Ka Boom!

Nicolette Wheaton - MET School Armidale Campus
Science Teacher

Australian Churchill Fellow, recipient of the Minister for Education's Medal of Distinction in Education and NSW Government Science Engineering Award for engaging all learners in Science. Nicci has 10 years' experience teaching Science and Mathematics, where she implements Cultures of Thinking to mentor and guide her students in Scientific Literacy through Inquiry.

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Identify and Symbolise

Bridget Anderson  - Meridian School
Year 5/6 Teacher

Bridget has been teaching at Meridian school for three years now and is a cultures of thinking facilitator at the school. Bridget studied at Flinders University and UniSA and has a degree in Visual Arts, Masters of Teaching and a Graduate cert in TESOL.

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Thinking for teachers

Ryan Gill - Masada College
Head of Teaching & Learning 7-12

A passion for everything teaching and learning with a focus on critical and creative thinking with early inspiration coming from the seminal work of David Leat and the team at Newcastle University, UK and later working alongside the Harvard 'Project Zero' Cultures of Thinking team. In 2016, Ryan attended Project Zero Classroom and Future of Learning at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. He is a key figure in the development of Cultures of Thinking and the Flipped Learning ideologies across Australia, facilitating regularly at conferences and educational institutions.

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How can I push for depth in my students' thinking?

David Camp - Emanuel School
Head of English

David is a passionate and dedicated teacher of High School English who attended last year's Project Zero Classroom at Harvard and has presented his thoughts on student thinking at a range of conferences around Australia. As the Head of English at Sydney's Emanuel School, he has been an integral member of the school's Cultures of Thinking projects and a driving force for change.

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Thought-Provoking Questions

Cameron Paterson - Shore School
Mentor of Learning & Teaching

Cameron is responsible for the strategic leadership of learning and teaching, innovation, and promoting excellence in teaching practice at Shore School. He has taught in the teacher education program at Harvard University and he is a faculty member at the Project Zero Classroom.

Natasha Terry-Armstrong - St Ignatius' College, Riverview
Head of Faculty Economics, Business and Commerce

Natasha was appointed the Head of Faculty, Economics, Business and Commerce at St Ignatius' College in 2016. Prior to this position, she was teacher and Leader of Learning at Shore School. Natasha attended the Project Zero Classroom Summer Institute in 2014 at Harvard GSE and was inspired by this amazing experience to experiment more with learning and teaching, both in the classroom and with other educators - constantly questioning, reflecting and wondering!

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Making Connections in the Classroom

April Taylor - MET School - Lachlan Macquarie Campus - Mt. Victoria Site
Teacher - Secondary History and English; Acting Head of Campus

April is a Campus Site Coordinator at the MET Mt. Victoria Site, History and English teacher, and facilitator for building a Culture of Thinking in her school. April has been teaching for 13 years - both face-to-face teaching and online teaching - and is passionate about creating a classroom environment where there is a culture that fosters wonder and critical thinking.

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Promoting a Culture of Thinking through PBL

Natasha Mercer  - St Ives high School
Head Teacher, Teaching and Learning

Claire Cartwright - St Ives High School
Head Teacher, HSIE

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Stoking the Fires

Simon Brooks - Simon Brooks Education
Educational Consultant

Simon works with educators around the world interested in building vibrant school cultures, where children delight in their learning and develop deep understanding through the process of becoming critical and creative thinkers. For many years, Simon was Director of Teaching and Learning at Masada College in Sydney, where he developed close connections with the Project Zero team at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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Creating Empathy through Perspective

Dan Ryan - Meridian School
Regional Head of E-Learning WA/SA, Design and Technology, PE, HASS

Dan is currently working at Meridian school in many different roles. He has been involved in facilitating a Culture of Thinking at Meridian and is working on ways in which we can effectively use thinking routines in a digital environment/ across video-conferencing facilities.

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Can You Speak Boy?

Kylie Bowra - St Augustine's College Sydney
Learning Innovator

Kylie is the Learning Innovator at St Augustine’s College Sydney. She is responsible for excellence in pedagogy and the development of strategies to enhance student outcomes. Kylie implemented the Cultures of Thinking framework in 2012, was a participant of the Harvard Project Zero Classroom, is an active participant in Instructional Rounds and has previously presented at similar conferences. Kylie specialises in Boy’s Education, Visible Thinking practices and the development of Professional Communities of Practice.

