You will hear from presenters who represent the diversity of our educational landscape, both Australian and international, from a broad range of settings and sectors. You will be engaged in interactive sessions, with an emphasis on how your leadership can continue to grow and advance learning and teaching for the future.
We invite you to review the abstract and presenter biographies below prior to attending the conference to assist you in planning the best possible program to suit your needs and interests.
SESSION 1
Monday 30 Sep 2024
12.15 - 13.05
Reimagining Teacher Education (RiTE) Project
Theme: Reimagining our profession
Room: E2
In the context of teacher shortages across the country, the tension between supply and quality of teaching graduates is an increasing issue for the profession. In an innovative partnership, schools from the Diocese of Lismore and Southern Cross University are making shared contributions to addressing this challenge and moving the conversation beyond the boundaries of the usual rhetoric to a more realistic understanding of what it means to be a teacher in contemporary times. The theory-practice divide brought about from the perceived disconnect between on-campus learning and the practicum experience has brought about this project and its aim to bridge that gap for ITE students. The partnership will apply three mechanisms that will be outlined in this presentation. - The ‘Teaching School’, The ‘Resident Teaching Consultant’ role and The ‘Portal Tasks’ The aspiration is a broader professional network where the teaching community has greater agency and contributes more widely to the generation of research into teacher improvement.
Leading the system towards transformative learning for all
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: Hall CD
Nicholas Conigrave is passionate about working with leaders, individually and collectively, to help build their capability to create organisational environments where people can flourish and do their best work. Over the past 25 years, he has worked with leaders across a range of sectors (education, energy, consumer, banking and public), both locally and globally, to lead organisation transformation to adapt to a rapidly changing context.
His passion for working in education began when he co-led the ’Leading Australian Schools‘ program, a collaboration between Hay Group and University of Melbourne, sponsored by the Commonwealth Government between 2006 and 2011. He was a founding member of the Global Education Leaders’ Program and continues to work with education system leaders in various settings to put in place the conditions that enable high-quality teaching and learning. He integrates theory and practice to help leaders learn how to lead on the job.
This presentation is based on a paper by Conigrave and Mackay, published by the Centre for Strategic Education. Following is from the forward to the paper.
This paper is written for educators and their allies who believe there is a better way to develop an education system that promotes excellence and equity, and which supports all our young people to become … confident and creative individuals, successful lifelong learners and active and informed members of the community. … in an increasingly uncertain and frankly dangerous time in the history of the human race. The synthesis of frameworks and ideas put forward in this paper can help system-level education leaders who are leading transformational change to navigate these challenging ‘waters’ effectively.'
The presentation will engage leaders in reframing how they take up their roles in leading system change from their place in the system. It will assist leaders putting robust theories in to practice and making a positive difference to the education of students.
Supporting students to learn and thrive - extending the boundaries of curriculum
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: E3
Imagine curriculum in which the learning of content knowledge serves a higher conceptual purpose. Now think about curriculum in which capabilities are not separate and generic but are integrated into the learning of disciplines.
Next consider whether curriculum can describe essential dispositions and position them as central to learning.
Finally, can all these elements – knowledge, capabilities and dispositions – be valued in a learning standard that describes our aspiration for students, for what all students can know, do and be?
You are imagining the South Australian Curriculum for public education, an innovative framework designed to support teachers enact our promise to ‘nurture, develop and empower all children and young people with the knowledge, skills and capabilities they need to become fulfilled individuals, active compassionate citizens and lifelong learners’.
The SA Curriculum has been adapted from the Australian Curriculum version 9 and draws on emergent educational thinking, contemporary research and innovative curriculum models globally. Published in prototype, the curriculum is being tested and refined in the professional practice of classroom teachers.
School leaders and teachers in SA public schools are being supported to consider how curriculum can serve the development of the whole child, including through contextualising to local priorities. This includes empowering teachers to see their local design of curriculum as crucial to enriching the learner experience.
