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Staff Profile

Dr Wendy Amosa

Lecturer

Faculty/Division:            Education and Arts
School:                         Education
Phone:                         02 4921 6736
Fax:                                02 4921 6020
Email:                           wendy.amosa@newcastle.edu.au
Location:                       HA101 HunterBuilding
Campus:                       Callaghan

Biography:

Dr Wendy Amosa completed her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at The University of Newcastle in 1999 and 2005 respectively. She was Project manager of the SIPA Research Project for 2004-2005 before being appointed as a Lecturer in the School of Education in 2005. Her research interests include multicultural education, English education, teaching for social justice and pedagogy.

Qualifications:

Ph.D. (Newcastle) 2005
B.Ed. (English) Hons 1 (Newcastle) 1999

Academic Appointments:

The University of Newcastle, NSW

Lecturer (2005 - present)
Research Associate (2004-2005)
Casual Academic (2000 - 2004)

Consultancies:

Each of the following consultancies has brought funds to the University of Newcastle.

2006-2007 Academic Partner for the Australian Government Quality Teacher Indigenous Project (AGQTIP)

Responsibilities included:

Providing professional learning about the NSW model of pedagogy
Working with teachers to incorporate Aboriginal cultural knowledge in pedagogical practice
Supporting the preparation of the final action research report

2005 Consultant in Quality Teaching / Academic partner, Boys’ Educational Lighthouse Program (West Wallsend High School)

2004-2006 Academic Partner for the Australian Government Quality Teacher Program (AGQTP)

Responsibilities included:

Providing professional learning about the NSW model of pedagogy
Development of a unit of work integrating Quality teaching with values education
Supporting the preparation of the final action research report

2004 - 2006 Consultant: Quality Teaching (at various NSW DET schools)

Responsibilities included:

Whole-school professional development for Quality teaching
Assisting teachers develop action plans for implementation of Quality teaching
Guiding school reform initiatives to integrate Quality teaching principles with teachers’ professional development and practice
Providing professional development about the NSW model of pedagogy

2003-2004 Academic Partner for the Australian Government Quality Teacher Program (AGQTP)

Responsibilities included:

Providing professional learning about the NSW model of pedagogy
Support in purposeful reflection on teaching practice and identifying means of developing teaching perspectives
Reflecting on and analysing actions resulting from professional development
Supporting the preparation of the final action research report

Courses taught:

EDUC1004: Contexts of teaching
EDUC1006: Professional Preparation 1B
EDUC3050: Teaching and Learning in English 3
EDUC4090: Teaching and LEarning in English 4a
EDUC4091: Teaching and LEarning in English 4b
EDUC 6201: Productive Assessment

Teaching interests:

Teaching of English
Pedagogy
Multicultural Education
Teaching for Social Justice

Specific areas of responsibility:

School of Education Research Ethics Committee

Publications/Productions/Exhibitions:

Refereed Journal Articles:

Amosa, W.A. (2005). Student engagement with multiethnic literature. New Horizons in Education, V113, p53-67.
Amosa, W.A. (2003). The Cultural and Textual Mosaic: Challenging the status quo. Literacy Learning: The middle years, IFTE Special Edition, v2, i2, p49-53.

Other publications:

Amosa, W.A. (2005). SIPA: Preliminary findings. P&C Journal, v3.
Amosa, W.A. (2004). SIPA: Examining vital relationships between teaching and learning. P&C Journal, v2, p10.

