Archive for the 'Education' Category

While those who couldn’t attend watched on YouTube, more than 300 school students and art-lovers from across the State gathered in Armidale last Friday evening for the award ceremony of the fifth annual University of New England School Acquisitive Art Prize (UNESAP).

The Art Prize is an educational outreach initiative of UNE’s Faculty of The Professions, and engages with schools in regional and remote areas to encourage and nurture young artists. This year, the University received more than 600 entries. The award ceremony took place at the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM), and accompanied the opening of an exhibition of the finalists’ works titled “Let’s Hang It!”. The prize-winning entries are incorporated permanently into the UNE Art Collection.

UNE’s Vice-Chancellor and CEO, Professor Alan Pettigrew, spoke at the exhibition’s opening about the “evident talent of young people” living in regional and rural Australia, and praised the 600 young contributors for the “absolute quality and true ingenuity” of their works. He spoke of the importance of nurturing the talents of young people - particularly in rural and regional areas - and thanked all University staff for their efforts in that regard.

Professor Pettigrew also praised Dr Frances Alter, the founder of the exhibition, for the project’s continued success.

This year’s Art Prize winners were selected by a panel of experts led by the guest judge - local artist Kerry Gulliver. “This was my first experience of judging the UNE school acquisitive art prize,” Ms Gulliver said, “and I was very honoured to be asked. Many wonderful works were submitted, and of course it was very hard to choose eight winners in the end.”

Mrs Ann Pettigrew presented Certificates of Distinction to the finalists, and cheques to each of the eight prize winners, including Duval High School Year 12 student Anne De La Motte for her photo from the Series Journey, and NEGS Year 9 student Jessica Serov for her painting titled “Introspection”.

The Chancellor of UNE, Dr Richard Torbay, addressing the crowd, commended the young artists, and reemphasised the importance of nurturing the talents and skills of young people in rural and regional areas.

“The people in the community responsible for young people - including teachers and families - play a critical role in promoting the talents of young rural people and the future of our society,” Dr Torbay said. “This exhibition is important because it provides young people with the opportunity to showcase their artistic talents and creativity on a larger scale, reaching beyond their immediate homes, schools, and local communities.

“That we have seen an extension in the geographic reach of all the schools who submitted art entries - from the northern fringes of Sydney to the border of Queensland, and from Newcastle to Moree - is demonstrative of the project’s success. This is great work.”

Dr Alter thanked the organising team at UNE, including Dr Terrence Hays, Michelle Arens, Sue Johns, and Dr Lynn Everett. She praised NERAM for “getting the exhibition hung so beautifully”, and expressed her gratitude on behalf of UNE to university art supplier S&S Creativity Unlimited for their generous sponsorship and financial support.

In particular, Dr Alter thanked the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of The Professions, Professor Victor Minichiello, for “assisting enormously in getting this event into the public spotlight,” suggesting the competition was reliant on the “support of the Dean’s initiative fund”.

“I think the growth in outreach and art entries every year, as well as the increasing quality of works submitted, testifies to the enormous success of the UNE School Art Prize,” Dr Alter said.

UNE continues to use technology to bring education to the community. In the spirit of educational outreach, for those who did not attend, this event can be viewed online on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WozyPsuHes.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here, showing Elanor Beck with her prize-winning painting, expands to show Elanor with her father Rowan Webb and the Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay.

Kerry Gulliver’s comments on the winning entries are below.

Section 1

First: “Flowers”, by Matisse Morrissey (KG at Gillwinga Public)

“I loved the freshness and spontaneity of this work. The lines are executed with vigour, and the colours breathe and glow with a life of their own, capturing that wonderful sense of elation one feels when looking at fresh flowers. The work shows that lack of self-consciousness small children have when creating art, acting with pure instinct and passion.”

Second: “Walkabout”, by Daniel Clark (Yr 2 Woodford Dale Public)

“It shows wonderful rhythm and patterning, pulsating and buzzing with life energy. I particularly loved the chalice-like depiction of the trees, the branches cradling and almost throwing their leaves skyward.”