This presentation will enable leaders to consider how expanding the boundaries of curriculum can support students’ learning and achievement as well as enabling them to thrive and prosper.
The seven elements of a reimagined school
Theme: Reimagining schooling
Room: Riverbank Room 2
What are the common elements of a reimagined school? What are the impacts? What are the challenges? How can leaders make the biggest impact? The workshop will explore these questions as participants gain an insight into some of the most transformative schools in Australia and internationally. Participants will leave with the first draft of an implementation plan for their own context.
Sociometrics & Staff Wellbeing (What Not To Do)
Theme: Reimagining our profession
Room: Riverbank Room 3
Matt is an experienced Educational Leader and Principal both in Melbourne, Cairns and Singapore. He has a passion for lifelong learning which has seen him acquire a Bachelor of Education from Melbourne University, a Master of Education from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma of Psychology from Monash University and a Graduate Certificate in Education (IB, PYP). He has recently completed Mindfulness Based Strategic Awareness Training (MBSAT) at Singapore Management University. Matt is an active member in the broader educational community, from speaking at conferences to authoring eBooks and mentoring teachers. Recent speaking engagements include EduTech Asia, Malaysia and Indonesia, The Singapore Student Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum, ACCE (Melbourne) CSA State Conference (Victoria), Digicon and PESA (Melbourne). He has experience working with multiple curriculum models and has spent time developing national curriculum resources for Australian schools as well as being a consultant regarding 21st-century pedagogy across the state of Victoria. Matt is also a pedagogical consultant working closely with schools in South-East Asia to embed well-being practices into school communities and ecosystems
This workshop aims to provoke participants into rethinking and reframing aspects of staff wellbeing programs and engaging participants to co-design new interventions that are evidence based and context appropriate. The workshop aims to delve into the research behind sociometrics and how small group behaviours can impact an individual's subject wellbeing in the workplace. The workshop then explores other key wellbeing factors, such as the impact of leadership, the effect of responsiveness and the role of 'nourishment' as key drivers in subjective wellbeing in leaders and in school communities. The workshop concludes with an opportunity for participants to engage in a design thinking sprint to develop their own micro interventions to trial in their schools.
Reflections on Leadership: Advancing Self-Regulated Learning at Radford College
Theme: Reimagining our future planet
Room: Riverbank Room 4
Self-regulated learning (SRL) empowers students to independently set goals, devise strategies, and assess their learning outcomes—skills crucial for the classroom of the future. This session will delve into a transformative initiative at Radford College, led by Dr. Shyam Barr and Mrs Louise Wallace-Richards, which engaged educators in advanced professional learning and a shift in school structures to embed SRL in teaching practices. Using motivational, cognitive, and metacognitive strategies, the project showcased how leadership is critical to the success of school improvement initiatives about SRL. We will discuss the pivotal role of leaders in orchestrating this change, share strategic insights from the implementation, and offer practical approaches for other leaders aiming to champion SRL in their institutions.
SESSION 2
Monday 30 Sep 2024
14.05 - 14.55
Professional Standards for Middle Leaders and Induction for New Leaders
Theme: Reimagining our profession
Room: E2
AITSL has developed new Professional Standards for Middle Leaders in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Education. The new Middle Leader Standards are designed to highlight the key leadership capabilities of middle leaders, providing the essential knowledge, skills and dispositions needed for their role in schools. In this session, AITSL will provide an overview of the Middle Leader Standards, how they were developed and the underpinning research, as well as practical tips on how they can be used in schools and systems to develop the capabilities of current and aspiring middle leaders. The session will also unpack the national induction guidelines for new school leaders, illustrating why induction matters and outlining the conditions and focus areas for an effective leadership induction. Please note: Approval for national adoption of the standards has not yet been sought from the Education Ministers. Currently, Queensland is the first state to adopt the Middle Leader Standards.