Conference presentations

Lund, D.E., Amosa, W.A., Kawasaki, S. & Grant, C.A. (2006). A Conversation with International Muliticultural Educators. Paper presented at the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) Conference, Phoenix, USA.
Amosa, W.A. & Gorski, P.C. (2006). Directions and Mis-Directions in Multicultural Education. Paper presented at the National Association for Mulitcultural Education (NAME) Conference, Phoenix, USA.
Amosa, W.A. (2006). SIPA: Investigating Intellectual Quality: Paper presented at the National Urban Alliance's (NUA) Teaching for Intelligence: Believe to Achieve Conference, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Amsoa, W.A. (2006). Diverse students engaging with diverse texts. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference, San Francisco, USA.
Amosa, W.A. & Cooper, S.A. (2006). Schools matter, teachers matter: Exploring the links between teachers' work, school context and Quality Teaching. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association conference, San Francisco, USA.
Ladwig, J.G., Gore, J.M., Cooper, S., Amosa, W.A. & Griffiths, T. (2006). The relationship between pedagogy and achievement in NSW public schools. Paper presented at the Pedagogy in Practice 2006 conference, Newcastle, January.
Gore, J.M., Ladwig, J.G., Amosa, W.A., Griffiths, T. & Cooper, S., (2006). Examining the effects of teacher understanding, teacher learning and school context on pedagogy. Paper presented at the pedagogy in practice conference, Newcastle, January.
Amosa, W.A. (2005) Investigating cultural knowledge in the context of current multicultural education policy. Paper presented at the annual conference of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Sydney, December.
Cooper, S., Amosa, W.A. & Ladwig, J.G. (2005). Schools matter, teachers matter: Exploring the link between school context and quality teaching. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Australian Association for Researhc in Education (AARE) Sydney, December.
Ladwig, J.G. & Amosa, W.A. (2005). Pedagogy for Equity: What works for whom? Paper presented at the annual conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Sydney, December.
Amosa, W.A. (2005). Examining Non-Dominant Cultural Perspectives in New South Wales. Paper presented at the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) Conference, Atlanta, USA.
Amosa, W.A. (2005). Partaking, forsaking, give and taking: Student engagement with multiethnic literary texts. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference, Montreal, Canada.
Gore, J.M., Ladwig, J.G., Amosa, W.A., and Griffiths, T. (2005). Systemic implications of pedagogy and achievement in NSW public schools (SIPA): A preliminary report. Paper presented at the Pedagogy in Practice conference. January, Newcastle.
Amosa, W.A. & Monfries, M.M. (2004). Student engagement with multiethnic literary texts. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education. December, Melbourne.
Amosa, W.A. & Ladwig, J.G. (2004). Examining non-dominant cultural perspectives in pedagogical practice. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education. December, Melbourne.
Mycak, S. & Amosa, W.A. (2003). Making and mooting Australian Mosaic. Paper presented at the Multicultural Mosaic 2003 Conference: Don’t judge a book by its colour. November, Newcastle.
Amosa, W.A. (2003). Multicultural Literature: Foundations, Fashions and Futures. Paper presented at the Multicultural Mosaic 2003 Conference: Don’t judge a book by its colour. November, Newcastle.
Amosa, W.A. (2003). Engaging with ethnically diverse texts. Poster presentation at the AARE Defining the Doctorate mini-conference. October, Newcastle,
Amosa, W.A. (2003). The Cultural and Textual Mosaic: Challenging the status quo. Paper presented at the International Federation for Teachers of English (IFTE) Conference: Transforming literacies, changing English, elsewheres of potential. July, Melbourne.
Amosa, W.A. (2003). Partaking, Forsaking, Give and Taking: Student responses to multiethnic literary texts. Paper presented at Intercultural Studies Conference. June, Newcastle.
Amosa, W.A. (2002). Multiethnic Literature: Foundations, Findings and Futures. Paper presented at the Australian Association of Teachers of English (AATE) National Conference: Evolving Literacies. November, Perth.
Amosa, W.A. (2000). Mooting the Mosaic. Paper presented at Multicultural Education 2000 Conference. July, Melbourne.

Institutional seminars:

Amosa, W.A. (2004). Mooting the Mosaic: Student engagement with multiethnic literary texts. Paper presented at the School of Education Research Seminar, August, The University of Newcastle.
Amosa, W.A. (2003). Partaking, Forsaking, Give and Taking: Student engagement with multiethnic literary texts. Paper presented at the School of Education Research Seminar, August, The University of Newcastle.
Amosa, W.A. (2002). Foundations for Multiethnic Literature. Paper presented at the New South Wales Institute for Educational Research Seminar, October, Sydney.
Amosa, W.A. (2002). Mooting the mosaic: research design for an analysis of students’ responses to multiethnic writing. Paper presented at the School of Education Research Seminar, August, The University of Newcastle.
Amosa, W.A. (2001). The use of multiethnic literature in NSW: A review of initial results. Paper presented at the School of Education Research Seminar, June, The University of Newcastle.
Amosa, W.A. (2000). Defining and classifying multiethnic texts. Paper presented at the School of Education Research Seminar, May, The University of Newcastle.

Other invited addresses:

Amosa, W.A. (2005). A Question of Culture. Women in Educational Leadership Dinner. May, Newcastle

Research interests:

Multicultural Education:

Transformative multiculturalism
Coherency between rhetoric and reality
A broadly defined multiculturalism

Pedagogy

The Quality of Teaching
Authentic learning and assessment tasks
Equity implications of Quality Teaching
Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and pedagogy

Multicultural literary texts:

The definition and classification of multicultural texts
Student engagement with multicultural texts
Factors influencing multicultural text selection

Teacher professional learning:

Impact of professional development on pedagogical practice
Coherency among professional development initiatives
Teachers’ perceptions of professional learning experiences

Student achievement:

Relationships between quality pedagogy and student achievement
Relationships between culturally relevant pedagogies and student achievement
Implications of achievement measures

Current Research Activity

Systemic Implications of Pedagogy and Assessment in NSW public schools (SIPA)

The SIPA research project is a longitudinal study of the relationships between teacher professional learning, pedagogy, and student achievement, tracking the experiences of three cohorts of students as they progress through school. The study is jointly funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the NSW Department of Education and Training (2004-2007) as part of the ARC Linkages Program. I am Chief Investigator for the SIPA research project, with my colleagues Associate Professor James Ladwig, Professor Jennifer Gore and Dr Tom Griffiths.

