For the first 9 months of 1997 I was tapping away at a computer in the School of Biochemistry making these web pages. But of more relevance is what I've done up to now. So here goes:
B.Sc (Honours) from Monash University. (Melbourne, Australia)
Majors in Biochemistry and Microbiology, and Minor studies in Physiology and Chemistry. Honours in Biochemistry.
M.Sc from Monash. In Biochemistry, where I worked on the action of fragments of Growth Hormone in the development of some types of diabetes.
Dip.Ed. Again from Monash (it's close to home!), where I learnt what you need to know to be a teacher. Well that's the theory anyway. Personally I feel that many years in classrooms is the best teacher training you can get.
M.A.C.E. This means that I'm a Member of the Australian College of Education. Basically, I'm an experienced teacher.
M.A.I.Biol. Means that I'm a Member of the Australian Institute of Biologists - I'm an experienced Biology teacher.
I'm also on the Council of STAV, the Science Teachers' Association of Victoria, where in 1997 I was one of the two Vice-Presidents, with the 'Communications' portfolio.
Before I decided to become a school teacher, I either worked in Universities or I worked at home. (Being a Mum is hard work!) My University career involved teaching and research at various times.
Early on, I worked in Biochemistry at Monash, where I was involved in research on the mechanisms of action of growth hormone in the development of adult diabetes. Later, this was combined with teaching in Biochemistry, where I assisted in the lab. classes for Science and Medical students.
From there, I moved to the School of Health Sciences at LaTrobe University. There I taught in several of the courses; nursing, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy were those which occupied most of my time. My teaching there mostly involved applied chemistry and applied physics.
Various family factors combined to make me decide that I might try teaching at school, and that's when I completed Dip.Ed. and became a secondary biology teacher. Since then I've taught Biology, General Science, a little Chemistry and even less Human Development in Society.
The schools at which I have worked are:
For many years, and especially since the introduction of the VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) I've been involved in Biology teaching and learning in a variety of ways such as:
I live in one of Melbourne's leafy eastern suburbs, with my son who is a medical student and our two dogs, two cats (one of which is named Kick-the-cat, my son's bright idea, and was the inspiration for the button and the background on the pages at this site) and assorted tropical fish.
My daughter no longer lives at home, she is a doctor at Monash Medical Centre.
My interests include music, classical and modern but not 'headache fodder', theatre and 'the bush'. I also enjoy learning new things and my enthusiasm for the Internet and its use in education has led me into my current position.
In winter, my family and lots of friends can be found in the Great Southern Stand at the MCG cheering the Bombers on to another victory.
During my Long Service Leave from October-mid November of 1997 I travelled to the USA. I attended the USA National Biology Teachers' Association Convention in Minneapolis (an exciting, inspiring week!) and I visited some schools. My main aim was to share ideas about use of computers, and especially the Internet, in science and biology education. It was interesting to see the various ways computers are being used in USA schools, and reassuring to know that in Victoria we are keeping up with the introduction of this technology. The main problems with introduction of the new technology faced at USA schools seemed to be the same as we see here: obtaining enough computers so that they can be available to all students and all classes when they're needed, and encouraging some of the 'technologically timid' teachers to incorporate the new technology as another technique in their teaching methods portfolio.
One of the interesting schools I visited was in south-suburban Chicago, where the Biology/Computer expert teacher, Shelley Peretz has developed an interesting on-line Biology project. It shows some similarities to our CAT 2. It was great to meet Shelley's sophomore (year 10) biology class who were keen to ask me lots of questions about Australia and Australian teenagers - funny, but they were not very interested in having a biology lesson that day!
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