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Visible Thinking in English

Jacqueline Galvin - Kildare Catholic College
Literacy Support Teacher

Jacqui has been teaching English for over twenty years in a range of schools in both the Independent and Catholic system. As both a teacher and study group facilitator, Jacqui is passionate about growing a culture of thinking both in her own classroom and across the whole school. She is also passionate about learning support at both ends of the academic spectrum.

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So what are these Thinking Routines all about?

Helen Maynard - Emanuel School
Director of Studies - K - 6

Helen Maynard is the Director of Studies, K-6 at Emanuel School and has been at the forefront of developing the school's Thinking Culture for a number of years. Helen is a passionate advocate of making thinking visible and facilitating professional learning communities that foster change that deepens both staff and student thinking.

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How to create a Culture of Thinking

Wendy Williams - North Ryde Public School
Classroom Teacher

Wendy has been creating a culture of thinking in her classroom since 2014. Her passion is to enable all ability students to engage in cultures of thinking. She was trained as a facilitator 2016 and is an active participant in a whole school Action Research Project looking into Cultures of Thinking.

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Language, interactions and time in Science

Jenny Stephens - MET School
Stage 4-6 State Online and Face-to-Face Science Teacher

The presenter has experience in all stages and branches of science, a background in mathematics and a passion for teaching. Her students often become avid lovers of science and participate enthusiastically in state wide competitions with excellent results.

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Becoming Agentic Thinkers

Nigel Coutts - Redlands
Dean of Teaching & Learning P-6

Nigel Coutts is Dean of Teaching & Learning at Redlands. His areas of interest include, empowering student agency, design thinking, making, cultures of thinking and teaching for understanding. He has experience in Gifted and Special Needs Education and with ‘Making Thinking Visible’. The culture of his classroom supports thinking and reflection while encouraging a growth mindset and an understanding that learning is an iterative process.

Nicola Molloy - Redlands
Year Coordinator - Yr2

Nicola is a highly respected leader of learning and has extensive experience with teaching for understanding and making thinking visible. Her classroom is a place where learners are challenged, resilience is fostered and learning is celebrated. Nicola’s passion for education and commitment to understanding the conditions which support learner success is evident in all she does. 

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Building a culture of thinking for us and our students

Carla Gagliano - Masada
Head of Teaching and Learning ELC-6

A K-6 educator, Carla is passionate about teaching for understanding and helping her students to become critical and creative thinkers. A previous participant at Harvard’s Project Zero Classroom, Carla is also committed to working alongside colleagues to continue developing a culture where individual and collective thinking is valued and promoted.

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Service Learning

Ruqqiya Dean - Pymble Ladies' College
Library Manager

For the past 7 years Ruqqiya has been part of a team which helped to grow the Cultures of Thinking at Pymble Ladies College.  She has presented at several COT conferences and as a facilitator she has mentored colleagueswho have undertaken puzzles of practice at her school. 

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Culture of Thinking in the Mathematics Classroom

Jesse Wright - Oakwood School
Secondary Maths and Science Teacher/Campus Site Coordinator

In attending the 2016 Project Zero Classroom at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Jesse discovered a passion for exploring Cultures of Thinking ideas in his own classroom, and also fostering the growth of a thinking culture within his teaching staff and students.

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Puzzles of practice in the English Classroom

Yvonne Garcia - Ku-ring-gai High School
Head Teacher English

Yvonne is the Head Teacher of English at Ku-ring-gai High School and a dedicated educator of students 7-12. She is passionate about developing a culture of thinking, and is the leader of the Ku-ring-gai High School CoT team. Yvonne will lead the Ku-ring-gai High School team on a journey of further investigation this year.

Tanya Davies - Ku-ring-gai High School
English Teacher

Tanya Davies has developed a love of Cultures of Thinking since being involved in anAction Research Project in 2016. Her experiences examining a personal question have lead to the creation of a working space sheproudly recognises as "promoting thinking". Tanya is continuing to investigate CoT as a whole school initiative in 2017.

