Education Views > Volume 17 - Number 5 >

Redcliffe students try teaching

Page 5, Vol. 17, No. 5, June 2008 (By Lisa Gilby)

Year 11 students Amy Stuckey and Chloe Alexander will have a rare insight into the life of a teacher when they front their classmates as teachers-in-training under a new program, QUTeach@Redcliffe.

Their school, Redcliffe State High School, has joined Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to offer the program to senior students wanting to start an education degree.

Amy and Chloe are among 26 students from Redcliffe, Deception Bay and Clontarf Beach state high schools who will complete three first-year education subjects as part of their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE).

By successfully completing the program, students gain automatic entry to QUT's early childhood, primary or high school education bachelor degree courses.

Amy said she always wanted to be a teacher and was looking forward to teaching her classmates as part of the program. "It's exciting because I want to do PE teaching and this was a great opportunity to get started earlier," Amy said.

"It's a bit less daunting than going straight to uni." Chloe said she was less sure teaching would be her chosen career path but saw the program as an opportunity to start her university studies, while keeping her options open.

Redcliffe State High School principal Shona McKinlay said QUTeach@Redcliffe gave the school and its students access to an exciting opportunity.

"One of the reasons we did this was it's not a traditional thing for our kids to go to uni," Ms McKinlay said.

"Not as many of our students were going to uni as possibly should have been - even the students who had high enough OPs. Their educational aspirations weren't as high as they should be."

Ms McKinlay said the reasons for this included transport issues and the lower socioeconomic status of the area. "We wanted to change the culture of the area." Ms McKinlay said she approached QUT with the concept and the university came on board straightaway.

"QUT has been wonderful. The support they have given us has been amazing.

"The program provides extensive support for students enrolled in the course so they have the very best chance of succeeding. "To be able to start their degrees in the familiar surroundings at Redcliffe State High, with their own teachers acting as tutors, is a great introduction to the demands of tertiary study."

QUT course work is undertaken outside normal school hours with QUT Faculty of Education staff giving teaching support.

QUT's head of Education Learning and Professional Studies, Professor Suzanne Carrington, said the faculty was keen to develop alternative pathways to tertiary education. She said QUT's Sue Hudson and Dr Derek Bland worked closely with the staff at Redcliffe to get the program up and running.

"It's a two-way process. Our staff are excited to be working closely with students in school to keep in touch with school-based issues and the students have access to tertiary study they may not have considered before."

Ms Hudson said students in the program attended a lecture each semester at the university's Caboolture and Kelvin Grove campuses.

"They will also watch lectures videoed at the university, will undergo course work with their tutor and their assessment items will be moderated against the work of tertiary students to ensure academic standards are maintained."

The three subjects being taught in the program are Teaching in New Times, Indigenous Education, and Learning Networks.

QUTeach@Redcliffe students started their preparatory studies in May, with formal classes to begin in Semester 2.

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