessment. Sarah is a past winner of awards including ACEL National Outstanding Teacher Leadership, ACE/AITSL National Excellence in Teaching, Sam Power Award for Excellence in Literacy and has been recognized as a fellow of the Australian College of Educators for outstanding contribution to education in Australia. She has focused her recent PhD research into critical discourse analysis of student perspectives on success and learning outcomes and her interests include using data to drive school and student improvement, teacher coaching and mentoring, school performance management and vocational education issues.

I am thrilled to be joining an organisation that focuses its energies on building, developing and sharing the rich resource that our teachers are to education. I love teaching, and so enjoy the thrill of discovery, inquiry, challenge and surprise that every day in the classroom or staffroom can hold in our profession. I consider myself a life-long learner and am passionate about the power of education to change and transform lives. Teacher practitioners who are willing to seek continual professional growth, willing to develop new skills and be excited with change, as well as share their existing knowledge and skills with other teachers are ‘pure gold’. I firmly believe we as teachers have an immensely important function in society and have the potential to shape learners’ lives in truly powerful and positive ways.

The following are the Key Learning Advisors that are currently employed in Queensland

Julie (B.Ed, M.Ed) is Principal Project Officer QCAR English for Greater Brisbane. She has worked in various contexts in Queensland schools for more than 25 years, and provided professional development in effective teaching, learning and assessment practices in English and Literacy in the Key Learning Areas. Julie has lectured and tutored in English courses for primary and secondary preservice teachers at Griffith University. Possessing a keen interest in ESL learners, she has researched effective pedagogy for literacy acquisition for Indigenous students and managed the production of culturally inclusive reading resources. In addition, she has presented at state and international conferences and published resource materials and research articles. Julie is committed to assisting teachers to provide instruction in English in an explicit manner that makes a positive difference to all students.

David B.Sc (Sydney), M.Ed (New England), B.A. (Hons) (Macquarie) has been teaching mathematics and science for 40 years in state and non-state schools in Queensland and New South Wales. He has been involved in professional development as a conference attendee and workshop presenter and P.D. coordinator since the mid 70s. In addition to numerous state and national conferences, he has presented workshops and papers at international conferences in Singapore (2002), Copenhagen (2004), Chicago (2007), Hradec Kralove (2007), and Metz (2009).

Apart from teaching, David has authored and edited commercial textbooks and teacher resources for both junior and senior high school and been a regional mathematics consultant. His current passion is the use of hand- held computer algebra system technology with senior high school students. In 2006 he was the recipient of a prestigious Westfield Premier’s Educational Scholarship to study the use of technology in both mathematics and distance education.

“There are a lot of highly qualified, experienced teachers of mathematics in Queensland state and non-state, primary and secondary schools. I look forward to providing opportunities for them to share their expertise with teachers from other schools and systems of education to further promote the learning outcomes of all students.”

Grant has 15 years experience as a Medical Research Scientist and Science educator. Following completion of a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Queensland Grant worked in the USA. On his return Grant completed a Grad. Dip. of Teaching and transitioned into Science education. During this time he has taught and mentored PhD, honours and high school students.

Grant is a member for the Ipswich-Brisbane District Chemistry panel and is actively involved in the QSA implementation and review of Science QCAT for year 9 Queensland students. Grant is currently employed as a senior and middle school science teacher at West Moreton Anglican College, Ipswich. As such he has a deep and up-to-date working appreciation for science curriculum development and implementation particularly tailored to meet the Essential Learnings for middle school Science and Senior science Queensland Syllabuses.

“I am very excited by the opportunity to assist TTA to ensure that professional development workshops support and enhance teaching skills and result in improved student learning across the Science curriculum.”

David has been a teacher for more than 30 years, and is currently Head of Department for Social and Environmental Sciences at Ferny Grove State High School.

Over his career David has taught a wide variety of Humanities subjects, now specialising in Geography, but with management, supervision and input to Ancient and Modern History, Legal Studies, Economics, Study of Society, Tourism and Social and Community Studies in the Senior School and Social Sciences in the Junior School. In addition to his work with Education Queensland, David currently lectures in Geography as a Specialist Teaching Area for the Education Faculty at the University of Queensland. He has designed the course for pre-service teachers in their final year of study prior to graduation. David is also the author of several SOSE and Geography text books currently in use, wrote the Geography terms and definitions for the Macquarie Student Study Dictionary, and is the Queensland Editorial Board Member for design and writing of the Jacaranda Atlas (Editions 2 to 7).

David is passionate about teaching and the delivery of courses that engage and inspire students to develop that same passion for their subjects. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the expansion of technology to the classroom, and encourages teachers to promote engagement of their students in relevant real-life settings. Such situations engender better understanding, and develop the skills of observation, inquiry and decision making as part of life long learning.

Peter Grainger (B.A.; M.SOC.SC.; DIP.ED.) has taught Japanese in primary, secondary and university contexts in Queensland since 1985. He has been involved in various significant curriculum and assessment design projects during that time, including a national project to develop curriculum guide lines for Japanese and an EQ project to retrain teachers to become Japanese teachers. He has published extensively in peer reviewed international journals on assessment, curriculum design and Japanese language learning. He has lived in Japan for 3 years, attending the National Japanese Language Research Institute (Kokken) and completed a Diploma in Applied Linguistics. He is employed fulltime as a Principal Project Officer and is currently completing the final stage of a PhD related to language learning strategies for JFL learners in Australia.