Section 2

First: “Still Life”, by Anthony Maccauley (Year 4 Woodford Dale)

“What really caught my eye was the use of complementary colours, a device that is under-utilised to a large extent in painting. It can create a great impact visually, as the colours react vibrantly when placed next to each other on the canvas. The darkness of the purple recedes into the background, while the brilliance of the yellow comes forward. The work has almost become abstract, as the forms have been broken down to fairly basic geometric shapes, which give it a rather charming naive quality.”

Second: “Mosaic face”, by Freya Weston (Yr6 Martins Gully Public)

“This work is strongly reminiscent of an early Roman mosaic, which I think was the intention - not only because of the mosaicing technique but also the demeanour of the subject. Instead of tiles, the artist has used torn paper to great effect, cleverly using photos of actual hair and skin.”

Section 3

First: “Introspection”, by Jessica Serov (Yr 9 NEGS)

“This reminds me of a Lin Onus work and was most likely influenced by this artist. Artists, at whatever stage of their career, can learn a great deal about technique by copying the artists they like. The floating leaves take on a more formal patterning effect as they move to the top of the work, which creates a lovely sense of perspective. The large water droplet on the leaf in the foreground draws the eye as it reflects fish and lotuses - creating a sense of intrigue as it is a bit ambiguous. The work also makes use of complementaries red and green, with the red going toward the more earthy tones, exaggerating the purity to the greens.”

Second: “T Pot Time”, by Elanor Beck (Yr 9 Duval)

“This is a whimsical and quirky piece. The colours stand out strongly on the black background. The viewer could spend some time discovering the many small, oddly placed cups and saucers while pondering the meanings behind the images, or the story it may be relating, as it has a strongly illustrative quality.”

Section 4

First: Photo from the series Journeys, by Anne De La Motte (Yr 12 Duval)

“I was really attracted to the subtle, pearlescent colours, very understated and beautiful. While the darkness of the model’s hair and features stand out, they don’t dominate the photographic image. There is a dream-like quality to the photograph and the model appears very distant, and largely insulated from the viewer.”

Second: “Dumaresq Dam”, by Jessica Hunt (Yr 11 Armidale High)

“This shows a very skilled use of textured brushwork. The modelling of the features through use of strong light and shade contrasts creates a striking image. The long shadows effectively draw the eye through to the sunlit shore in the background. This student shows lots of promise, and it would be interesting to see how they develop as a painter if they choose this path in life.”

This article was was written by UNE’s Marketing and Public Affairs and reproduced here with their permission.

The Second Australasian Piano Summer School, to be held at the University of New England next January, will build on the success of the inaugural Australasian Piano Summer School at UNE in January 2008.

The five-day Summer School, running from the 11th to the 15th of January 2010, will bring together talented teenage pianists and leading music educators from around Australia.

Kawai Australia is supporting the Summer School by providing 20 upright pianos for students to use for practice, as well as five grand pianos.

UNE’s Dr Terrence Hays, the Artistic Coordinator of the Summer School, said that it was designed for high-school students in Years 10, 11 and 12. “Our aim is to identify and mentor young musicians in the years before they enter tertiary education,” he said.

Joining Dr Hays in the team leading the Summer School will be Dr Christine Logan from the University of NSW, Professor Peter Roennfeldt from Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Glen Riddle from the Victorian College of the Arts, Jody Heald from the Australian Music Examinations Board, and Professor Jennie Shaw from UNE. Professor Michael Leslie from the Richard Strauss Conservatory of Music in Munich, Germany, will be the artist in residence. Professor Leslie will lead the masterclass program and give a public recital.

As well as piano masterclasses, the Summer School program will include individual lessons, workshops on improvisation, composition, interpretation, accompanying and ensemble playing, choir practice, sessions on coping with stress and anxiety in performance, and classes for students of other keyboard instruments including harpsichord, and organ.

