2021 Research Conversations: Christian EducationSaturday 15 May, 8am - 1pm ONLINE

Educational Research

2

Key Times

Time Event

8.00am Log in and registration

8:30am Conference commences

8:40am Devotion

8:50am Breakout session 1 – Presentations with Q&A

9:20am Research Conversation 1

9:50am Keynote speaker: Dr David I Smith

10:50am Coffee break – 10 minutes

11.00am Keynote Conversations

11.20am Breakout session 2 – Presentations with Q&A

11:50am Research Conversation 2

12:10pm Breakout session 3 – Presentations with Q&A

12:40pm Research Conversation 3

1:00pm Conference thank you and farewell

1:10pm Close

Program

3

Time Event Presenter

8.00am Log in and registration

Conference commences

8.30am Welcome

Overview of the morning’s proceedings and instructions about how breakout groups will work.

Dr Kaye Chalwell and Mrs Kirsten Macaulay

St Andrew’s

Cathedral School

8.40am Devotion Rev Craig Tubman Chaplain

St Andrew’s

Cathedral School

8.50am Conversation groups: introductions

Breakout session 1 – Presentations with Q&A

8:50am Group 1: implementing teaching Christianly seamlessly and authentically

This session is designed to assist staff to implement Teaching Christianly seamlessly and authentically as it arises relevantly and appropriately through the curriculum. In this session we will be exploring how to apply Christian perspectives to content and pedagogy, and considering how to avoid contrived insertions which are irrelevant to the lesson and irritating to students.

Dr John Collier

Head of St Andrew’s

Cathedral School,

Sydney

8:50am Group 2: Formative aspects of classroom prayer

Common rituals, like prayer in a Christian school, have formational power. While schools and teachers recognise the importance of prayer, the older students become, the more problematic prayer can become. This leads to questions like: Are students required to listen to prayers or are they required to pray themselves? How are students involved in classroom prayer? How do teachers consider the development of students in moments of prayer within the classroom? In this session, I will present findings from new research completed in a Christian school and provide an overview of the current theories in this relatively new field.

Mr Frans Nieuwenhuyzen

Teacher of Music,

Arts&Culture and

project leader

‘Christian Formation’

Calvijn College,

Netherlands

Program

4

Time Event Presenter

8:50am Group 3: Fostering student engagement in Christian Studies

The Barker Christian Studies team have developed a way of approaching the teaching of Christian Studies which aims to help students get on board with the Christian faith. The session will reflect on our approach in the light of recent educational research in ‘Better Learning: Trajectories for Educators in Christian Schools’ and a recent survey we conducted with our Year 12 students. It will consider what appears to be working well and also what could be done better in light of the research and feedback we have received.

Mr Tom Anderson

Head of Christian Studies, Barker College, Sydney

Group 4: The untended garden: reflections on the development of a Christian philosophy of learning and awhole-school teaching and learning framework within a co-educational, international Christian school setting

This presentation discusses how a co-educational, international Christian school came to have both a Christian philosophy of learning that reflected its international and intercultural environment and a whole-school teaching and learning framework. I explore both the Biblical foundations that sit at the centre of the school’s philosophy of learning, and the motivations for establishing the teaching and learning framework. I will talk about how the successful implementation of a teaching and learning framework is also determined by the extent to which coherence, capacity and professional capital have been encouraged and maintained.

Dr Timothy Scott

History teacher,

Barker College

Group 5: Service: Engaging the whole heart and mind

Delivered well, service learning allows students to ask the big existential questions of theology, philosophy, ethics and humanity. This is what makes service learning meaningful, rather than it becoming a simple add-on. Over the last few years, I have been conducting action-research with students in years 7-10 looking at the development of their reflective skills, initiative and drive when they engage with service learning. This session unpacks some of the findings and suggests ways forward for those who are interested in implementing service learning in the classroom or the wider school community.

