Excellence program 'cherry on cake' for fledgling teacher
Published on 31 January, 2013
Mandy Medhurst is looking forward to supercharging her classroom skills, while completing her final year of the Bachelor of Learning Management with CQUniversity...
She's among four CQUniversity students selected for mentorship through the Morayfield Teacher Education Centre of Excellence, which places high-achieving pre-service teachers in a well-supported, yet challenging, school environment.
Mandy has been placed with an Emerald North State School prep/1 class under the guidance of mentor teacher Jodie Glenn.
Selection for Morayfield has placed Mandy several steps further along her journey to become a classroom teacher.
"I was introduced back to study through CQUniversity's STEPS program, which I completed by flex as I was living in Clermont," she said.
"Relocating to Emerald, there was a local campus where I could complete the Bachelor of Learning Management (Primary).
"I am a mature-age student with three children, one who graduated from high school in 2012 and seven-year-old twins who are in Year 3."
Mandy says she has found it rewarding to volunteer as a student mentor across two years.
"Being a mature-age student I found that I have to be organised and keep my family informed of when I am studying and this is my time for me.
"Now that I have entered my final-year of University, my husband and children are very excited and happy that I am fulfilling a dream that I once thought I would never accomplish.
"The Morayfield program will be like the cherry on the cake and extend my ability to become a better prepared first-year teacher for next year."
Dean of Education & the Arts, Professor Helen Huntly said students selected for Morayfield would go on to be high-achieving beginning teachers.
"They will be a definite asset to the school communities in which they will live and work," Professor Huntly said.
The Morayfield program offers extended classroom experiences. Program participants are prioritised for employment with Education Queensland schools and may receive early offers of employment.
CQUniversity participants are able to attend special professional development programs. They also engage with Morayfield Cluster online, to help them specialise in 'literacy and numeracy in low socio-economic settings'. The program provides an extended employment induction process and continues into the students' first years as working teachers, to ensure additional mentoring.