Multicultural Education Professional Learning (MEPL)

With my colleague Professor Jennifer Gore, I am a Chief Investigator on the MEPL research project, which is providing the first comprehensive analysis of multicultural education professional learning (MEPL) in NSW public schools by examining :(1) teachers' understandings of multicultural education: (2) the extend to which NSW DET teachers have engaged with MEPL; and (3) teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of MEPL. The significance of this research lies, first, in the current policy context characterised by the 2005 implementation of separate NSW DET multicultural education and professional learning policies and second, in the growing national and global priority for schools to have a deeper understanding of multicultural education.

And what of Cultural Knowledge?

The SIPA research project (Ladwig, Gore, Griffiths and Amosa 2004 - 2007) has identified that Cultural Knowledge is the least observed element of Quality Teaching in both classroom and assessment practice. The "And What of Cultural Knowledge" project is taking a closer look at this trend by examining relationships between school demographice and the use of Cultural Knowledge, and the nature of Cultural Knowledge that is evident in classroom and assessment practice.

Pedagogy and Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge (PACK)

With colleagues Associate Professor James Ladwig from the School of Education and Mr Michael Donovan from Wollotuka, School of Aboriginal Studies, I am an Investigator on the PACK project, funded by the NSW Department of Education and Training. The study is researching the Aboriginal cultural knowledge that teachers in NSW need to know about in order for them to fo justice to the expectation that they will build from and respect the cultural knowledge of children, as found in the Quality Teaching model.

Training and Supervision

Supervision of PhD

Examining the relationship between teacher beliefs and teaching practice in the context of pedagogical reform (in progress)

Grants - Research

Chief Investigator	Project Title	Year of award	Granting body	Total awarded
Amosa, W.	National Association for Mulitcultural Education (NAME) 16th Annual Conference, 8-12 November 2006	2006	The Univeristy of Newcastle	$1500
Amosa, W. & Gore, J.	Multicultural Education Professional Learning (MEPL)	2006	Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of Newcastle	$9977
Ladwig, J. Donovan, M. Amosa, W.	Quality teaching and the cultural knowledge of Aboriginal students in NSW	2006	NSW Department of Education and Training	$50000
Amosa, W.	And what of Cultural Knowledge?	2006	The University of Newcastle	$9000
Gore, J. Ladwig, J. Griffiths, T. Amosa, W.	Systemic implications of pedagogy and achievement in NSW Public Schools	Named as CI in 2006	Australian Research Council	$550000
Amosa, W.	National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) 15th Annual Conference, 9-13 November 2005	2005	The University of Newcastle	$1491
Amosa, W.	Mooting the Mosaic: A study of student engagement with multiethnic literary texts	2003	Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of Newcastle	$1800
Amosa, W.	Mooting the Mosaic: A study of student engagement with multiethnic literary texts	2002	The University of Newcastle	$2000
Amosa, W.	Mooting the Mosaic: A study of student engagement with multiethnic literary texts	2001	Faculty of Education and Arts, The University of Newcastle	$1500

Manuscript Reviews

I have completed journal manuscript reviews for the following journals:

Australian journal of Education;
Teaching and Teacher Education; and
Journal of Praxis in Multicultural Education.

I have also reviewed conference proposals for the:

Australian Association of Research in Education; and
National Association of Multicultural Education (USA).

Prizes, Honours and Awards

Australian Postgraduate Award (2000 – 2004)

Governance

Specific areas of responsibility in the School of Education:

Student Academic Conduct Officer (SACO)
Research Ethics Committee member
Research Committee ERC member
Research Training committee ERC member

Newcastle University Postgraduate Student Association - Executive Officer (Research) 2002 - 2004

Postgraduate student representation on the:
- Research Training Committee
- Research Portfolio Committee
- Strategic Initiative Funding Group
- Faculty Board for the Faculty of Education and Arts
- School of Education Board
- School of Education Research and Research Training Committee
- Faculty of Engineering and Built Environments Research and Research Training Committee
- Review of General Service Charge Consultative Group
- AUQA review committee
Chair of the Review of the University of Newcastle’s Review of the Research Candidate’s Code of Practice Working Party
Development of Blackboard online support for all postgraduate students to enhance communication and outreach among students from the various campuses, including distance and offshore students
Development of Student – Supervisor models of best practice
Coordination of university-wide annual research induction procedures with the Research Higher Degrees Branch

Conference/ seminar organisation

Pedagogy in Practice (2004 - 2007): Conference management
Quality Teaching and Learning Conference 2004 (QTAL): syndicate facilitator
Multicultural Mosaic 2003 Conference: Conference Convenor
School of Education Research Seminars 2000 – 2002: Co-chair

Membership of Networks and Professional Associations

EdChange (www.edchange.org )
Australian Association for Teachers of English (AATE)
English Teachers Association NSW (ETA NSW)
National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME)
Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE)
Newcastle Institute for Educational Research (NIER)