The Centre for Teaching Excellence & Research (CTER) was established in 2018 with the express purpose of supporting excellence in teaching and learning. For our boys, quality education is dependent on quality teaching based on best practice. Just as we aim to enable each boy to be at his best, CTER works to enable each teacher to be at their best. Our CTER work takes several forms.

Coaching and mentoring

Teachers at Christ’s College model lifelong learning through their professional growth cycle. All teachers at Christ’s College have a trained professional coach who supports an organic inquiry cycle. Together with their coach, teachers identify personal goals in order to extend their teaching craft (pedagogy). Their coaches support reflective practice through classroom observations, video analysis and individual coaching sessions.

Strategic curriculum development

Since its inception, CTER has been a driving force of ongoing curriculum review. The curriculum (the framework of what we teach) needs to be dynamic to best prepare our boys for life beyond school. The most tangible review outcome has been the three-year development of the Christ’s College Diploma, which will be introduced in 2022. CTER will be the mechanism for continual self-review of how we implement the curriculum in our classrooms.

Professional learning delivery

Each Thursday morning, teaching staff gather to focus on their professional development. Christ’s College’s commitment to staff development is underpinned by allocating this specific time and resource to teaching and learning. CTER plans and delivers a large number of these professional learning sessions. Using research, student voice and strategic priorities, the sessions focus on how we can work together to improve student experiences and outcomes.

Research

Pedagogy is always evolving and it is important that our staff base their practice on what educational research identifies as the most effective teaching methods. In order to help our staff keep abreast of the latest research, CTER works to synthesize academic findings into key points that enable teacher development. In addition, CTER is a resource for teachers to request research and information to explore individual professional goals. CTER plans to partner with academics in educational research to make new contributions to the field of academic research.

The people

Staff Graeme Swanson 2095 SQ

Dr Graeme Swanson

Director of CTER (Fixed-term Secondment)

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Staff Nikki Bleyendaal 4784 SQ

Nikki Bleyendaal

Assistant Director of Drama, CTER Head of Teaching & Learning

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Staff Amanda Lester 3726 SQ

Amanda Lester

Head of Department, CTER Head of Teaching & Learning

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Staff Shannon Small 0693 SQ

Shannon Small

CTER Head of Teaching & Learning (Term 3 & 4)

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