Dr Hays said that a further aim of the Summer School was “to establish a collaborative research forum for studying aspects of keyboard performance”.

Participants will live at one of UNE’s residential colleges during the Summer School and have access to rehearsal pianos during the week. The organisers expect that some partial scholarships will be made available to help disadvantaged students living in rural and remote areas to participate. Applications (details of which are available at: http://www.une.edu.au/piano-summer-school/) close on the 19th of October.

For more information contact Dr Terrence Hays on (02) 6773 3649.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Blake Entwisle and Elizabeth Gressler practising during the inaugural Australasian Piano Summer School in January 2008.

This article was written by UNE’s Marketing and Public Affairs and reproduced here with their permission.

About 100 Aboriginal high-school students and Aboriginal Education Officers from throughout northern NSW got a taste last week of what it would be like to study at university to become a teacher.

The students, all in Years 10, 11 and 12, visited the University of New England for a day that included talking to teacher educators, taking part in teacher-education workshops in subjects including mathematics, science and creative arts, listening to a talk by an experienced Indigenous teacher, and generally experiencing the life of a university campus.

They came from as far afield as Moree, Taree, Gunnedah and Port Macquarie, and about 40 of them had an experience of life in a university residence by staying overnight at St Albert’s College.

The visit of the students on Monday 6 July was part of a Commonwealth-funded project led by Dr Pep Serow (pictured here), a Lecturer in Education at UNE who specialises in mathematics education. The “Indigenous Teacher Education Experience Project” is aimed at getting more Indigenous teachers into Australian schools. Last week’s “Experience Day” was preceded earlier this year by a series of community-driven meetings between representatives of education bodies and Aboriginal communities, and will be followed by a mentoring program to begin in Term 3 this year.

Twenty-five students signed up for the mentoring program during their visit to UNE. They will each be assigned an academic mentor who will visit them at their school once a term and communicate with them by video-conference. The 25 participants will also communicate with their mentors - and with each other - via a newly-created Web site.

“It is essential that Indigenous people have a greater involvement in educional decision making,” Dr Serow said. “We can begin this process through building stronger relationships between schools, communities and universities.”

In welcoming the students to UNE, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Pettigrew, emphasised the vital importance of the teaching profession, the uniquely rewarding experiences that it brings to teachers, and the recognised high quality of teacher education at UNE.

Professor Len Unsworth, the Head of UNE’s School of Education, acknowledged the work of Dr Serow and her colleagues in organising the day. “We need more Indigenous people in the education system,” Professor Unsworth said, emphasising the importance of “educators and Indigenous communities working together”.

“Together we can make a real difference,” he said. “That’s why it’s so terrific to have so many of you here today.”

Mr Michael Boney, an Aboriginal teacher raised in Ashford and now teaching at Ashford Central School, inspired the visiting students by talking to them about his life’s journey and its fulfilment as a teacher.

THE PHOTOGRAPH of Dr Pep Serow displayed here expands to include two of the visiting high-school students: Manduway Dutton from Grafton High and Kylie Saunders from Muswellbrook High.

This article was written by UNE’s Marketing and Public Affairs and posted here with their permission.

About 200 students from more than 30 schools throughout northern NSW visited the University of New England last Friday to indulge their interest in mathematics in a full day of maths-based activities.

Now in its 15th year, the annual Year 8 Mathematics Day at UNE allows keen mathematics students to meet their peers from other schools, and to compete with them in a range of interesting and enjoyable activities. Working in teams of four, the students develop skills in cooperative problem solving while applying their classroom mathematics to the solution of practical, real-life problems.

The students, accompanied by their mathematics teachers, came from as far away as Inverell, Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Wee Waa. A team from Bishop Druitt College in Coffs Harbour won the trophy in the Secondary Schools Division, and a team from Bowraville Central School was the winner in the Central Schools Division. Each of the members of the two winning teams received a certificate and a medallion, and their schools will hold the perpetual trophies throughout the coming year. Both Bishop Druitt College and Bowraville Central School are first-time trophy winners at the Year 8 Mathematics Day.

