Education community to discuss national curriculum

The introduction of the national school curriculum in 2011 will be high on the agenda for discussion during the first Education Commons panel forum at USQ this Friday, May 7.

Professional educators from the Darling Downs region will engage with pre-service teachers and other members of the educational community to network and explore the impact these proposed curriculum changes will have on local school communities.

USQ Faculty of Education Senior Lecturer, Dr Robyn Henderson, said the series, now in its second year, was designed to allow students and professional educators to meet together and discuss pertinent topics that were of great interest to current and future teachers.

'The first session will be a panel discussion where teachers, principals and others from the educational community talk about the topic, although there is plenty of opportunity for students to ask questions and to clarify the burning issues,' Dr Henderson said.

'A fortnight later we will follow the panel with a group session that allows students to ‘unpack’ the main messages of the panel forum. This session is designed to encourage students to engage in conversations about the issues that were raised and connect theory with practice.”'

Education commons is a Faculty of Education initiative that links preservice educators (students) to their profession from early on in their studies. Originally a pilot USQ fellowship of Dr Karen Noble, and Dr Robyn Henderson, this program continues to expand in 2010, now including an online community site.

'The online discussion forums and video footage ensures that all of our students, no matter where they are studying, are also given the opportunity to be involved in the important topics that we explore in the Education commons series,' Dr Noble said.

The first panel includes USQ Faculty of Education academics, local education administrators, as well as teachers from Fairholme College, Centenary Heights, Toowoomba Grammar School and Mary McKillop Primary School.

The sessions will be held from 1pm until 3pm at USQ’s Toowoomba campus and will be recorded for online viewing.