Award for teaching others to teach

Friday, 2 December 2005

A highly respected teacher from the University of Newcastle is the recipient of a 2005 Quality Teaching Award.

Kathryn Grushka, Lecturer in Visual Art and Design Education, received the award tonight from the NSW Minister for Education and Training and the Australian College of Educators.

A nationally recognised artist and tapestry designer, Kathryn has spent the past 15 years working at the University of Newcastle.

Kathryn says she is delighted to receive the award which recognises accomplished teaching practice.

“It’s an even greater honour seeing how rigorously the awards were assessed. It involved workplace visits, interviews with colleagues, students and community members, and the submission of a professional learning portfolio,” says Kathryn.

Kathryn, who is currently the Retraining Manager for the Faculty of Education and Arts, says the award recognises her contribution to the development and continued contribution to the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) entry pathways for the University. This allows people with varied educational experiences from trade to degree to use their experience and skills to train to become teachers.

“Successful educators are lifelong learners who have capacities to draw on their experiences and knowledge to equip them as responsive and aware teachers.”

Kathryn has successfully designed and now manages the nationally recognised market orientated industry retraining program, the Bachelor of Education (Design and Technology).

The degree has been recognised (Ramsey: Quality Matters, 2000) as a program to be modelled by other teacher training institutions and received a BHERT (Business/Higher Education Round Table) award for collaboration in Education and Training.

Kathryn is currently on the research team for the National Review of Visual Education and has been chosen as one of Australia’s representatives to present at the UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education in Portugal next year.

Professor Terry Lovat, Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Education and Arts, says graduates from Kathryn’s programs are highly sought after by the profession.

“Kathryn is one of the institution’s leading teachers, both in her personal capacities and her innovation of new directions in teaching,” says Professor Lovat.

For interviews: Kathryn Grushka on (02) 4921 6583.

An electronic image of Kathryn Grushka is available from the Media Unit on (02) 4921 5351.