The event is sponsored each year by the UNE-based National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR), UNE’s School of Education, and the New England Mathematical Association. More than 20 people from these organisations were involved in the preparation and presentation of this year’s event.

“After 15 years, the day is still meeting the needs of students and schools, and is receiving high praise from both the participants and their parents,” said Professor John Pegg, the Director of SiMERR. “Most significantly, it helps to highlight the important role that mathematics plays across the educational spectrum, and how mathematics underpins so many of the trades and professions in today’s society.”

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows a student from Guyra Central School intent on solving a problem during the Year 8 Mathematics Day at UNE.

This article was produced by UNE’s Marketing and Public Affairs and reproduced here with their permission.

The experiences and needs of rural teachers in a number of countries are remarkably similar and point to specific types of support important to their teaching practice, according to a keynote speaker at the first International Symposium for Innovation in Rural Education (ISFIRE).

The symposium is taking place at the University of New England this week.

Associate Professor Patricia Hardré from the University of Oklahoma told delegates that experience in nine different countries showed the importance of support such as access to specialised mentoring taking into account the local culture of the areas to which teachers are appointed.

‘This helps teachers realise the role of local culture, and specific issues that may have an impact,’ Dr Hardré said. ‘It helps them to be not only better prepared and more aware of local requirements, but more confident in the teaching approaches they adopt.’

Ongoing professional development was also critical, Dr Hardré said – for good curriculum development and the educational development of students, as well as the personal development of the teacher. And rural teachers typically had much less access to professional development than their non-rurally-based counterparts.

She added that, in working with rural and remote communities, a ’symbiosis between teachers and community’ was also important. ‘Community leaders need to be identified and brought on board to work effectively with teachers in schools,’ Dr Hardré said. ‘This is an education that has to go both ways.’

The symposium also heard that, with a limit being reached on the extent to which small schools can be closed or amalgamated, the challenge for educational authorities and governments was in ‘developing policies that would provide these schools with the support they need to be successful’.

Professor Dennis Mulcahy from Memorial University in Canada spoke on this subject, highlighting a number of policy changes that he said would be needed in the areas of programming, resource provision, teacher education, professional development and distance learning to enable these schools to succeed.

‘Governments and educational authorities must go beyond the mere acceptance of the remaining small schools as a necessary if regrettable reality,’ Professor Mulcahy said. ‘They must embrace and celebrate these small schools as not only viable but as valuable resources for the sustainability and development of the communities they serve.’

Speakers from around the world are attending the four-day event, which offers an international forum for sharing research findings, innovative ideas and evaluated approaches to boost education in the bush. International data confirm that for many countries the learning achievements of students in rural areas are often significantly lower than those achieved by peers in metropolitan areas.

The symposium, which runs until Saturday 14 February, is a joint initiative between the National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR Australia) based at the University of New England, and NURI-Teacher Education Innovation Centre at the Kongju National University in South Korea (which will host the next symposium in 2011). More information is available at: http://www.une.edu.au/simerr/ISFIRE

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Professor Youn-Kee Im, Head of the NURI Teacher Education Innovation Centre at Kongju National University in South Korea (left) and UNE’s Professor John Pegg, Director of SiMERR Australia. It expands to include Associate Professor Patricia Hardré (University of Oklahoma, USA) and Professor Dennis Mulcahy (Memorial University, Canada).

Friday, February 13th, 2009
Article reproduced with permission from UNE’s news list.

The world’s first international symposium on improving and developing equity in rural education will be hosted by Armidale’s University of New England next month.

Keynote speakers from around the world will attend the four day event, which offers an international forum for sharing research findings, innovative ideas and evaluated approaches to boost education in the bush.

