Caloundra City Private School teacher Georgia Goodwin is a trained secondary school teacher but has taught Junior Health and Physical Education (HPE), and classes at the school from Prep to Year 12 and taken on subjects she did not study at university. “Georgia created, implemented and facilitated two brand new curriculums for the senior subject Film, TV & New Media. This is a mixed class of Year 11s and 12s, both of which have different curriculums with the new implementation of the 2020 QCAA curriculum. Each curriculum has been meticulously planned and produced to ensure that both the 2005 curriculum (Year 12 FTNM) and the 2019 curriculum (Year 11 FTNM) work cohesively and effectively together,” Parents and Friends Committee President Michelle Fowler says.
“The Senior Film, TV & New Media cohort are currently averaging an 'A' result in all 3 key objectives: Production, Critique and Design. Students are provided with the opportunity to work on each key objective and demonstrate their abilities multiple times through their course.” Georgia is also teaching Junior HPE, which parents and teachers have noted now has more students enjoying and participating in it. There have been more Junior students attending Athletics and Swimming Carnivals and Cross Country as a result. “Georgia has created an online platform for parents to communicate and connect with their children whilst they are on a six-day Canberra excursion. Students will use this website to write reflective statements about their experiences, whilst parents can comment and engage with their child's daily post,” Michelle says. She is creating by herself the 2019 Yearbook for both Junior and Senior school, introducing a new printing platform for the school which came about through her networking with other schools’ Yearbook coordinators. Georgia has used her experience as Acting Head of House and Subject Coordinator to build rapport with students outside of the classroom and used it to communicate more effectively with them in class. Georgia creates a safe and positive space for students to approach her with any issues regarding school or personal needs. Using data from student feedback and formative tasks, Georgia collects a picture of student progress and plans her teaching based on this information. She also gives frequent written and verbal feedback to her students, which helps maintain relationships. Georgia has sought out feedback and continued her professional development. This has included QCS Short Response marking to get an understanding of QCAA marking standards and how students respond in various ways to the same stimuli. This has informed how she differentiates her teaching for her students. Congratulations Georgia on your nomination.