Mrs Lizzie Skipsey

Service Learning

Coordinator (7-12),

St Andrew’s Cathedral

School

Program

5

Time Event Presenter

8:50am Group 6: Becoming a servant practitioner: Opening the toolbox on servant leadership

In this session I will be drawing from my current PhD research (University Notre Dame: The Application of Servant Leadership in an Anglican Faith School School) to consider: the characteristics of servant leadership, identifying and applying characteristics of Servant Leadership, equipping servant leadership, and becoming a servant leader. I will also discuss how we can transfer this framework into classroom practice.

Rev Keith Peterson

Deputy Headmaster:

Head of Junior

School Arndell

Anglican College,

Sydney

Group 7: Emotionally healthy community developed through restorative circles in the classroom

Leaders in schools are responsible for communal health, both spiritual and mental. This session describes how 2 teachers used restorative practices, particularly community-building circles, in a difficult class in a UK school. The key discovery of this work is that paying attention to what lies between children (and adults) is as important as paying attention to what lies within them. When we want to create a spiritually healthy community in a class or a school, this approach has a lot of traction.

Dr Huw Humphreys

Lecturer in

Education, University

of East London

Research Conversation 1

9:20am You will now break into your Conversation Group. A selection of questions will be posed to your group for further discussion.

Conversation Groups

9:50am Keynote Speaker

Researching Christian School practices: lessons from an investigation of technological change

What are some of the key challenges that arise when we try to research the Christian dimension of education? How do we connect empirical data with faith commitments and their effects in the classroom? What kinds of limitations arise from our research methods, and what can they help us to see about faith in the classroom that would otherwise have remained hidden from us? This presentation will draw from a large, mixed-methods research project that focused on how digital technology was changing Christian schools for students, teachers, administrators, and parents. It will present some of the project’s findings and focus on some of the challenges that arose in terms of research design and how we were able to meet them by bringing together multiple research methods to illuminate the day to day life of Christian schools.

Dr David I Smith

Professor of

Education, Calvin

University, USA

5

Program

6

Time Event Presenter

10:50am Coffee break – 10 minutes

11:00am Keynote Conversations

You will now break into your Conversation Group again. A selection of questions will be posed to your group for further discussion.

Conversation Groups

Breakout session 2 – Presentations with Q&A

11:20am Group 1: A Christian teaching and learning framework

In this presentation I examine the research on what good teaching looks like and considers how our Christian faith and the Bible influences teaching and learning in the classroom. I present a research and biblically based model for effective Christian teaching practices that are common across all classrooms, providing teachers guidance and autonomy for selecting the best teaching strategies for their students. The model has been developed over the past year at Broughton Anglican College and is currently in final draft form – feedback and discussion is most welcome!

Dr Rahmi Jackson

Director of Teaching

(P-12), Broughton

Anglican College,

Sydney

Group 2: Should teachers produce high grades or good people? Designing school for character growth

Is the goal of education to produce the maximum possible NAPLAN or ATAR score or to build personal and social capabilities for flourishing in life? Are these competing priorities or can they complement and reinforce each other? Scots has begun a journey towards embedding Christian character development in the language and priorities of all aspects of school life. This workshop explores our strategy at Scots for enculturating character, and the challenges in measuring character development at student, cohort and school levels.

Mr Jeff Mann

Coordinator of

Student Experience,

The Scots College,

Sydney

Dr Hugh Chilton

Director of Research and Professional Learning, Scots College

Program

7

Time Event Presenter

11:20am Group 3: School ethos and its impact on faith development

In this presentation I examine the manner in which schools express their ethos in a faith-based context. I will examine the different approaches and attitudes leadership and teaching staff have towards Christianity and how these are expressed through a school’s structures. I will then show how these practices help develop the faith of students and shape their decision making in their lives beyond school.

Mr Ashley Sadler

Leader of Learning:

English/Religion,

St Brigid’s

Catholic College,

Lake Munmorah

Group 4: The challenge of nurturing dependence and attachment within a counter-culture demanding us to develop independent, autonomous learners

What are the biblical exemplars that should guide our teaching practice? How can we reflect on our practice to improve teaching and learning as shaped by an authentically Christian premise? What are we guiding our students toward? How? Why? Together we will consider the complexity of teaching and learning, particularly through the lens of Christian Education with the aim of simplifying our mission. We will reflect upon the capabilities and dispositions that we want to encourage in ourselves, as Christian educators, and within each of our students.