Leonie Robinson - Ku-ring-gai High School
Learning and support officer

Leonie is a new member of the action research team at Ku-ring-gai High School, however, as a LAST has experienced first hand the benefits of using thinking routines with students of all ages and abilities.

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Rich thinking into action

Natalie Lawand - The Scots College
Coordinator of Honours Program T-6 

Natalie Is the Coordinator of the Prep Honours Program at The Scots College. She is passionate about providing learning experiences that empower and engage learners in order to realise academic potential and develop self confidence.

Lisa Sharpe - The Scots College
Coordinator of Curriculum and Staff Development T-6

Lisa is the Coordinator of Curriculum and Staff Development in the Preparatory School at The Scots College. She is responsible for ensuring that the staff and students engage in rich, meaningful learning opportunities and has drawn on the work out of Project Zero to create a rich thinking culture at the College.

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Putting Students in the Driving Seat

Alice Clement - Woodthorpe School
Year 3/4 Classroom teacher

Alice has been a primary teacher at Woodthorpe school since 2013 and is a passionate advocate for the school's philosophy of self-directed learning. She is also the campus Cultures of Thinking Facilitator running regular study groups, assisting others to explore the concepts of making thinking a priority in the classroom.

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The Heart of Collaboration

Margo Bowen - Turramurra High School
Head Teacher - Teaching and Learning

Margo Bowen teaches drama at Turramurra High School and is Head Teacher - Teaching and Learning. She advocates pedagogies that use collaboration and creativity to generate engagement, understanding and growth.

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To boldly think where no one has thought before

Alannah Nastase - Redlands
Coordinator Innovative Design

Design and Technology teacher for over 20 years with a passion for engaging student curiosity and flexible problem solving through real world solutions. Astrong advocate of Teaching For Understanding through making thinking visible, applying questioning and visual methodology with a strong focus on making through design, leading to innovative solutions.

Shireen Winrow - Redlands
ICT Integrator P-6

Shireen is the P-6 eLearning Facilitator at Redlands and previously IT Integrator P-12 at Abbotsleigh.  She is Microsoft Innovative Educator and Google Certified Educator. Shireen delights in opportunities to enrich student learning through the integration of innovative technologies. She is a respected member of the ICT community and shares her knowledge widely. 

Nick Walker - Redlands
Innovative Design/TAS 7-11

Passion for creating strategies to develop students as independent lifelong learners. Applies previous sports apparel designer experiences to all design processes in order to give a real world context to student learning.
 

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Bridging School and Museum with Visible Thinking Routines

Thinking and Creativity in the Mathematics Classroom

Melanie Cleary - Redlands
Year Coordinator - Yr4

A passionate mathematician dedicated to teaching thinking and creativity through mathematics and problem solving in a richly collaborative environment. Melanie enjoys opportunities to challenge her students and allow them to become immersed in problem solving. 

Amber Bidwell - Redlands
Assistant Year Coordinator - Yr6

Amber has extensive experience teaching Mathematics through problem solving and with rich connections to real world applications. From experiences with Mathematics Camps and many opportunities to extend her understanding of best practice for the teaching of Mathematics Amber has a wealth of knowledge to share. 

Catriona Ling - Redlands
Maths Extension Teacher

Catriona is a dedicated life-long learner with a wealth of experience to draw on as she challenges students to extend their mathematical thinking. Catriona's students enjoy the opportunities she provides them with to get 'stuck' and to bravely confront complex ideas. 

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Enhancing formative assessment through cultures of thinking

Rhonda Kaidbay - Ryde Secondary College
Head Teacher Social Sciences and Languages

Rhonda is a Cultures of Thinking enthusiast who has a keen interest in extending students' metacognition and helping them develop strategies which they can use consciously to develop their understanding. Metacognitive tools help students develop growth mindsets and empower students to self direct and regulate their own learning.

Jake Tonkin - Ryde Secondary College
English and History Teacher

Jake is a History and English classroom teacher who has a passion for developing a learning environment and classroom culture that inspires students' curiosity. Through creative and innovative use of technology and Cultures of Thinking Routines, Jake has developed a toolkit of ideas that enhance the learning experiences of his students.

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