Reimagining Educational Leadership Through History and Hope
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: Hall CD
Lauren Stephenson is a Professor of Learning, Teaching, Educational Leadership, Management and Administration (ELMA) with over 35 years in international leadership, teaching, learning and assessment in Pre K-16 educational contexts. Lauren teaches and conducts research related to ethical and sustainable leadership for a more socially just world. She has taught and published in the fields of intercultural competence, international education, educational leadership, EALD/TESOL, English language and literacy, teacher education, qualitative research methods, and workplace, service and professional learning. She also has over 30 years of international experience in a range of educational leadership roles including positions as Dean, Head, Chair, Deputy Head, National Director and National Coordinator. Lauren has an extensive record of international publications, regularly speaks at global conferences and has given presentations and implemented professional learning programs in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Mexico, the Middle East and the US.
Globally, educators encounter evidence of prejudice and discrimination; students experience exclusion, marginalisation, and sometimes bullying and violence; and society as a whole is often divided and polarised. To deconstruct unacceptable knowledge frameworks, it is essential to identify and then understand them, their history, and their trajectory. This is particularly salient in a country replete with evidence of the negative impact of colonisation and at a conference whose theme involves imagining a “future beyond boundaries.”
A collaboration from members of CCEAM proposes to engage attendees of ACEL in a conversation session that aims to help school leaders do 3 things:
1) understand and combat some of the origins of the current hate, prejudice, and discrimination that exists in society and in our schools,
2) build a sense of hope, empowerment, and agency to move forward, and
3) work collectively toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 of “ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education and life-long learning opportunities for all.”
Learner Agency – innovative approaches in curriculum and assessment design to meet the needs of students’ diverse backgrounds and future pathways
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: Riverbank Room 2
Over the past three years the SACE Board has been testing different approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, and discovered the most impactful strategies from their experiences in working with leaders, teachers, and students. The SACE Board has used the emergent learning to launch a program of subject renewal that uses student agency as the key driver for curriculum and assessment reform.
Hassan will share the challenges and enablers they faced when working across a system to intentionally design student agency into senior secondary curriculum and assessment, and inspire participants to consider the professional, pedagogical and cultural conditions required to cultivate the conditions for co-agency in their school or system.
The session will provide a provocation for leaders to reframe the purpose of senior secondary education and evaluate whether the conditions we cultivate align to this purpose or perpetuate a narrow measurement of success.
Leading from every angle: connecting passion and purpose
Theme: Reimagining our profession
Room: Riverbank Room 3
With more than 20 years of experience in Education and Business management, Ben works with schools and organisations to amplify their connection to passion and purpose harnessing the power of human influence at the core of everything they do. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Education Economy and delivers high energy keynotes and presentations that challenge and inspire audiences to leverage their focus on what matters most in work and life. Ben started his career as a classroom teacher across Primary and Secondary school settings, was a former Deputy Principal and worked at a systems level in policy and implementation, to support school leaders to navigate the uncertainties of change and human behaviour. Ben’s leadership career spans government, corporate and non-profit sector organisations with extensive experience in strategic consultancy, business development, commercialisation, program and project management, policy implementation, evaluation, and professional services. Ben gets to know people and their stories and is passionate about advocating for change and refined practice. He brings both a systems perspective and frontline experience, which allows him to take a balanced approach to improving organisational efficiency, workforce productivity and employee quality of life.
In the dynamic landscape of educational leadership, the heart of transformative change often beats within the diverse roles and perspectives across the educational community. ‘Leading from Every Angle: Connecting Passion and Purpose’ explores the profound impact of bridging personal passion with a clear sense of purpose in driving organisational excellence. Leaders at all levels, from educators leading from the classroom to formal middle and school leaders, play a vital role in shaping the culture, fostering innovation, and driving meaningful change within their teams and schools. This session delves into the symbiotic relationship between passion and purpose, illuminating how their alignment empowers leaders to create the preconditions for innovation, elevate the status of educational leadership, and celebrate meaningful change. This session navigates the nuances of leadership, uncovering strategies to cultivate authenticity, resilience, and vision. Attendees will gain practical insights into leveraging their unique strengths, igniting collective enthusiasm, and fostering a culture of collaboration and growth.
