Bucking the Trend — What Works for Boys

Prince Alfred College crest

14–15 September 2017
Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, South Australia


Download Conference Flyer (pdf)


Workshop Presenters

Syeda Kashfee Ahmed - is a Research Fellow in the Educational Monitoring and Research Division at ACER. She has extensive experience in national and international education sector projects and brings in strategic knowledge and understanding of project implementation and research in developing countries..

Walter Barbieri - is the Director of eLearning at St Peter’s College, which, if you consider that he comes from a background in Drama and English Literature, and also teaches Italian, is quite surprising. Walter brings a deep understanding of the processes of learning and assessment to his application of technology. At St Peter’s College, he has helped design and implement a digital tool, The Learning Curve, that brings effective feedback and the aspirations of visible learning to life.

Joshua Basford - As a teacher himself, Josh has shifted his focus from the traditional curriculm towards the “soft” skills that underpin students’ ability to learn. Josh is often called upon to speak on panels and conferences around “current issues in education”. Josh’s work at SEED is focused on collating, synthesising, adapting and translating the research around the science of learning into a discipline that can be delivered to young people effectively and in a way that they will understand, enjoy and engage with.

Toby Carslake - is a Research Officer at ACER, and has worked on numerous projects within the educational research sphere internationally, nationally and locally. He bring experience in survey administration, survey design and construction including item scale construction. Toby also has skills and experience in face to face interviewing, data analysis and reporting for both qualitative and quantitative data.

Dr Katherine Dix - is a Senior Research Fellow within the Educational Monitoring and Research division at ACER. She brings diverse experience gained over 20 years in local and international educational research, with core expertise in questionnaire design, multilevel analyses, data translation, and real-time reporting that informs policy and practice, particularly with regard to evaluating national initiatives that focus on embedding whole-school wellbeing.

Hilary Dixon - is currently the Senior Manager of Curriculum at ACARA. Prior to this she was Academic Deputy at a K-12 boys’ school in Sydney. She has also had leadership roles in co-educational schools and with the NSW curriculum authority, NESA. Curriculum and its design which cater to the needs of boys are her particular professional passions.

Benjamin Evans - is the Director of Teaching and Learning at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide. Originally from the UK, he holds degrees from both Durham and Cambridge Universities and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a proponent of knowledge-based curricula and the transformative power of rigorous academic education.

Emily FitzSimons - is the Director of Learning & Teaching Excellence at St Peter’s College. Emily was the previous Head of English and a Boarding House staff member at St Peter’s and so has played a key role in both academic and wellbeing leadership. She is a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and has a passion for the integration of evidence-based interventions and school curriculum.

Dr Petra Lietz - is Principal Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational (ACER) and Head of ACER’s Adelaide Office. Her areas of expertise are international education surveys, questionnaire design and multivariate and multilevel analyses with a focus on factors relating to student outcomes. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of Education and has recently co-edited a special journal issue on the Impact of large-scale assessments on education policy and a book on the Implementation of Large-Scale Education Assessments.

Christian Machar - is the Head of MS Humanities at Brighton Grammar School. Christian’s teaching experiences include four years at Geelong Grammar School’s Timbertop Campus. Areas of interest include student leadership develop-ment and organisational culture. Mr Machar and Dr Ray Swann are collaborating together on ‘The Legacy Project’, working with international best-selling author James Kerr (Legacy: 15 lessons in leadership) to develop a school culture based around the principles of high performance. The hope is for their work to become a practice other schools can use to improve their own school culture.

Monica Magann - has over 15 years experience working as a careers counsellor, facilitator and program coordinator. Utilising a coaching, strength-based perspective, she has been working for the last eight years at Prince Alfred College, providing career development in a full-time capacity.In 2010 she won the national Miles Morgan Career Excellence Award, “in recognition of excellence in facilitating the career development of individuals in a community organisation (Youth).” Monica has strong generalist knowledge across multiple industries. She is a confident guest speaker and has done a variety of media appearances. She contributes careers articles to newspapers around Australia and hosted a radio careers advice show for 3 years. Monica holds qualifications in Education (Grad Cert Career Development), Business and Marketing.

Mark McAndrew - worked as the Director of Teaching and Learning at Cranbrook, an Anglican school for boys in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. His 35 years of experience teaching boys and supporting the professional learning of teachers lead him to design and implement a teaching and learning framework that catered for boys within the contexts of the Australian Curriculum, the NSW requirements and those of the IB. He is currently the Curriculum Specialist, Humanities and Social Sciences at ACARA.

Col McCowan OAM - is a registered psychologist, counsellor & educator who worked in the Education Sector at primary, secondary and tertiary levels in roles including; teacher, guidance counsellor, resource developer, training officer, researcher, principal policy officer, national working party leader, lecturer, and manager of careers & employment. He is an International Fellow of the National Institute of Career Education and Counselling (UK) and has led a number of career-related consultancies for agencies including, UNESCO & ADB in the countries, Oman, Bhutan, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Mongolia. In 2007, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his contribution to careers.

