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Online Teaching Design Masterclass

Schools in Queensland are currently facing a severe shortage in recruiting trained design and technology teachers. Over the past few years, many of these teachers have retired. With limited opportunities for people to undertake initial teacher education in design and technology, we have a situation with a growing number of job openings and no one to fill them.

The Design And Technology Teachers’ Association (DATTA) is working with our partners to develop longer-term solutions to this crisis. However, we understand that schools need support now, as more and more teachers from other learning areas (art, science, etc) are being called on to deliver the design and technology curriculum. We also know that the problem is even greater for schools in regional areas.

To ease this burden, and following on from the success of the program in Victoria, we would like to offer DATTA Qld members the opportunity to participate in a highly sought-after professional development course to upskill into this teaching gap and improve current skills while reigniting your passion for teaching.

The Masterclass will be delivered by Peter Murphy, former president of DATTA Australia and DATTA Vic who has been delivering annual Teaching Design Masterclasses since 2019. Peter is a coveted speaker and leader in design and technologies education. He is a lecturer at La Trobe University and Southern Cross University on the Bachelor of Technology Education and a regular contributor to state and national curriculum development.

The course is designed to help upskill existing teachers to teach Design, out of field, in an effort to address the teacher shortage in the industry.

 

Participants will be introduced to a wide range of topics*, including:

  • Teaching the design process
  • CAD
  • Emerging technologies
  • Modelling & prototyping techniques
  • Classroom Management & OH&S
  • Developing curriculum for Years 7–10
  • New approaches to the new design syllabus
  • Precious plastics
  • Teaching STEM in D&T
  • Tackling real-world problems

 

Testimonials

DATTA Vic has been delivering our Teaching Design Masterclass both face to face and online since 2019. Read on for feedback from participants:
"I did the sketching activity that you did with us on Wednesday with my year 11 design class. It was like a light bulb had gone off and when we did a SCAMPER activity all of a sudden, they had all these different designs. I will definitely be using this again. Thank you for sharing the activity."
"Brilliant! I had no idea what to expect and it surpassed all my expectations. Peter is an amazing presenter whose knowledge and obvious passion for Design is contagious."
"As a completely new teacher to this domain area I am very grateful to have been welcomed to undertake this course. I have found it fantastic. There was lots of information that was shared and Peter was so knowledgeable. In addition, there was so much information shared, that I always found myself debriefing with my colleagues and domain leader in which I discussed our program in comparison with what I learned and discovered."
"The entire masterclass experience... was invaluable. Peter showed me how important the concept of a local/global end-user is and to stop looking at design as everyone does the same project. I learnt so much from this about asking questions, especially to improve the world we live in. I feel much more confident now and really excited about where D&T can go in the future at our school."
"I'd tell other teachers, DO IT!!! I have told everyone that will listen how wonderful these classes have been. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to learn more about design."

*NOTE: This is not a program to train teachers in the use of machinery and tools. It is intended as a means of support for educators faced with delivering an unfamiliar curriculum and offers an approach to developing programs teaching the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills without the use of the usual power tools and machines found in the Design & Technologies workshop. DATTA’s main priority is to advocate for a governmental response to the need to grow the number of opportunities for initial teacher education in Design & Technologies.