Enhancing Instructional Excellence: The Evolution and Impact of AISWA's High-Impact Practices Program
Theme: Reimagining our future planet
Room: Riverbank Room 4
Quality teaching has been consistently identified as the most significant school-based influence on student achievement. Establishing a shared understanding of quality practice is vital to enhancing teachers’ instructional capability and improving student outcomes. While excellence varies across classrooms, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia (AISWA)’s High-Impact Practices (HIPs) professional learning program has consolidated a series of instructional practices that are applicable across diverse contexts, providing educators of all levels and subjects with evidence-informed strategies and the space to think deeply about their current practices and refine their approach. This presentation will share the development and evolution of AISWA’s HIPs program, highlighting its innovative in-situ and collaborative model of professional learning. We will draw on evidence of impact through preliminary case study findings from our collaborative research partnership with the Australian Educational Research Organisation (AERO). Additionally, we will spotlight elements identified by AISWA consultants which contribute to the efficacy of the professional learning facilitated through the program. The session will involve interactive discussions, small group activities, and practical demonstrations. Participants will be encouraged to reflect upon their contexts and share their insights, fostering a collaborative and dynamic learning experience. Case studies will illustrate the impact of HIPs on teaching practices and student outcomes, showcasing how reimagined educational practices can lead to significant improvements.
Leading Sustained Improvement in Schools
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: E3
Steven will address three key elements:
1. The research, noting the gap that Steven has identified in his book The Art of Skimming Stones, supported with examples and real narratives from Steven's extensive school leadership experience.
2. What is your leadership story of origin? This section will focus on self. Leaders have an opportunity to reflect on their experiences (both good and challenging), personal learning and life examples of the beliefs and values that we all have embedded in our decisions and strategy every day as leaders. The capabilities we lean on when we are tired, stressed or overwhelmed. Also acknowledging that these defaults can have a 'dark side' if implemented at inappropriate times.
3. We are all hard to lead – Steven will work with the audience on why we don't need to invest a lot of intentional energy into certain staff and also why we need to re-adjust our often negative view of the hard to lead staff.
SESSION 3
Tuesday 1 Oct 2024
13.50 - 14.40
Redefining Strategic Planning: Leveraging Collective Efficacy for Systemic Improvement
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: E2
Anthony Boys has worked in and led coeducational and single sex boys’ schools, teaching Mathematics, Science and Religion. He has worked in curriculum design and student engagement projects in schools and external educational agencies. He has been a Subject Coordinator, Curriculum Leader, Pastoral Care Coordinator, Assistant Principal and Principal. He began Principal leadership in 2016 and became the founding principal of Marist Catholic College (K-12) in 2021 (current) where he led the amalgamation of two existing schools and the transition to (secondary) coeducation. Anthony is a current Menzies Fellows as part of the Menzies School Leadership Incubator. He has had appointments as sessional lecturer and tutor in the Faculties of Education and Mathematics at Southern Cross University and the Australian Catholic University. Anthony’s work, most acutely in his current position, has seen him focus on resourcing and research to delve into the nature of purpose, culture and mission. In positioning impactful, traditional and modern educational approaches, incorporating sociological and behavioural patterns, and strategic planning instruments, his goal is to positively impact student learning. His professional passion is in the areas of student learning growth and collective teacher efficacy, creating agile and coherent strategic processes which align organisational purpose, values, and capital. Anthony’s message of ‘we learn; together’, is the modus he seeks to inspire and empower a learning community harnessing the potential collective efficacy.
