I hope to pass on the joy of learning, as was done to me by a number of teachers and professors throughout my education. I also believe that for as many learning ways and styles, there are as many ways to teach a subject and in a classroom setting, a topic should be presented in different ways so that students of different learning styles and backgrounds can all engage with the subject content.
I have a PhD in immunology from the University of Melbourne. I love the sciences and how they allow us to understand our physical reality, but believe there is a better way to teach them, in more context, than I was exposed to at school. After being involved with teaching in a number of fields in Spain and then in Vietnam, I decided to return to Australia to pursue a career in secondary education. My main interest is in teaching chemistry and biology. A basic understanding of both chemistry and biology is extremely useful and feeds into so many areas of life and healthy living.
I have been very happy with my course so far, there seems to be a real shift in the education of educators. Differentiation, inclusive education practices and indigenous studies have been a strong focus on the course, which are areas that I have a passion for. I believe that education is so important and the opportunity to access education and be inspired to learn should be available to everyone!
After I complete my master course, I hope to teach students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. I want them to know that neuroscience research tells us that intelligence is not determined by genetics or disadvantage but by the 'growth mindset' that we have and I want to find ways to engage them in education because educational success is, in fact, a source of personal power that everyone can have.
Due to my level of education, I cannot receive any support from the government and so am finding it quite a challenge to study a full-time masters course while working to support myself. This challenge will become more so in 2019 when I am required to work full time in a school for 2 months as part of the practical component of the course work.