Mrs Rhonda Robson

Deputy Head of

School (Primary),

St Andrew’s Cathedral

School, Sydney

Group 5: The relevance of the Bible to the study of computing

How do you engage students in discussing biblical wisdom in the computing classroom or even answer the argument that the bible has nothing to say on computing? We will consider some interesting bible passages and how they relate to modern thought about privacy, security and the ethics of software development.

Mrs Amanda Hogan

Technology and

Applied Studies

(Computing) Teacher,

St Andrew’s Cathedral

School, Sydney.

Group 6: The end of Christian instruction?

What kinds of goals or outcomes can we realistically set for programs of Christian Instruction/Biblical Studies in a culture that prioritises the personal spiritual quest? Is there a better option than dogmatic assertion or self-referential authenticity? The seminar will reflect on the content and processes of Christian formation that are at home in contemporary expressivist culture.

Rev Dr Graham Stanton

College lecturer,

Ridley College,

Victoria

Program

8

Time Event Presenter

11:20am Group 7: Building the back-story – tracing the Maker in the creative space

I’m fascinated by the way the creative processes of Visual Arts are interwoven with human life, experience and meaning. Creative processes are evident within history, science, maths, culture, politics, geography, architecture, literature. It’s in this teaching space that I’m interested in developing a questioning vocabulary that builds a lens for students to see the interconnectedness of God the Maker and the Re-Maker.

Mrs Miriam Daly

Visual Arts Integrator,

Christian Education

Coordinator, St

Andrew’s Cathedral

School, Sydney

Research Conversation 2

11:50am You will now break into your Conversation Group again. A selection of questions will be posed to your group for further discussion.

Conversation Groups

Breakout session 3 – Presentations with Q&A

12:10pm Group 1: strengthening pedagogy through Christian integration

Many Christian teachers are attracted to the idea of Christian Integration, but the time and effort needed to do it well can be a genuine roadblock. Christian Integration can quickly fall to the bottom of a long-list of lesson planning priorities. This session is intended to challenge Christian teachers to have confidence that authentic Christian Integration is consistent with effective pedagogy and can enhance student learning outcomes, quite aside from opportunities for evangelism.

Mr Michael Neate

Head of Humanities,

St Andrew’s Cathedral

School, Sydney

Group 2: Developing a Christian pedagogy for music education

Having a Christian Pedagogy for Music Education gives a fabulous opportunity to allow students to see the world from a Christ-centred perspective. So much of musicianship models Christian values - it is intrinsically relational and often works best when the needs of others are put first. Yet the image of the musician in popular culture is one where the individual is elevated above all others. This session will examine how Christian education needs to present the musician, and help students deal with the idea of performing while being humble. It will deal with helping students to respond to the world from a Christ-centred perspective with music as the stimulus.

Mrs Debra Batley

Music teacher,

Carinya Christian

School, New England,

NSW

Program

9

Time Event Presenter

12:10pm Group 3: Teaching kids how to live the good life: flourishing & faith in Christian School Wellbeing Programs.

The teaching of wellbeing or social & emotional learning (SEL) skills has been a significant influence in Australian schooling in the past decade. The Positive Education movement is shaping conversations about the curriculum and content yet as Christian educators how do we engage with this material which is the foundation of most wellbeing lessons?

In this session I will explore ways in which we can shape our delivery of wellbeing lessons in order to develop within students a desire to seek after the Gospel and ‘the good life’.

Mrs Bronwyn Wake

Junior School

Wellbeing

coordinator and

school psychologist,

St Andrew’s Cathedral

School, Sydney

Group 4: Re-imagining initial teacher training for Christian education: Teaching Schools Alliance Sydney

The Teaching Schools Alliance Sydney (TSAS) was formed in 2019 by five leading Sydney schools in response to the need for classroom-ready Christian teachers in Christian schools. TSAS partners with Alphacrucis College to offer contextually responsive undergraduate and postgraduate pathways into the classroom. Trainees are employed one day a week by a school from the start of their degree, are mentored by an experienced Christian teacher, and are supported by bespoke, cohort training. In this session we explore the context and need for such a program, its shape and structure including the research underpinning its design, and some early evidence to support its success.