In this workshop, we delve into the essence of strategic planning in schools, exploring its complexities and uncovering more effective approaches that are adaptive to today’s contemporary educational landscape. Drawing insights from Australia wide school reviews, the Menzies School Leadership Incubator, and an example of how strategic planning is being approached in a large K-12 Catholic school in NSW, we examine the fundamental building blocks employed by leadership teams and educational systems. Moreover, we will reimagine the leadership required to orchestrate and execute strategic plans proposing that a culture of trust and collaboration is essential for fostering professional agency and driving positive change. By re-envisioning strategic planning practices, we aim to foster collective efficacy, align and promote collaborative effort, and enhance coherence. Through collaborative exploration, we will uncover actionable insights to embed collective efficacy into strategic frameworks, optimising professional learning efforts and school-wide learning outcomes.
Leadership Best Practice: The Nomad’s Journey
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: Riverbank Room 2
Dr Peggy Burrows is an experienced educator and currently leads Haeata Community Campus, a large modern learning environment located in East Christchurch in New Zealand. She holds a PhD from the University of Canterbury. Peggy was appointed as a Justice of the Peace at age 33 and served on the bench in the District Court as a member of the Deportation Review Tribunal for a decade. For over thirty years Peggy has been the Business Manager for Burrows Harness Racing Stables a family business owned in partnership with her husband, public trainer Donald Burrows. Peggy is an Associate with AMINZ, and has over three decades of mediation, governance and leadership experience at senior levels in Education, Law, Conservation and Animal Welfare. Peggy brings a professional clarity to her work in business, education, disputes resolution, mediation, advocacy and adjudication. Most importantly Peggy puts people at the centre of everything she does.
As an educational leader in Aotearoa/New Zealand I am interested in the impact leadership has on the educational outcomes of the students we teach. My PhD research explored the impact of colonisation on indigenous Māori students within the Aotearoa/New Zealand education system and explored Kaupapa Māori principles of leadership as an alternative to Western-centric approaches in mitigating the disparities that exist and have existed for Māori learners for over 100 years. Having completed my PhD in 2018 I made the decision to return to principalship to test my theories and interrogate my leadership practice. I had described myself as a Research Nomad and decided I wanted to continue my learning journey in the “real world of praxis.” I wanted to explore the new education landscape that had emerged from my work and put my theories around kaupapa Māori principles of leadership into practice and then interrogate my findings.
Making purpose visible – SA Curriculum for languages
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: Riverbank Room 3
Why learn languages?
Driving educators, students and families in successful learning relationships is a shared understanding of the learning purpose - for now in the classroom, for beyond in the community, and for the future in life.
The South Australian Curriculum for public education goes to the heart of each learning area in making explicit the essential dispositions, capabilities and knowledge that nurture the wellbeing, agency and holistic growth of every learner.
For Languages, the human endeavour of language learning is being lifted, challenging traditional notions of why and how languages are learned. The implied shifts in thinking and practice for leaders and teachers in their local contexts present an opportunity to change the profile of languages in our schools and improve the language learning experience of all students.
This workshop provides opportunity for participants to engage with and respond to the languages learning area prototype, as an illustration of the South Australian Curriculum testing and refinement process. By reflecting on the place of language education in their own sites, school leaders will be encouraged to reconsider the purpose and pedagogies of language learning, through discussion with peers.
In a broader sense, by seeing their own learners through the new SA curriculum framework, participants will be challenged to consider: How does curriculum serve its higher purpose in my context? What needs to change?
Enhancing Wellbeing through Student-Staff Relationships
Theme: Reimagining schooling
Room: Riverbank Room 4
Shelley Forbes is an educational leader based in Perth, Western Australia, with over 30 years of experience in teaching and school leadership. Originating from Kalgoorlie, on the land of the Wongatha people, she has held leadership roles across early years, primary, secondary, and tertiary education.
As the Network Principal of Alta-1, a Curriculum and Reengagement in Education (CaRE) school (Special Assistant School) in Western Australia, Shelley focuses on alternative education programs for disengaged students. Her leadership emphasises a focus on continuous improvement within trauma-informed education, providing opportunities for vulnerable youth to succeed.