Deb McKay - has been a teacher for 20 years, the last five of which have been at Prince Alfred College, teaching in the Preparatory school. She is presently completing a second Masters degree, (Cognitive Psychology in Education), and is part of the current Action-Research team with the IBSC. Deb is passionate about excellence in teaching which focuses on the learner and learning, especially within an ‘all-boys’ environment. She utilises the latest research on cognition in her classroom practice, incorporating ways to support students with low Working Memory and fostering a Growth Mindset. She has been married for twenty years and has two sons and a daughter.

Dr Fiona Mueller - has had extensive experience in secondary and tertiary teaching. She has managed and lead teams of educators, including a large department in a major ACT boys’ school. She is currently Director, Curriculum of ACARA where she is leading a significant programme of research that will influence future refinements of the Australian Curriculum. Her PhD thesis considered policy around single sex schooling.

Louka Parry - is the Director of Programs at Education Changemakers and brings expert knowledge in school leadership, change management and organisational culture. Louka holds two Masters Degrees, a Master of Applied Linguistics and a Master of Instructional Leadership from the University of Melbourne and has also studies at Harvard. Louka has experience as a teacher from K-12, as a school principal and system leader in DECD in South Australia. He now leads EC’s global programs working with diverse audiences internationally including AITSL, Federal Treasury, BETT, the AFL, Social Ventures Australia, Apple and Microsoft. In 2012 he was named South Australian Inspirational Public Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Rohan Powell - is a vocalist, teacher and musician who has performed professionally for twenty-five years throughout Australia, Europe and the USA. His ability to work with both large groups and individuals has proven successful in private practice as well as for large scale conferences in schools and for Flinders University.

Sarah Randall-Smith - Graduating with an undergrad degree in Psychology & First Class Honours in Business five years ago, Sarah is an academic in Management & Marketing at Flinders University, and has presented her research at international conferences. Sarah’s work at SEED is focused on collating, synthesising, adapting and translating the research around the science of learning into a discipline that can be delivered to young people effectively and in a way that they will understand, enjoy and engage with.

Ashleigh Schofield - is a Senior Physics and Middle School Science teacher at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide, South Australia. She received her Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Education from the University of South Asutralia. She completed her degree with an extended major in Applied Physics and the Clare Corani Memorial Physics Award (awarded to top female Physics student each year). A passionate communicator, Ashleigh has spent the past 7 years constructing and coordinating the delivery of science curriculum. Ashleigh’s career has spanned from teaching in rural Australian area schools to metropolitan boys’ independent schools in London, United Kingdom.

Ray Swann - is the Head of Senior School and Director of the Crowther Centre at Brighton Grammar School. Dr Swann has a diverse background of teaching, lecturing, consulting and management, as well as conducting entrepreneurial projects and research. Dr Swann completed his PhD in Medical Education in 2016, and has a focus on exploring how research improves field performance in communication and education. Dr Swann and Mr Christian Machar are collaborating together on ‘The Legacy Project’, working with international best-selling author James Kerr (Legacy: 15 lessons in leadership) to develop a school culture based around the principles of high performance. The hope is for their work to become a practice other schools can use to improve their own school culture.

James Thorpe - was educated at Michaelhouse, the Anglican Diocesan College of Natal. He has taught at St Kentigern College and St Kentigern Boys’ School (New Zealand), the Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie, Queensland) and The Southport School (TSS, Queensland). Within these schools, James has held a number of leadership positions: academically, pastorally and in the sporting context. An English teacher, Assistant Boarding Housemaster, Officer of Cadets, Cricket and Rugby Coach at The King’s School, James has been an active committee member of the National Boys’ Education Conference (NBEC), a King’s School initiative.

Matt Wadewitz- is a charismatic speaker and an inspirational academic leader. In recent years Matthew has developed a reputation as a Learning Environment Researcher. He has been and is currently working in collaboration with Curtin University. Matthew specialises in the areas of coaching, observation and feedback. He is the only teacher on the AITSL Teacher Expert Standing Committee. Along with John Hattie and Rob Randall, he also on the Education Expert Reference Council for Social Ventures Australia. Now an Educational Consultant (LeadLearn Consulting), Matt’s clients include schools from three sectors, as well as a number of AFL clubs

Peter Waters - is the Junior Primary Co-ordinator, Preparatory School Daily Administrator and a teacher at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide who is married to a teacher and they have two children. Peter has a passion for education and a strong sense of justice. He has taught children from the ages of five to twelve year olds for over thirty years. In Australia, he has taught in Adelaide and Melbourne. He and his wife spent a year teaching in Kent in the UK and they spent ten years teaching in Singapore, where he also presented workshops on Computers in Education.Inspired by an autistic cousin, working with children is his real career passion. Instilling confidence, compassion and attempting to develop the wellbeing of those in his care is a challenge Peter cherishes every day. Doing so with a sense of fun and humour makes going to work a pleasure for Peter.

Mathew White PhD - is Director of Wellbeing & Positive Education at St Peter’s College and serves on the School’s Senior Leadership Team. His experience spans education, public and social sectors. In addition, Mathew is a Principal Fellow and Associate Professor in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at The University of Melbourne and an Affiliate of Cambridge University’s Wellbeing Institute. He has edited three books Future Directions in Wellbeing Education, Organizations, and Policy; Theology Encountering Positive Psychology, and Evidence-based Approaches to Positive Education in Schools. He was awarded an Australian Council for Educational Leaders South Australian Leadership Medal in 2017.