TEACHERS from state schools around Wodonga will come together this Friday for the annual Wodonga Federation of Government Schools conference.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Just under two-thirds of Wodonga’s school-aged population attend one of the eight government schools in town.
The schools came together in 2016 as a means of sharing resources and knowledge for the benefit of all students.
This year’s conference will feature seven different workshops for teachers to attend, covering topics from mathematics learning pathways to digital technology, to best practice strategies for children who have endured trauma.
Federation executive Mellisa Long said the workshops were a vital chance for teachers to upskill.
She said the Making Space for Learning – Trauma Informed Practice for Schools workshop, to be delivered by Carolyn Grace from the Australian Childhood Foundation, would be of particular interest.
“We realised that our students have had many different experiences in their lives,” she said.
“We know from research that going through trauma affects their ability to learn.
“This workshop will provide teachers with strategies and skills to apply in the classroom that will help get the best out of those students, regardless of their experience.”
The workshop will cover the definition of trauma, how it affects a child’s brain, body and memory, as well as ways to heal the impacts of trauma.
Simon Collier from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority will hold a digital technology workshop, which Ms Long said would be enlightening for a lot of teachers.
“It’s important in the sense that things like coding are new for a lot of teachers, it’s not the world they would have grown up in themselves,” she said.
“Therefore these opportunities are about upskilling them to help understand the curriculum and be able to put it in place.
“Like the rest of us in other industries, teachers have to keep abreast of the best strategies and skills they can apply.
“This will be an action oriented conference, they’ll be able to implement these strategies on Monday.
“There’s also a collegiate aspect to it, having six schools come together means we’re able to look at what the Wodonga way of teaching is.
“We’re on the front foot in that we’re providing children with the best available teaching and learning strategies.”
The eight Federation schools will have a pupil free day on Friday so teachers can attend the conference.