Shelley advocates for innovative and flexible learning environments tailored to individual needs, promoting transformative learning. She is committed to environmental sustainability in education, aiming to inspire both students and educators.
In this presentation we emphasise the critical importance of developing and nurturing strong student-staff relationships as fundamental to boosting student well-being and academic achievement. By reimagining education, we aim to demonstrate how innovative approaches to these relationships can create secure, supportive environments that are pivotal for optimal learning conditions. Our approach integrates best practices in wellbeing and trauma-informed care, based on findings from renowned researchers such as Professor Donna Cross and Dr Tom Brunzell. Central to our discussion is the impactful role these relationships play in establishing a supportive environment that fosters student engagement and success, particularly for those from trauma-impacted backgrounds. The session will outline actionable, evidence-based strategies for building effective communication, setting appropriate boundaries, and creating responsive educational practices. These strategies ensure students feel valued and understood, which is essential for their emotional and educational growth. Attendees of this presentation will gain an understanding of the dynamic nuances of student-staff relationships and acquire skills to implement these practices within their schools.
Cultural Intelligence in a globally connected world
Theme: Reimagining our future planet
Room: Hall CD
Tammy Baart – Founder of Blak Ignited – is a proud Dharug woman of the Boorooberongal clan who educates, advocates, and translates across two worlds. Utilising over two decades of international executive leadership experience and through honouring culture – Indigenous ways of being, thinking and doing – Tammy coaches, mentors and collaborates across education and advocacy spaces to grow individuals through leadership and reconciliAction. Tammy’s leadership in integrating and bridging two worlds has seen her recognised nationally and internationally with her most recent achievements being the winner of the 2023 ACEL QLD Branch Indigenous Leadership award and selected by Indigi-X, a global Indigenous advisory group. Tammy is also reawakening her traditional language, been invited to speak internationally on language revitalisation as well as working with Inuit, the Indigenous peoples of Nunavut, Canada co-designing a custom Indigenous Leadership Development program. Walking in two worlds, Tammy weaves western knowledge and understanding to amplify the valuable contributions as well as opportunities to embrace and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through cultural awareness, capability and competence development.
As a Global Indigenous Leadership and Talent Development consultant, Tammy has experienced what it’s like to be an Ally working with International Indigenous communities. Cultural Intelligence in a globally connected world provides an insider’s knowledge on how to develop better relationships with Indigenous people. This session takes a practical approach to Cultural Intelligence and understanding your role and responsibilities as an Ally; providing the rules of the game and strategies to navigate the space. It's time to imagine a different future to the narratives previous written. It's time educators build confidence and competence in Cultural Intelligence. Let’s walk together to create a future we can be proud of.
Reimagining Coaching to Foster Educator Co-agency
Theme: Reimagining our profession
Room: E3
Vania is an experienced national and international consultant providing leadership, facilitation and coaching for education systems, individual schools and school leaders. As the Director of CT-Ed, she supports educators in implementing innovative and sustainable practices to improve student outcomes. Throughout her professional journey, Vania has held diverse roles across Australia and internationally, including executive director, school principal, teacher, and instructional coach. She is devoted to improving the learning lives of young people and adult learners, firmly believing that education is the key to unlocking endless possibilities.
Coaching has long been part of school environments, yet its full potential is often hindered by barriers such as time constraints and a lack of impact on instructional quality and student learning. But what if there was a better way? Imagine integrating coaching into daily routines, empowering educator co-agency to think critically about their impact on student learning, make informed decisions, and proactively guide their actions. This approach enhances peer learning and professional growth. In this session, we’ll share how we’ve reimagined coaching, moving away from rigid structures and time-consuming processes. We’ll highlight the importance of real-time collegial learning and development. With our Best Lesson Instructional Model and real-time coaching, we’re witnessing a transformation in agentic learning for educators and students. Our goal? To create a nurturing environment where every conversation becomes a stepping stone towards excellence in teaching and better learning for our students. Join us to discover more and leave with ideas to adapt in your own context.
