Teachers have learning conference

Staff at Brisbane Water Secondary College have held their annual professional learning conference.

The conference is designed to keep their skills and knowledge at a peak to provide the best in learning outcomes for their students, college principal Mr Pat Lewis said.

"This is the fourth of these innovative conferences held by the college and all have received high praise, most recently from the Director General of Education," Mr Lewis said.

"Held over two days, the conference began on separate campuses of the college where middle school and senior teachers addressed issues directly related to the students taught by those teachers.

"On the middle school campus, activities covered boys' education, Aboriginal education, assessment tasks, and the innovative Rock and Water welfare program, while the senior campus concentrated a range of strategies on the use of technology in teaching and learning.

"The second day of the conference saw staff from both campuses coming together at the Ettalong War Memorial Club for an outstanding keynote speaker and a range of workshops.

"This was also a great opportunity for staff of the two campuses to meet and discuss issues affecting the college as a whole.

"Beginning the day, students from both campuses of the college addressed staff on their perspective on being a teenager today and on the type of schooling they were experiencing in the college."

Mr Lewis said that each of the students, Josh Keen, Alex Irving, Liam Scarratt, Chris Blair and Jacqui Steward, spoke confidently and positively on their lives and interests and in their praise of the commitment and encouragement shown to them by their teachers.

"Keynote speaker Mark McCrindle followed this with an outstanding insight into the thoughts and actions of generation Y, the name given to the group of young people of the age of the students currently in the college," Mr Lewis said.

"This entertaining but informative address challenged staff to better understand the young people they are teaching so as to fully engage them in their learning.

"The workshops which followed covered strategies for engaging boys in learning, motivating students, use of technology in teaching and learning, student assessment and mental health issues for students and staff.

"Evaluations of the conference by staff were extremely positive and all felt that the experience had greatly enhanced their professional capacity to teach their students," Mr Lewis said.

Press release, June 7 Pat Lewis, Brisbane Water Secondary College