On this page: PEO university workshop | Teachers of the future | A firsthand lesson about Parliament House | First time voters make their mark
Profiler Newsletter Issue 9: November 2004
From May 2002 to November 2004, the PEO produced a regular newsletter called Profiler. This publication has now ceased, but archived articles will continue to be made available here.
Articles on this page are in text only and are suitable for printing. The downloadable PDF version contains photographs.
Download Profiler Newsletter Issue 9: November 2004 [PDF 172KB]
Director's cut
I am sure we all appreciate receiving letters especially the friendly kind giving us good news. I received a good news email just the other day from a participant in a recent Parliamentary University Partnership program, a program organised by the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO). The participant was telling me how much this intensive week-long program had assisted him in securing his first teaching position for 2005. A good news story indeed!
This edition includes a couple of interesting university stories and a map showing you just which universities we have visited over the past few years. For the PEO staff involved, it has been an exciting experience working with undergraduate teachers who are so committed and enthusiastic about their chosen vocation and eager to begin their new careers in 2005. We would like to wish them every success and look forward to working with them in the future.
Many of our readers will be familiar with the highly successful PEO resource, Cockatoo Island. You may be interested to know that it has been granted the Australasian Publishers' Award for Excellence in Publishing 2004. A most prestigious award, I think you will all agree? You may also be interested to know that Ali Garnett, the author of this resource has been invited by Rhodes University in South Africa to present this unique resource. More news of that in future editions of the Profiler no doubt.
And finally I must mention elections! No, not the federal elections this time, (the journos in the daily newspapers are doing a good job there) but the elections that 50 young participants in the Rotary Adventures in Citizenship program conducted just last month. Hosted by the PEO, sponsored by Rotary Clubs from across Australia and in partnership with the Australian Electoral Commission education staff, these young people role-played six political parties, wrote party policy, preselected candidates, made speeches and then concluded with a House of Representatives role-play for the division of McMillan. The outcome…The Greens won on preferences!
Ann Owner
Director, Parliamentary Education Office
School visits to Parliament House
So far this year, the PEO has seen 58,838 students from 978 schools across Australia.
| State | Number of schools | Number of students |
|---|---|---|
| ACT | 28 schools | 1,906 students |
| NSW | 521 schools | 35,664 students |
| NT | 12 schools | 298 students |
| QLD | 181 schools | 9,494 students |
| SA | 36 schools | 1,639 students |
| TAS | 15 schools | 507 students |
| VIC | 128 schools | 7,772 students |
| WA | 55 schools | 1,592 students |
PEO university workshop
Bringing an awareness of role-play strategies to our teachers of the future!
The PEO first began workshops in Australian universities in 1996. Up to 2001 the PEO conducted about one outreach visit a year to universities such as the universities of New England, Newcastle, Canberra, Townsville and those in Perth and Bathurst. Clients included tutors and pre-service teachers in university Schools of Education, both primary and secondary.
These early workshops were received enthusiastically by tutors and students alike and led to strategic targeting of this group—our teachers of the future—from 2002 onwards.
The aim of the university program is to provide pre-service teachers with practical teaching strategies that encourage the teaching and learning of parliament and parliamentary processes in innovative and fun ways. Program content is tailored to the various state/territory curricula. The PEO workshop provides excellent preparation for the practicum phase and should occur, preferably, towards the end of the teacher training degree, giving students the opportunity to practise the role-play strategy in schools.
Excellent outcomes have been achieved in the university outreach program. In 2004 nine universities were visited (see map), and the PEO received enthusiastic feedback. Future programs will target SA and the NT (see map). PEO educators value the opportunity to visit different campuses, to extend networks and to operate in excellent learning environments.
One of the benefits of the program has been the establishment of the Parliamentary University Partnership program (PUPp), where pre-service teachers are invited to visit the PEO in Canberra and complete a one-week program (see article below: A firsthand lesson about Parliament House).
The PEO university program builds experienced and professional pre-service teachers, who in turn play an important role in the promotion of civics and citizenship in Australian schools.
PEO University Visits 2002-2004
Map showing PEO visits to universities from 2002-2004
PEO University Visits 2002-2004
University outreach 2002
- Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW
- University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW
- University of Central Queensland, Rockhampton, QLD
- Australian Catholic University, Signadou, ACT
University outreach 2003
- Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW
- University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW
- Australian Catholic University, Canberra, ACT
- University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS
- Edith Cowan University, Perth, PWA
University outreach 2004
- Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD
- Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW
- University of New England, Armidale, NSW
- Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW
- Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW
- Australian Catholic University, Signadou, ACT
- La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC
- Monash University, Melbourne, VIC
- University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS
Projected visits
- Perth, Adelaide, Ballarat, Wollongong, Townsville, Darwin
-Helen Paterson
Read more about customised programs.
