David Bartlett, MP

Premier

Tuesday, 1 September 2009

Teachers win research fellowships to US

Four Tasmanian teachers have received prestigious research fellowships totalling more than $520,000 to conduct study in the United States.

Premier and Minister for Education and Skills, David Bartlett, said the 2009-10 Hardie Fellowships had been awarded to Government school teachers to study at universities in the US.

“The four teachers who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and innovation will study areas such as positive psychology, personalised learning, language and literacy, and robotics-based education,” Mr Bartlett said.

“These fellowships are a great opportunity to harness knowledge for the benefit of all Tasmanians as the research and findings of the recipients can be shared with educators in all our Government schools.”

Tasmanian Perpetual Trustees Chairman, Dr Michael Vertigan AC, said that Professor Charles Hardie was appointed in 1946 as the first Dean of Education at the University of Tasmania.

“When Professor Hardie died in 2002, he left a generous bequest of $7.5 million from his estate to enable the Hardie Fellowships to be established,” Dr Vertigan said.

“The Trust has now grown to over $10 million and the income from the trust, managed by Tasmanian Perpetual Trustees, is released on an annual basis to fund the fellowships for teachers.

“Through his bequest, Professor Hardie recognised that our teachers are the single most important factor in building a world class education system.”

Mr Bartlett said that Professor Hardie had also spent a personally and professionally satisfying year of study at the University of Illinois in 1968.

“Professor Hardie also created a perpetual trust of equivalent value, the income from which is forwarded to the University of Illinois each year. Subsequently the University established the Charles Dunn Hardie Chair in Education,” he said.

“I’d like to congratulate the 2009-10 Hardie Fellowship recipients and wish them all the best for their study tours.”

Recipients will take up their fellowships in Term 3 2009 and in 2010.

Recipients of the 2009-10 Hardie Fellowships

Rob Torok is a teacher at Claremont College and will undertake research and study at the Tufts University Centre for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO). Rob would like to develop his skills, knowledge and understanding of robotics-based education, so that he is better equipped to support student learning in this innovative area of the curriculum.

Cathy Whish-Wilson is a teacher at Ulverstone High School and would like to extend her capacity to make contributions to personalising learning at Ulverstone High School and in Tasmanian Education.

Fiona Jarvis is a teacher at Dodges Ferry Primary School and will study for a Master of Applied Psychology under Professor Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania. The course will provide Fiona with the opportunity to gain skills in cognitive and social problem solving techniques to assist students to better manage academic and social interactions and challenges.

Peta McFadzean is a teacher at King Island District High School and would like to study the Language and Literacy Masters’ Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Boston, which is directed at classroom teachers.

The program is grounded in the belief that language and literacy skills are essential to every aspect of an individual’s life and that literacy individuals contribute positively to our social, cultural and economic well-being.