Sarah-Jayne Watson is one of the shining stars among those attending the CQUniversity Bundaberg graduation, due to be held from 5pm this Thursday (April 29) at the Moncrieff Theatre.

The outstanding graduate has earned the Bachelor of Learning Management Student Award for the highest Grade Point Average (GPA) and the Top VET Student Award, also based on GPA. 

LINK for Peter Sawyer's pearls of wisdom for Bundaberg graduation

Sarah-Jayne Watson - singled out for praise

Sarah-Jayne completed a portion of her practical studies at Shalom College in Bundaberg, under the watchful eye of Rob Alexander, who was the Deputy Principal at the time. Mr Alexander is now the Principal of The Cathedral College in Rockhampton, and has appointed Sarah to a teaching position after seeing first hand her commitment and dedication to the job.

The opportunities Sarah received with her prac studies at CQUniversity provided the foundations for her career. Ms Watson sees the specialised placement of students into supportive and innovative practicum experiences in secondary schools throughout the region and the continued availability of the course lecturers and university staff as being the most significant and influential aspects of her program.

Much of Sarah's discipline study was fully Flex from the Rockhampton campus, whilst a number of her education subjects were internal at the Bundaberg campus.

"This method of blended learning gave me the opportunity to interact and collaborate with lecturers, students and industry professionals across multiple campuses via ISL (Interactive System-wide Learning) and teleconferences," she said.

For Sarah's final university course, she and her team members created a project called ‘Classroom Management for the Contemporary Consumer'. It was adapted from the ‘Childwise' program which is targeted towards parents raising moral and virtuous children.

The program presents authentic and contextual learning scenarios that assist students in becoming emotionally balanced, intellectually assertive and morally sensible members of society. It also aims to create a learning environment that fosters professional relationships between teachers and students. This program is currently being implemented in schools and at CQUniversity by Sean McCartney at Peirson Services.

"Working alongside Sean McCartney (Local Manager of Peirson Services) was an invaluable experience as it gave me a greater appreciation of the teaching strategies that are needed to meet the diverse needs of secondary school students.  The experience emphasised the importance of creating a cohesive and engaging learning environment," Sarah-Jayne said.

"It is personally satisfying to know that the CQUniversity and other industry professionals are effectively using this project to enhance students' studies and to establish positive relationships in the classroom.:

If you would like to know more about the 'Childwise' Program or about our Bachelor of Learning Management degree, phone CQUniversity on 13 27 86 or http://www.cqu.edu.au/ for more information.