AGM - EIO Officer's Report
Education & Innovation Officer's Annual Report 2019-2020 - Janette Poulton
COI TRAINING PROGRAMS
These deliverables have been met, although working to encourage more to participation is vital and we are looking forward to a working membership list and website to assist us to:
Plan, design, coordinate and manage staffing for two Introduction to Community of Inquiry Level 1 training programs per year
Plan, design, coordinate and manage staffing for one Advanced Practice - Community of Inquiry Level 2 training programs every two years
Contribute to the on-going development of the Level 3 program.
Level One Presenters included Ben.Kilby, Jill Howells, Bonnie Zuidland and Janette Pouton. The assessment team included Jill Howells, Cath Milvain and Janette Pouton.
Advanced Practice presenters include Jill Howells, Emmanuel Skoutas, Bonnie Zuidland Harry Galatis and Janette Pouton
VAPS programs are all aligned with FAPSA guidelines. We continue to provide opportunity for new graduates of the Introduction to Community of Inquiry course to facilitate at one of our regular Philosophy in Public Spaces events.
The Training programs article and assignments resources have to date been supported through DropBox. These will be moved to the new Google Drive platform. I am working behind the scenes as Chair of the FAPSA PD committee to develop on-line resources and a platform, not only for this period of lock down, but to ensure that all providers have access to the materials and may share thoughts and problems. In due course potential providers (i.e. those with Level 3 training or equivalent) will be able to access this platform.
Connections with public institutions such Museums Victoria NGV, and Zoos Victoria through our PIPS programs have continued. Connections with VCAA through the Ethical Capability and VCE curriculum, as well as connections with other Associations through CPTAV and the broader P4C community through FAPSA and ICPIC keep VAPS in the loop.
VCE Networking:
We provide an open Google discussion group for non-members of VAPS and a closed face book group for our members. Thank you to Kristy Forrest for assistance with this group which is increasingly active.
VCE Forums:
The Forums have been running for 17 years now and the work of the various presenters is still much appreciated by students and teachers. Over the years we have had to work hard to familiarise academic presenters with both the importance of staying close to the set readings and in framing their approach in terms of the changing Study Design. Materials have been prepared to make this as painless as possible. Our on ongoing difficulty in finding a regular and inexpensive venue has been overcome with the assistance of Harry Galatis and MGSE to whom we are greatly indebted.
Thank you to our Speakers from 2019
For Unit 3:
Dr Laura Schroeter (UoM) On Locke and Hume
Dr Olivia Carter (UoM) on Consciousness and Neuroscience
Dr Dana Goswick (UoM) on Michels
Dr Huma Chaudery (MIT) An Ethical Car challenge
For Unit 4:
Dr Klaus Jahn (UoM) on Susan Wolf and the Good Life.
Dr Matthew Sharpe (Deakin) on Nietzsche "Beyond Good and Evil", or is he?
Phillip Etherington (Chief Examiner) on How to demonstrate you are a Philosopher.
VCE Resources
We continue to offer opportunities to our members to exercise their skills in producing resources for their peers. Thank you to Bonnie Zuidland and James Watt for preparing a Trial exam and mock-up examiner’s report.
All these services will be maintained in 2020. And I would like to commend Ben Kilby for his initiative in introducing the Google Classroom for VCE teachers. This has begun at the start of Term 2 and we have a number of VCE teachers and students in the Google Classroom and participating in activities that will enhance their knowledge of the VCE Curriculum materials.
PIPS - PHILOSOPHY IN. PUBLIC SPACES
Context:
GLAM is an acronym for 'Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums' and refers to cultural institutions which collect and maintain cultural heritage materials in the public interest. VAPS' relationships with GLAMs have been consolidated through our PIPS projects.
PIPS or Philosophy in Public Spaces is the name we give to our events that take place in public spaces. For some time we have been sharing the name Philosothon with Matthew Wills to refer to these activities, but we have decided to revert to our original naming in the light of the withdrawal of the Philosothon Management Committee from FAPSA.
Our intention with these projects is to build continuity from activity to activity by nominating a main theme for the year. In 2018 we linked three Middle Years PIPS events across Melbourne Museum and the Immigration Museum on the theme of ‘Rights and Freedom’. We also trialled a successful Middle Years PIPS event at Scienceworks Museum. In 2019, we explored the theme of 'The Future' to provide continuity across all three museums.
These activities culminated on World philosophy Day 21st Nov in Kalaya. at Melbourne Museum. Many thanks to the following presenters:
• Dr Lara Stevens | Research Fellow and Ecofeminist. Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. The University of Melbourne,
• Dr Rachel Carey | Lecturer in Food System, Faculty of Vet and Agricultural sciences/ The University of Melbourne,
• Monique Vella | Sustainability Victoria
• Wren Gillet | Year 12 student, Upwey HS: Philosothon winner; Human Rights activist
• Magnus | Year 6 student at Moonee Ponds West PS; School striker.
• Melinda Clark | The Melbourne Map (on display)
This series of Middle Years events ran in parallel with our established and ongoing Primary Years PIPS event at the National Gallery of Victoria,
ZOOS Victoria
Three very successful teacher workshops were led by Joanne Roberts at the Melbourne Zoo,.these introduced teachers to the Ethics trails; and we will be moving forward with this program as part of our on-line suite of activities too. Some preliminary work has been done at the Werribee Zoo and the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary.
LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOLS
have been highlighted for not only their exemplary work in involving their whole school in philosophical inquiry, but also for their work with VAPS on developing their school's curriculum, pedagogy, and teacher training in a rigorous capacity. The Lighthouse School for 2019 is Brunswick East Primary School. We would welcome other schools who are beginning to explore philosophy at their school, or who are looking to move towards a whole school approach to philosophy, to get in touch with VAPS.