“International data confirm that for many countries the learning achievements of students in rural areas are often significantly lower than those achieved by peers in metropolitan areas. The aim of the International Symposium for Innovation in Rural Education (ISFIRE) is to bring together people from around the world who want to help teachers and students in rural, regional and remote locations,” explained ISFIRE convenor, Dr Chris Reading.

ISFIRE is organised around six themes, including: promoting rural policy initiatives; nurturing the rural teacher experience; and addressing special issues in rural education. ISFIRE is a joint initiative between the National Centre for Science, ICT and Mathematics Education in Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR Australia) at the University of New England and NURI-Teacher Education Innovation Center at the Kongju National University (South Korea).

“It is not too late to register to attend. ISFIRE is not just important for teachers, educators and researchers but also for those who work in educational roles in government and private sectors. The symposium provides an exciting opportunity for professional conversation” said Dr Reading. “Keynote speakers from South Korea, Norway, Canada, the United States of America and Australia are taking part. We are hoping to build on successful innovations which have already been trialled and discuss ways to tailor these ideas so they can be implemented around the world” said Dr Reading.

Over the four days (February 11- 14) fifteen different sessions will take place. Each session will consist of three presentations. After each session participants will discuss how the initiatives could be implemented in their own countries.

As part of the conference, participants will also have the chance to experience a taste of Armidale. Tours of Saumarez Homestead and McCrossin’s Mill Museum have been organised, along with visits to New England Regional Art Museum and Petersons Wines.

In 2011 the second ISFIRE symposium will be held in South Korea. It’s hoped the symposium will become a biennial event hosted in different countries.To register or obtain more information, visit http://www.une.edu.au/simerr/ISFIRE
Article reproduced with permission from UNE’s news list.

FOR many over-50s, the word “grammar” conjures memories of stultifying lessons in parsing and analysis, red marks over a composition, the faint odour of unhappiness in classrooms. For younger ones, it suggests the lost knowledge teachers reach for in moments of difficulty with a sentence. Either way, she seems a dated dame. …

Link to the article in the Australian (28 January 2009) by School of Education academic, Assoc Prof Mary Macken-Horarik.
Article reproduced with permission from UNE’s news list.

For the first time, a vital state-wide school science test is being marked in rural areas. More than sixty thousand Year 8 students sat the Essential Secondary Science Assessment (ESSA) in November. The University of New England provided the venue and facilities for one of the four key marking stations in New South Wales.ESSA is used as a diagnostic tool to obtain information for teachers, students and parents about the level of achievement and the needs of individual students in science. It is compulsory for students in Year 8 who attend government schools in NSW to take the exam and it can also be accessed by Catholic and private schools. ESSA relates directly to the state science syllabus for Years 7-10. The results are therefore applicable and relevant to the topics being taught by teachers in the classroom.

UNE’s Professor John Pegg, Director of the National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology, and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SIMERR), and former Deputy Director Associate Professor Debra Panizzon, have been working with the NSW Department of Education since their involvement in the starting of the test back in 2005. Their work, based on a federally funded Australian Research Council grant, provided the structure of the ESSA system. ‘We worked with the state government on the science learning framework; how to generate appropriate items for the tests and then how to mark the extended question component most accurately’ he said.

The test consists of a 16-page colour stimulus magazine and a 20-page booklet containing 75 short answer questions and three extended response tasks. The short answers are electronically scanned while specially trained science teachers mark the extended answers. Responses are scanned in colour into a central computer in Sydney and become available for marking on computers in designated areas. Students are given a score based on the depth and quality of their knowledge and understanding.

In 2007, the test was marked by over 150 teachers in Sydney. ‘This year for the first time, as well as marking being undertaken in Sydney, more than 30 country teachers are assessing ESSA scripts at work stations in Wagga, Bathurst and here at UNE in Armidale. It means local teachers gain valuable experience in marking a state-wide test without having to travel to, or live in, Sydney’ Professor Pegg said.

Sam Virtue, a teacher at Walcha Central, is one of the six markers based at the UNE station. ‘Being in a regional area you sometimes feel you may miss out on certain opportunities, so this experience is fantastic. I can see for myself how the marking process works, and then share my new knowledge with my fellow teachers back at school’ she said.