“ I look forward to providing a range of relevant and stimulating professional development opportunities for LOTE teachers in Queensland.”

Susan is a Lecturer in Education specialising in Health and Physical Education, at the University of Southern Queensland. Her main teaching areas are Curriculum and Pedagogy, Assessment, Biophysics and Health Ed. She is completing her PhD in Development of Sporting Talent and majored in Health Science - Health Promotion in her Master Degree research and studies.

She has been an educator specialising in Health and Physical Educatioin for thirty two years, having taught in QLD, interstate and overseas, in government and non-government schools across all year levels, in Special Education Units and Special Schools. Susan has been a HEad of Department, a Curriculum Manager. She has previously lectured and/or tutored at Griffith University and Queensland University of Technology.

Susan worked on the QCAR Framework Phase 1 as a Senior Education Officer and was part of the Essential Learnings writing team and a writer for the Assessment Bank. She has presented workshops and lectures at conferences for ACHPER, QSA, Qld Catholic Education and NSW Dept of Ed. Susan is a District Panellist for Senior Health Education in Qld and a member fo ACHPER, MYSA and ASNA.

Susan has been heavily involved in sports administration, organisation and coaching since she was a teenager and currently holds a number of positions in Team Handball including Schools Liaison Officer for QTHA.

“I feel passionate about my specialist area and love that I will have the opportunity to share that passion and connect HPE teachers with presenters and presentations that will enthuse them and invigorate their desire to keep the delivery of HPeE current and vital and credible“

Lisa’s career in education began with teaching Art in the TAFE and juvenile remand systems whilst also exhibiting as an artist in North Queensland. Subsequent teaching experience includes 25 years in high schools as Visual Art teacher and Head of Department, the Arts. Lisa is currently Visual Art Coordinator at a highly academic Brisbane school. Lisa developed and maintains contact with many Visual Art educators through her work as District Organiser and member of the Queensland State Minister’s Art Awards Reference Committee (now the ‘Creative Generation’ awards).

She has been active in leading teams in The Arts program development and the implementation of syllabus expectations, this experience is supported by many years as a panelist and as co-panel chair for Visual Art in the Brisbane/ Ipswich region. Initiating and delivering successful Arts events including festivals have been an area of focus for the opportunity to engage whole school communities with The Arts.

“The teaching of Visual Art goes well beyond the acquisition of knowledge, we aim to instill in our students an enduring love and appreciation of creative pursuits in the visual world. Quality professional development provides teachers with the same opportunities; I look forward to working with Visual Art teachers to seek new methods to improve our teaching outcomes.“

Michael Boyle (B.A. Grad. Dip Teach. B.Ed. M.Ed.St. M. Rel Ed.) has 20 years experience in education and has taught a wide range of subjects to Year 12 level. At St John Fisher College, he was Subject Co-ordinator for Drama and SOSE. Michael served for ten years on the Drama Panel for Brisbane North, the last three of which he was Panel Chair. In this role he reviewed school submissions and reviewed work programs. During this time, Michael also served on the Accreditation Committee for the Queensland Arts Council.

Currently, Michael is Assistant Principal at Assisi Catholic College, a master planned P-12 college on the northern Gold Coast which opened in 2005. Previous to this appointment, Michael was employed as an Education Officer with Brisbane Catholic Education where he worked with Primary and Secondary schools and provided professional development to teachers. Michael has been involved in the presentation of teacher workshops and seminars and is actively involved in Drama teacher networks through professional associations. He has served on the Drama Queensland Management Committee as well as presenting workshops at Drama Queensland and Drama Australia conferences, as well as the 2004 IDEA Conference in Ottawa, Canada. He has written a variety of papers for publication and wrote curriculum notes for the Queensland Arts Council production of Children of the Blackskirt which toured many states. He was also appointed to The Arts Syllabus Advisory Committee for the Queensland Studies Authority.

In his thesis for his Master’s degree, Michael investigated how teachers plan for aesthetic learning in their Drama classrooms and he subsequently explored the relationship between aesthetic experiences in art making and spiritual experiences.

“I am looking forward to engaging with Drama teachers in order to promote the teaching and learning of Drama in QLD.”

Danny Arrow, BSc (Ind Arts). Dip Ed (UNSW), MEd Admin (UQ), has been involved in the Technology KLA for over twenty five years. Danny Started as a classroom teacher in NSW at St Stanislaus College and then moved to Knox Grammar School in Sydney. He moved to Ormiston College as Head of Technology and was then appointed Head of Technology at St Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane. He has vast experience in the Technology KLA, has been on two Syllabus Committees for Engineering Technology in Queensland and has taught Engineering Technology, Technology Studies, Graphics and Construction at the senior level for many years. Danny has been involved in the presentation of teacher in-service workshops and seminars and is actively involved in Technology teacher networks through professional associations. He has a range of networks involving colleagues from key educational sectors able to assess current trends and continuing professional development.

Danny has been involved with Queensland Studies Authority Core Skills Exam marking, has been a Subject Panel member and is currently Engineering Technology State Panel Chair. This has enabled him to develop a sound understanding of the requirements, responsibilities and needs that such syllabuses impose on teachers of differing experience.

“I am looking forward to assisting teachers of Technology in Queensland by providing opportunity and advice, ensuring that workshops support teaching across the Technology curriculum.”