SESSION 4
Wednesday 2 Oct 2024
10.05 - 10.55
Reimagining Principal Preparation
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: E2
How do we equip the next generation of leaders to navigate the uncertainties of the future? To find out, we turned to the graduates from the last 10 years of The AIS Leadership Centre’s National Flagship Program. Their insights, gained from a questionnaire and interviews, form the foundation of our paper, Future Impact: The Evolution of Principal Preparation Programs. Reimagining leadership development needs to be based on voices from authentic experience. This paper discusses what these leaders valued most, what challenged them, and what they envision for future leadership development. The findings reveal how the role of principalship has changed and emphasise how necessary it is for principal development to adapt accordingly.
Leading implementation of evidence-based practices in schools: what we’re learning
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: Hall CD
Evidence-based practices provide schools with the knowledge of ‘what’ is most likely to work to improve outcomes for their students. But even the most well-defined practices can fail to have impact if implementation isn’t intentional. In this presentation, AERO will share a deliberate and structured approach to implementing evidence-based practices that has been developed specifically for schools from key concepts of implementation science. AERO will discuss how we are currently providing direct support to a small number of schools through the ‘learning partner project’ to develop leaders’ knowledge and capability in taking a deliberate and structured approach to implementing evidence-based practices in their settings. Participants will gain insights into what we are learning from this work and hear practical examples of leading school-wide implementation and practice change, with opportunities to discuss implementation components and their practical application.
Integrating Reggio Emilia and Neuroscience in Educational Leadership
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: Riverbank ROom 2
Lili-Ann Kriegler (B.A. Hons, H. Dip. Ed, M.Ed.) is a Melbourne-based education consultant. Her specialisations are early childhood education (birth-9 years), leadership, and optimising human thinking and cognition. Lili-Ann brings a wealth of experience from her thirty years in education, including a decade as the Early Learning Director of a co-educational centre at a private girls' school. She had a twelve-year tenure as an education consultant at Independent Schools Victoria. She currently runs her consultancy, Kriegler Education, and is a senior trainer with the Feuerstein Institute, focusing on enhancing thinking skills for students of all ages. Lili-Ann is an award-winning author of Edu-Chameleon - Leverage 7 Dynamic Learning Zones to Enhance Children's Concept-Based Understanding. Her experience, including three study tours to Reggio Emilia and her dedication to advocating for children, parents, and families, is a testament to her belief in education as a positive transformative force for humanity.
This presentation reimagines education by exploring innovative approaches to leading pedagogy and curriculum development using the Reggio Emilia Approach and neuroscience findings to optimise learning for children aged 3-9. By examining how the principles of Reggio Emilia align with neuroscience, the presenter highlights effective strategies that can transform educational outcomes. Selected principles of the Reggio Emilia Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centres are explored, revealing their connection to neuroscience and successful learning. Topics cover Reggio Emilia principles such as vision, relationships, methodology, and assessment within educational settings. The session will feature the presentation of one demonstrative case study, offering practical insights for improvement and change in educational settings. Educators will be prompted to reflect on their own methodology and teaching practices, guided by reflective questions and prompts.
Showcasing student capabilities - Activating an ecosystem to reframe student success
Theme: Reimagining schooling
Room: Riverbank Room 3
Virginia is a highly experienced educator who is passionate about diversity, global perspectives, international education, and working with schools and young people to improve educational systems and student outcomes. Her experience in education spans thirty years across multiple countries in various academic roles in senior secondary education, international programs, and managing curriculum transformation. Virginia is leading the SACE Board’s innovative project of developing and evidencing the capabilities of young people and showcased through a Learner Profile. The program is building connections between education, business, industry, and tertiary providers to support young people to access a range of future pathways.