‘The teachers received specialist training on Saturday before beginning the marking sessions which take place over 5 days from 4pm-9pm. To ensure accuracy, 20 per cent of the tests are double marked and every hour a common script is put through to help senior markers gauge whether the marking team is on track’ said Professor Pegg.

‘Regional marking stations help create a core of science teachers in rural areas who gain experience with sophisticated marking approaches and it helps them to better understand the problems students face in learning science. Over time, this activity will greatly enhance the skill levels of rural science teachers and as a consequence help improve further the learning potential of rural students in science’ he said.
Article reproduced with permission from UNE’s news list.

Dr Ingrid Harrington, lecturer in the School of Education, received the 2008 Minister for Education and Training and Australian College of Educators NSW Branch Quality Teaching Award - a citation from the Department of Education and Training for her outstanding service to education. We congratulate Dr Harrington for her excellent professional qualities that serve as a model for students who will become teachers. Her ability to ground theory in practice is inspirational. She raises students’ awareness of diverse learning needs, and issues of social justice, while demonstrating a wonderful capacity to respond to her own students’ individual needs. Link to UNE’s news for more information about Dr Harrington’s award.

Following the win of a $175,000 grant from the DelPHE arm of the British Council, Associate Professor Tom Maxwell and Dr. Charles Kivunja, have joined forces with colleagues at the University of Zambia (UNZA) and Kyambogo University in Uganda (KYU), to conduct a capacity building research project into the feasibility of using multigrade pedagogy to enhance these countries’ capacity to eradicate poverty and disease through the delivery of education for all. The photo on the left shows the UNE research team visiting the staff and students of one of the Community Schools in Lusaka. The school has an enrolment of 131.

The photo on the right shows Assoc. Prof. Maxwell and Dr. Kivunja after a meeting with the Dean, SOE, UNZA and one of his Senior Lecturers front row, with Mr. Pawan Kucita, Chief Education Officer of UNICEF in Zambia, in the back row. Whereas many schools in Zambia and Uganda run classes with combined grades, few of such schools are staffed by teachers trained in the delivery of multigrade pedagogy. The school, whose two classrooms are shown above, has 131 students ranging in age from 6 to 13. The Principal has no Deputy and runs the school with three teachers. None of the teachers has any teacher training, let alone, multigrade pedagogy. While this situation in not the case for all multigrade schools in Zambia, it is similar to that found in some of the multigrade contexts in Uganda, although Uganda is better resourced, on the whole. We refer to this tripartite partnership between the University of Zambia, Uganda and UNE as the ZAUNE Project.

The aim of the ZAUNE Project is to train lecturers in the Teacher Training Universities at UNZA and KYU, in multigrade pedagogy and practice. Assoc. Prof. Tom Maxwell and Dr. Kivunja negotiated this partnership on their visit to Zambia and Uganda in February this year. The grant was won in August. Funded for three years, this project aims to achieve the following outcomes in the first year:

• A situational analysis of multi-grade teaching in the two countries;
• Creation of a multi-grade Teacher Manual (modules for TTC development) as well as other support materials for multi-grade teachers;
• Selected HEI academics and relevant Ministry officials will be trained in action research and multi-grade teaching;
• Creation of undergraduate courses in multi-grade at HEIs with potential for improvement using action research;
• Possible alignment document of the curriculum for multi-grade conditions.
• Advocacy for multi-grade and
• Relationships building amongst academics in three countries as well as Ministry of Education officials, and UNICEF colleagues.
• Create an awareness in Uganda and Zambia about UNE’s capacity to provide training for PhD and other doctoral degrees for students from Uganda and Zambia and attract interest in these two and neighbouring countries

People interested in finding out more about this project can contact Dr. Charles Kivunja on ckivunja@une.edu.au or A/Prof. Maxwell on tmaxwell@une.edu.au.