Dr Caitlin Munday

Director, Teaching

Schools Alliance,

Sydney; Research

Fellow (Professional

Learning), The Scots

College

Dr Julie Mathews

Regional Director

Teaching Schools

Alliance, Sydney

Group 5: “Know thyself”: Reflection as a tool for Christian education

So much of our spiritual growth depends on healthy self-awareness. Without understanding our dignity as God’s image-bearers, or our brokenness and deep need for His grace, we are unlikely to grasp the richness and beauty of the gospel. At Roseville College, we’ve been exploring what good reflective practice looks like in the Christian Studies classroom. Drawing from research and experience, I will share our learning to explore theoretical and practical approaches to teaching reflection.

Mrs Lia Sharma

Head of Christian

Studies, Roseville

College, Sydney

Program

10

Time Event Presenter

12:10pm Group 6: On bushels and talents: Biblical arguments for gifted education

Christianity and high intelligence are two traits that are seldom discussed and linked together. In this session I will explore research on giftedness and Christian education, considering the ethical and moral imperatives posed to Christian educators. The presentation will aim to provide teachers with an understanding of gifted identification, differentiation, and affective support from a biblical and gifted education perspective.

Ms Estee Stephenson

Head of Gifted

Education, St

Andrew’s Cathedral

School, Sydney

Group 7: Cultivating curious and accomplished students in a spiritually inhospitable environment

How do other people know you’re a Christian? As teachers, how do we live out the gospel when the classroom can be a spiritually inhospitable environment? Alongside cultivating curious and accomplished students, how do we attend to their spiritual needs? In this seminar, we’ll discuss the work of Christian educationalists so that, in word and deed, we might more confidently live out the gospel in the classroom for His glory.

Miss Emily Buchanan

English Teacher,

St Andrew’s Cathedral

School, Sydney

Research Conversation 3

12:40pm You will now break into your Conversation Group again. A selection of questions will be posed to your group for further discussion.

Conversation Groups

1:00pm Conference thank you and farewell Dr Kaye Chalwell and

Mrs Kirsten Macaulay

St Andrew’s

Cathedral School

1:10pm Close

11

Keynote Speaker MCs

Dr David I. Smith Professor of Education, Calvin University.

Researching Christian School Practices: Lessons from an Investigation of Technological Change

Dr. Smith is also Director of Kuyers Institute for

Christian Teaching and Learning, and Coordinator

of the Global Faculty Development Institute, Calvin

University; and Senior Editor of the International

Journal of Christianity and Education. He earned his

B.A. in Modern Languages at Oxford University; a

Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the

University of Nottingham; an M.Phil. in Philosophy

of Education/Philosophical Theology from the

Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto; and a Ph.D.

in Education specialising in Curriculum Studies from

the University of London. David is a passionate

listener to a wide variety of musical genres,

occasionally reviews experimental electronic music,

enjoys gardening and reading outside of his

work-related fields.

Kirsten MacaulayDirector of Teaching and Music,

St Andrew’s Cathedral School

Dr Kaye Chalwell JSGS Coordinator of

Teaching and Learning

11

Speakers

12

Dr Huw Humphreys University of East London

Emotionally healthy community developed through restorative circles in class

I started my professional life as a Southern African earth scientist and then went into primary teaching and leading in England and Wales for 25 years. I recently started a lectureship at the University of East London and have research interests in how Church of England schools become prophetic in and for the gospel, in restorative practice and school climate, and how curriculum reflects identity.

Mr Frans Nieuwenhuyzen Calvijn College

Formative aspects of classroom prayer

I live in the Netherlands and work at Calvjin College. I’m a music teacher and choir director. I started my professional life as a teacher in Primary Education. After seven years I completed additional study and moved to teaching music at a secondary education school. Christian formation is one of my main interests and I recently completed a Masters in Christian Education at Driestar University. I love choral music and I play some piano, but not as well as I’d like to (lacking disciplined practice) and organ. In my free-time I like running (aiming for a marathon), reading and activities with my family.

