The evening will include a three course meal, drinks, awards and guest speaker.
Access information:
When you are standing in front of The Ship Inn, follow the pathway around the pub to your right, around the Beer Garden. Then you will see the Griffith Graduate Centre. Enter the glass sliding doors and take the lift or stairs to level 2. You will then see an entrance to the Ship Inn Function Room which sits directly above the pub.
Guest Speaker:
Ms Leighann Ness Wilson
PhD Candidate, Queensland University of Technology
Topic: Contemporary research into Design and Technologies: Insights, implications, and future directions
The Australian curriculum formally recognises design as a central element of Technologies education, emphasising its role in fostering critical and creative thinking among students. Despite being central to the Design and Technologies curriculum, there is insufficient research about how design is understood, valued, and implemented within Australian schools and how it is being incorporated into Initial Teacher Education.
Leighann’s PhD research at Queensland University of Technology explores this gap, investigating how the curricular vision of Design and Technologies is interpreted within Initial Teacher Education, and how future teachers perceive and value design as part of the curriculum.
Drawing on her experiences as a designer, teacher, and researcher, Leighann invites us to reflect on the bigger picture: how we talk about Design and Technologies, how we prepare future teachers, and what’s needed to solidify the position of Design and Technologies as a powerful driver of creativity, capability, and student agency. It’s both a celebration of the potential of Design and Technologies, and a call to shape the future of this dynamic learning area…together.