Tricks of the trade for teachers of the future
Whilst the PEO’s core function is running programs in-house, outreach
programs are conducted across Australia targeting students who do not
or cannot come to Canberra. The universities outreach program targets
pre-service teachers nearing completion of their degree. One such program
was recently delivered to pre-service teachers at Southern Cross University,
Lismore Campus in NSW.
One hundred and fifteen third year pre-service teachers attended four two-hour
workshops, dispelling the myth and exposing the truth behind what really happens
in the 'House on the Hill'.
In role as Members of Parliament, the students debated a bill in the House of Representatives. They experienced the voting and division process which lead to a bill being passed in the House and realised the need to function effectively as a team. The students then removed their ‘green hats’, donned ‘red hats’ and became Senators involved in a Senate Committee of Inquiry and then Senators participating in a Senate debate.
The student teachers were then given the opportunity to formulate a bill of their choosing and repeated the basic law making process, this time facilitating the program themselves.
With practicum imminent, the student teachers enthusiastically embraced the role-play as a great method for imparting parliamentary knowledge and as a very practical teaching/learning strategy that develops the following skills:
• Reading, listening and speaking
• Debating
• Researching and acquiring information
• Interpreting information
• Respecting the rights of others to express a different opinion
• Developing their own opinions, values and viewpoints
This role-play strategy equipped the teachers with a multi-faceted, cross-curricular tool for classroom use covering all Key Learning Areas within the NSW curriculum.
-Adrienne Andrews & Jan Roberts
A firsthand lesson about Parliament House
The best place to learn about parliament is Parliament House. That was the rationale behind the PEO's Parliamentary University Partnership program (PUPp), which saw nine pre-service teachers spending a week in Canberra at Parliament House in the first week of September. The pre-service teachers were final year education students from Edith Cowan University in Western Australian and LaTrobe University in Melbourne. The intensive course, which taught them how to run parliamentary role-plays with school students, was complemented by some unique and memorable experiences. These included:
- A visit to the floor of the House of Representatives and the Senate,
- A visit to the Speaker's office and the President's office,
- Viewing the Mace and the Black Rod,
- A visit to the Prime Minister's office, and
- Visits to Old Parliament House, the High Court, and Government House.
There were also several sessions with some of the occupants of Parliament House, who shared their experiences and inside stories of how parliament works. The announcement of a federal election meant that the Members and Senators were off campaigning in their electorates; however the impending election also meant that the pre-service teachers could enjoy the unique atmosphere of anticipation at Parliament House.
After the pre-service teachers returned to their universities they delivered presentations and workshops to their peers, passing on the experiences and teaching methods that they had gained from their visit.
-Andrew Back
First time voters make their mark
At this month’s Talkback Classroom forum politicians were left in no doubt that first time voters want good answers. Just days after the Prime Minister called the general election, three federal representatives were given their chance to express their views on a range of issues in the hope that they might attract younger voters to support their policies.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Family and Community Services, the Hon. Christopher Pyne, Labor spokesperson on children and youth Senator Jacinta Collins, and Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown, faced the scrutiny of four first time voters and the live audience in the studio at The National Museum of Australia in Canberra. A satellite link to Casuarina College in Darwin gave young Territorians the opportunity to quiz the politicians on hot youth topics like drugs, education, and the environment.
The forum was led by a panel of four senior high school and university students from around Australia. Natalie Webber from St Paul’s Grammar, Warrigul, Luke Bosher from Melbourne High School, Josh McCann from Casuarina College, Darwin, and Kirsty McClaren from ANU, Canberra, spent several days immersed in all the issues surrounding the upcoming federal election. At Parliament House they were briefed by media advisers, election analysts and members of the press gallery. This provided them with the necessary background for conducting what would turn out to be an intense interview encounter.
Natalie Webber had this to say:
The whole Talkback Classroom program was an amazing and worthwhile experience. It opens up a whole world that is usually closed to youth and even to some adults, allowing them to make more educated decisions when speaking their mind and making their choices.
Talkback Classroom is sponsored by joint partners the PEO, the NMA and the ABC and is broadcast nationally on ABC radio and SBS television.
-John Studholme