@FNieuwenhuyzen

Mr Tom Anderson Barker College

Fostering student engagement in Christian Studies

I have been teaching Christian Studies in a high school context for 23 years. I have experience in a variety of schools in the Independent and Christian Schools sectors as well as teaching at mission schools in India and Nepal. I have been a sessional lecturer in the Master of Teaching and Master of Education (Leadership) degrees at Morling College. I am in my sixth year as Head of Christian Studies at Barker where I am keen to help students see how the Bible is relevant to life and making sense of the world.

Speakers

13

Dr Timothy Scott Barker College

The untended garden: reflections on the development of a Christian philosophy of learning and a whole-school teaching and learning framework within a co-educational, international Christian school setting

I’m an experienced school leader as well as a history and modern languages teacher. My PhD investigated socio-political influences on contemporary German conceptions of history and archaeology. Until recently I was the Director of Academic Affairs of a Christian international school in Germany. In this role I shared the responsibility for setting the school’s strate-gic direction for intercultural teaching and learning, and for building and sustaining an interlingual learning community focused on delivering quality Christian international education. I returned to Australia in 2018, currently teach history at Barker and I’m a Research Associate at the Barker Institute.

@timscott674

Mrs Lizzie Skipsey St Andrew’s Cathedral School

Service: Engaging the whole heart and mind

I’m the Service Learning Coordinator (7-12) at St Andrew’s Cathedral School. I’m passionate about growing ‘whole people’ who care about the society, community and world around them. I also teach English and wax lyrical about poetry, if you stand still long enough. I am currently undertaking a Master of Educational Leadership at Monash University with a focus on social justice. My areas of research are Indigenous education and the benefit of service learning for all students regardless of age or experience. When I’m not organising service learning opportunities at school, you can find me reading philosophy, writing personal history essays, dabbling with drama productions, leading a bible study at church, and moonlighting as gardener.

Rev Keith Peterson Arndell Anglican College

Becoming a servant practitioner: Opening the toolbox on servant leadership

I studied English and European Literature at the University of East Anglia, Norwich and then completed post-graduate studies in education at the University of Cambridge. I am presently a PhD Student at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, researching a thesis of ‘Servant Leadership in Anglican Faith Schools’. I have worked in both UK and Australian schools, moving to Australia to became Head of Junior School at a new Anglican School in Grafton, NSW. I was later ordained in Grafton, looking to express a vision for witness and community service around actively blending Christian and executive educational leadership. I am currently the Deputy-Head P-12 and School Chaplain at Arndell Anglican College, Windsor where I am now the Head of Junior School.

Speakers

14

Dr John Collier St Andrew’s Cathedral School

Implementing teaching Christianly, seamlessly and authentically

I have been a principal for over 31 years, and for the past 12 years have been Head of St Andrew’s Cathedral School and Gawura School for 12 years. I am Chair of the Anglican Education Commission, a recent past Chair of AHISA (NSW/ACT) and a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators and the Australian Council for Educational Leaders. I am a recipient of many awards including the Sir Harold Wyndham Medal for educational leadership. My doctoral studies were in Christian Education, Leadership and the Development of Culture and Ethos and I have published two books.

Dr Rahmi Jackson Broughton Anglican College

A Christian Teaching and Learning Framework

I have been teaching Science in Christian schools since 2008 and have taken on a number of different roles, including Year Advisor, Coordinator of Advanced Learning, Head of Science, Head of Curriculum (Senior School), a board member, and am currently as Director of Teaching (P-12). I have published research in astrophysics, contributed to a Christian Education textbook (Teaching Well) and recently completed my doctorate in the underachievement of gifted students.

@JacksonRahmi

Mrs Bronwyn Wake St Andrew’s Cathedral School

Teaching kids how to live the good life: flourishing & faith in Christian School Wellbeing Programs.