South Australia has been working as an educational ecosystem with shared vision and impact. The SACE Board has worked as a node in the system to drive awareness and desire to activate student agency and fairly and formally recognise more of what young people know and can do. A complexity-aware approach has been used, which acknowledges that transformational change cannot occur in isolation. Hence, they have built a coalition made up of schools, teacher and students, tertiary institutions, business and industry, national experts and first movers.
The session will inspire educators at all levels to recognise that there are many individuals, schools and organisations that share the same passion and vison for education and that the complexity of the challenge should not deter us form focussing on a shared purpose and vision. What SACE has found over the last three years of progress has been a diverse group of stakeholders activating themselves as enablers for a more holistic celebration of student achievement and better matching to post-school pathways.
The session will provide support for education leaders to consider their influence to create new partnerships and shape the education ecosystem beyond their own/local leadership context.
I think, therefore I teach online
Theme: Reimagining educational leadership
Room: Riverbank Room 4
Covid forced many teachers into a position where they were teaching online. Many replicated face to face (f2f) online resulting in a tendency to dismiss online teaching as a suitable alternative to f2f for school education. However, lessons from online developments in Higher Education show us that online teaching requires a different pedagogic approach, a different set of resources, a different classroom/platform, a different skillset and the teacher plays a different role. With the increase in students opting out of f2f mainstream provisions (school refusers/can't), the need for online teaching for this cohort is increasing and could have widespread implications for the teaching profession. This presentation combines the experiences of two teachers; one who was pivotal in the development of online teaching in Higher Education, and one who has moved to a fully online teaching role nearly two years ago. The presentation questions the future of the profession, areas for professional development, and the provision of schooling overall.
Reimagining workload and work intensity in schools: A transformative case
Theme: Reimagining our profession
Room: E3
Sabine is a highly respected educational leader with extensive experience in education, banking and the public service in Australia and the UK. She is passionate about creating learning communities grounded in a culture of excellence and belonging, believing in the transformative power of education for every student.
Sabine serves as Deputy Principal at Redlands, responsible for student and staff wellbeing, risk and compliance, supporting the Principal and Executive team. Her career includes leadership roles at Haileybury and Carey Baptist Grammar School, where she led school improvement and strategic projects. She has significant experience in coaching and mentoring aspiring leaders.
A lifelong learner and teacher, Sabine continues to teach Year 7 Mathematics, a subject she loves. She holds a Master of Education (Educational Leadership and Management) from The University of Melbourne, a first-class honours degree in Mathematics from Monash University, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Rebecca is a workforce strategy and organisation design and development specialist curious about all things people and systems. With over two decades’ experience, Rebecca works alongside leaders to build capability and capacity at individual, team, and organisational levels to equip and empower them to adapt and thrive in our ever-changing environment. Rebecca draws from deep experience across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors and has led significant workforce transformation projects across a diverse range of industries including education, health and research, resources, professional sport, and technology. Her extensive experience in workforce strategy, organisation design, capability development, facilitation and coaching provides school systems and schools the confidence, insight, and tools needed to tackle complex challenges. Rebecca is an experienced and credentialed coach and holds a Master of Human Resource Management.
Responding to the current challenges of work volume, work intensity, and staff wellbeing, we undertook a comprehensive project to reimagine ways of working. In this presentation, we share a solution-oriented approach to the pressing educational problem of reviewing staff workload in a P12 independent co-educational school. Highlighting stakeholder voices from across our school community, we engaged in participatory solution-generation techniques. This collaborative work of thinking together generated a high volume of quality solutions and opportunities focused on how work and ways of working can be redesigned to improve the experience and sustainability of work. The presentation gives insight into: + key workload issues and themes + connections to existing literature + engagement processes and frameworks used to facilitate 'bottom-up' listening from staff, parents, and students and collaborative solution generation in a school setting + examples of the solutions being actioned to improve the experience of work for teachers, leaders, and education professional and operational staff in a P-12 setting.