I’m a Registered Psychologist and have worked in independent schools for more than 20 years as a teacher, school psychologist, wellbeing co-ordinator and school council member. I am passionate about schools having a broad, proactive approach to student wellbeing across the curriculum areas and has been involved in the development and implementation of this in several schools. I am currently employed at St. Andrew’s Cathedral School as the Junior School Wellbeing Co-ordinator and the Junior School & Gawura School Psychologist where I enjoy working with students, their families and the Aboriginal community. I also have a private practice providing supervision services to school counsellors and psychologists across a number of independent schools.

@BronwynWake

Speakers

15

Mr Ashley Sadler St Brigid’s Catholic College,

Lake Munmorah

School ethos and its impact on faith development

I have been teaching in Catholic Education for over 20 years and across three different countries. I’ve been the Religious Education Coordinator at three schools across the Broken Bay Diocese. I am currently in my final stages of completing a Doctorate of Education looking at the development of school ethos and its influence on students’ decision making beyond school.

@AshleySadler17

Mrs Rhonda Robson St Andrew’s Cathedral School

The challenge of nurturing dependence and attachment within a counter-culture demanding us to develop independent, autonomous learners

I have taught in Christian Schools for more than 30 years and I’m currently the Deputy Head of St Andrew’s Cathedral School (Primary), Head of the Junior School and Director of Primary Education. I have post graduate qualifications in Education, Gifted Education and Counselling Psychology and have lectured at the Western Sydney University in Developmental Psychology and Educational Psychology. I have written the curriculum for a Christian Education Foundation Course for a Christian Education University, as well as contributing to a number of Christian Journal articles/chapters and editorials.

Mrs Amanda Hogan St Andrew’s Cathedral School

The relevance of the Bible to the study of computing

I have been a computing teacher and ICT integrator for more than a decade after coming to teaching as a second career. I am passionate about learning, leading girls into coding and sharing my knowledge with others. I am currently the ICTENSW Treasurer after completing a stint as President. When I’m not working or at conferences you can find me on Twitter, riding a bike, or on one of Sydney’s bouldering walls.

@hogesonline

Speakers

16

Rev Dr Graham Stanton Ridley College

The end of Christian instruction

I am a lecturer in Practical Theology at Ridley College, Melbourne, and Director of the Ridley Centre for Children’s and Youth Ministry. Formerly, I was the project officer with Anglican EdComm, Sydney. My doctoral research focused on exploring the implications of Maxine Greene’s aesthetic pedagogy for practices of Bible engagement for spiritual formation of teenagers.

@gdstanton

Mrs Miriam Daly St Andrew’s Cathedral School

Building the back-story – tracing the Maker in the creative space

I am currently teaching K-6 Visual Arts at St Andrew’s Cathedral School. I love working with primary-aged students to explore the joys of making and creating and I love guiding students to consider the One who is the great Maker.

Mr Michael Neate St Andrew’s Cathedral School

Strengthening Pedagogy Through Christian Integration

I have been teaching at St Andrew’s Cathedral School for 7 years, serving as both a Head of Department and mentor to other department heads in the area of Christian Integration. Christian Integration has been a passion of mine since I was introduced to What If Learning, and I believe it should be a passion for all Christian teachers.

Speakers

17

Mrs Debra Batley Carinya Christian School

Developing a Christian pedagogy for music education

I have taught music from Year 1 to Year 12 at Carinya Christian School since 2003. I have spent time researching the use of music as an intervention tool for struggling older readers. I am the current chair of ASME NSW and I’m a passionate advocate for music education for all children. I attend St Peter’s Anglican Church, I’m married to an Anglican minister who is the current hospital Chaplain to Tamworth Base Hospital. I’m a doctoral student at UNSW – Gonski Institute, examining how music education can be an indicator of educational equity.

@deb_batley

Mr Jeff Mann The Scots College

Should teachers produce high grades or good people? Designing school for character growth

I have a background in outdoor and experiential learning and work in the Research Office at The Scots College. The Research team is leading the College in embedding character development into every facet of the Scots learning experience. I am also undertaking doctoral research through Western Sydney University, exploring the potential for outdoor learning to engage students and develop 21st-century skills.

Dr Hugh Chilton The Scots College

Should teachers produce high grades or good people? Designing school for character growth

I am passionate about people and organisations being shaped by their vocation. Also, I love teaching and learning with boys and staff, while helping create partnerships with universities, churches, businesses and other schools in Australia and overseas. I am also a Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle, a member of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition Research Committee, and an early career researcher in the fields of intellectual, cultural and religious history. My first book is Evangelicals and the End of Christendom: Religion, Australia and the Crises of the 1960s (Routledge, 2020).

Speakers

18

Dr Julie Mathews Teaching Schools Alliance

Raising up the next generation of excellent Christian educators: The Teaching Schools Alliance Sydney

I’m the Regional Director of the Teaching Schools Alliance Sydney (TSAS) for Alphacrucis College. Alphacrucis partners with TSAS to provide a clinical teaching model of mentoring Christian teacher education students. I also work as an Education Coach in schools. In my doctoral studies I completed research and analysis of a mentoring program for teacher education students This research has positioned me to see the enormous benefit of the TSAS model, of bridging theory and practice in pre-service teacher education.

Mrs Lia Sharma Roseville College

“Know thyself”: Reflection as a tool for Christian education

I am a perpetual student and passionate teacher. As a learner, I’ve benefited from the wisdom of faithful men and women, and I’ve been fortunate to study widely including research related to Christian Education. As a teacher, I’ve worked in public and private systems across the ACT and NSW. Most of my last decade has been spent teaching in Sydney Anglican secondary schools or learning (slowly!) to be a mum. My current role, as Head of Department at Roseville College, sees me engaged in an extensive curriculum redesign alongside a wonderfully gifted team. I also love interesting foods, beach time with family, and a good game of cards.

Dr Caitlin Munday Teaching Schools Alliance

Re-imagining initial teacher training for Christian education: Teaching Schools Alliance Sydney

I am the Founding Director of the Teaching Schools Alliance Sydney (TSAS) which exists to provide a unique and immersive pathway into the classroom by delivering undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education degrees, embedded in schools, and underpinned by a Christian worldview. I also teach Drama, English and Studies of Religion, and work as Research Fellow (Professional Learning) at The Scots College, overseeing staff research and professional learning programs. I completed my PhD in 2014, entitled ‘Conceptualising the drama classroom as community: A case study approach to effective learning and teaching’.

Speakers

19

Miss Emily Buchanan St Andrew’s Cathedral School

Cultivating curious and accomplished students in a spiritually inhospitable environment

I currently teach English; Language and Literature and Theory of Knowledge at St Andrew’s Cathedral School. I am increasingly aware of the nuances of teaching, finding myself both delighted and apprehensive about the evolving nature of my role as an educator. I’ve spent the past few years reflecting on how best to emulate Christ in the classroom while navigating the academic expectations of students. Teaching is a process of refinement, humbling me as I become increasingly aware of both my failures and the power of God to redeem my mistakes, for his glory.

Ms Estee Stephenson St Andrew’s Cathedral School

On bushels and talents: Biblical arguments for gifted education

I am the Head of Gifted Education at St Andrew’s Cathedral School, Sydney. After completing a Masters in Education (Special Education) at the University of Wollongong, I worked at Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) before moving to St Andrew’s in 2015. I completed my Masters in Gifted Education with Excellence at the University of New South Wales in 2020. My professional interests include Twice Exceptionality, gifted girls and quality differentiated practice.

@EsteeStephenson

St Andrew’s Cathedral School:

St Andrew’s Cathedral School is a coeducational K-12 Anglican school, located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD.

St Andrew’s Cathedral School Gadigal Country Sydney Square, Sydney NSW 2000 ABN 34 429 367 893

phone +61 2 9286 9500 email info@sacs.nsw.edu.au

CRICOS Registration: The Council of St Andrew’s Cathedral School 02276M

www.sacs.nsw.edu.au